Will Jacksonville ever...

[Timkin]

Thought I had heard that as well, Jaxson ... Actually I thought it was to be a Busch Gardens type theme park.  but alas..

[stjr]

I agree with the comment that Jax should develop an identity of its own.  Playing the role of "Old Florida" would be great as that is our uniqueness.  I am just not sure if we have preserved enough of our historic and natural fabric to pull it off 100%.  While theme parks and sports teams are nice and may improve a community's psyche, they are not panaceas and have never been demonstrated to improve the quality of life in a substantive way for the average citizen.  Spending money on education would be the far better choice.

As to the particular "problem" of things to do, I believe it is our ongoing failure to fully market our existing attractions and history.  While our Convention and Visitors Bureau may work hard to do it, for some reason the message isn't getting out enough.  I spoke with self-guided tourists this week from New Zealand and they complained it was difficult finding things in Jax to do.  Most people visiting here seem to like the city when informed locals take them around but seem more helpless doing it on their own.  

I don't know if its done, but EVERY hotel (and maybe university dorm) room in Jax should have an updated brochure/book with a comprehensive list of every little thing (not just the things CVB members think of or pay for) a tourist might find interesting in this town, from restaurants to even the tiniest city, state, and national parks to historic sites to recreational opportunities at the beach, at the golf course, on walking or bikeways or via ecotours to events, whether the fireworks, Jazz Festival, or shows at the local theaters.  MJ has highlighted the inadequacy of signage from downtown to our interstates.  Having a part-time staffed/full-time self-served downtown kiosk in Hemming Plaza and at the Landing and another near the Jax Beach pier might help.

The web is great, but that's for people making the effort to do their homework.  Most people need to have the info foisted upon them to open their eyes.  I was recently at a couple of different NYC hotels, and they both had photos and NYC themes on every floor, in every room, and in all the common areas.  Now, everyone is familiar with most sites in NYC, yet they still pound it home at every turn.  It's inescapable.

And, we are far more than the Landing, the Beach, TPC, and St. Augustine.  More needs to be done to educate both locals and visitors of that.  Most of our locals are clueless about what is under their very noses based on my conversations with those who have lived here decades but never bothered to explore their own home town and/or learn its history.  By example, I am amazed to go to area parks on par with the best national parks anywhere, and find them underutilized during "peak" outdoor seasons or mostly populated by out of town visitors who did their home work and love them, but not by locals who don't.  It may be the same reason why we get comments like the one starting this thread and/or why Jax self-esteem isn't higher.

So, after we put brochures in every hotel and dorm room, maybe we should regularly send them out with every JEA bill.  And, having regular "Did you know?" Jax history stories, as well-highlighted here on MJ and occasionally in the T-U, should be sent along too.

Just a few "common sense" ideas.  I am sure we could come up with a lot more if input were solicited.

[Timkin]

I WHOLEHEARTEDLY concur, stjr!   I particularly like the very first paragraph of your post, but agree with all of it in general.

[stjr]

The Orlando area is easily accessible via Interstate 4 from Interstate 75, Interstate 95 and also from Florida's Turnpike.  This location is a lot more accessible than Panama City Beach.

In 1959, the interstates in Florida didn't exist.  They could have been on the drawing boards, but their impact may have been at least more speculative in those days since they were not intended to impact travel quite the way they do today.  By the way, Lake City is the crossroads of I-75 and I-10 and in proximity to both I-95 and I-4, and they sure didn't boom like Orlando.  

Speaking of legends surrouning Ed Ball, a friend of mine once told me that the Baptists vetoed the idea of a theme park in North Florida.

I never heard this, but some do give them credit for making sure we lost the movie industry and any chance to be "Hollywood" back in the early 1900's.

OK, here is another old rumor:  Anheuser Busch thought they might build a Busch Gardens in Jax when they built their brewery here in the 1960's and that is why they own so much land there.  It never happened though.  Maybe this is the deal the Baptists nixed?  

[Timkin]

I have heard this particular one many times over the years.  I do not know who is to blame for it not happening , or if in fact it ever did.  Still , a Theme Park in these parts could have been good.

Before Disney, Orlando (and most of surrounding Central Florida )  was a Orange Grove.  In a way, its too bad that is no longer the case .

[finehoe]

Spending money on education would be the far better choice.

Yes.  Instead of being known for Mickey Mouse or Shamu, what if Jacksonville's claim to fame was having the best public school system in the US?

[Jaxson]

The Orlando area is easily accessible via Interstate 4 from Interstate 75, Interstate 95 and also from Florida's Turnpike.  This location is a lot more accessible than Panama City Beach.

In 1959, the interstates in Florida didn't exist.  They could have been on the drawing boards, but their impact may have been at least more speculative in those days since they were not intended to impact travel quite the way they do today.  By the way, Lake City is the crossroads of I-75 and I-10 and in proximity to both I-95 and I-4, and they sure didn't boom like Orlando. 

Speaking of legends surrouning Ed Ball, a friend of mine once told me that the Baptists vetoed the idea of a theme park in North Florida.

I never heard this, but some do give them credit for making sure we lost the movie industry and any chance to be "Hollywood" back in the early 1900's.

OK, here is another old rumor:  Anheuser Busch thought they might build a Busch Gardens in Jax when they built their brewery here in the 1960's and that is why they own so much land there.  It never happened though.  Maybe this is the deal the Baptists nixed? 

I read that, in the early 1960s, Walt Disney did a flyover around Central Florida and that is when he fell in love with the location for his new theme park...
Seeing that Haydon Burns was governor at the time, it would have been a golden opportunity to steer Disney our way, but alas...

[duvaldude08]

The Orlando area is easily accessible via Interstate 4 from Interstate 75, Interstate 95 and also from Florida's Turnpike.  This location is a lot more accessible than Panama City Beach.

In 1959, the interstates in Florida didn't exist.  They could have been on the drawing boards, but their impact may have been at least more speculative in those days since they were not intended to impact travel quite the way they do today.  By the way, Lake City is the crossroads of I-75 and I-10 and in proximity to both I-95 and I-4, and they sure didn't boom like Orlando.  

Speaking of legends surrouning Ed Ball, a friend of mine once told me that the Baptists vetoed the idea of a theme park in North Florida.

I never heard this, but some do give them credit for making sure we lost the movie industry and any chance to be "Hollywood" back in the early 1900's.

OK, here is another old rumor:  Anheuser Busch thought they might build a Busch Gardens in Jax when they built their brewery here in the 1960's and that is why they own so much land there.  It never happened though.  Maybe this is the deal the Baptists nixed?  

Actually, my parents told me there was a huge fight over the land they wanted to purchase.  Anheuser Busch basically gave up on it and decided to go elsewhere (tampa)

[finehoe]

Actually, my parents told me there was a huge fight over the land they wanted to purchase.  Anheuser Busch basically gave up on it and decided to go elsewhere (tampa)

But the Busch Gardens in Tampa already existed when the brewery in Jacksonville opened, so that doesn't make sense.

[duvaldude08]

Well hey dont shoot the messager 

[rjp2008]

A couple thoughts/responses:

1. Be different than Orlando, Tampa and South Florida

You can't beat them in tourist draw, $$$, attractions, media attention, etc. They're far better equipped and positioned geographically to be superior in those categories. Just as an example - and this is not to denigrate Jax for those thin-skinned - there's only one Cheesecake Factory in Jacksonville compared to 8 or 9 within South Florida! So, let Jax be itself - a family-centric river town, where folks can raise a bunch of kids with good schools, outstanding community groups/activities and churches, family-centered festivals, etc. A local economy that doesn't dazzle, but is stable long term.

2. Highlight the present and future, NOT MORE HISTORY.

Much of Jacksonville's history is disaster, corruption, botched efforts, failure, etc. Forget it! Move on! Start something fresh. How many tourists really care about the history of buildings of a downtown that no one goes to? Maybe a few enthusiasts, but not the masses.

3. Schools and Jobs

Entertainment attracts tourists, but solid schools and jobs attracts NEW RESIDENTS. Make the schools in Jax better. Not just by throwing money at them, but emphasizing character, virtue, respect, etc. Family first, family first, family first.

[Wacca Pilatka]

I heard that Disney offered Jacksonville first but the mayor at the time declined... is there any truth to that?

Definitely not accurate.  Jacksonville was never in Disney's consideration.  The other serious candidates for Disney's location were St. Louis, DC, and Niagara Falls.  This is according to the book "Married to the Mouse," which gives no indication that Disney gave any thought to a theme park in the eastern half of the U.S. until the early 60s, which goes against the Ed Ball story.  Bear in mind Jacksonville was a much more established area at the time than Orlando and it would not have been nearly so easy for Disney to covertly purchase large tracts of land, I wouldn't imagine.

[Wacca Pilatka]

OK, here is another old rumor:  Anheuser Busch thought they might build a Busch Gardens in Jax when they built their brewery here in the 1960's and that is why they own so much land there.  It never happened though.  Maybe this is the deal the Baptists nixed?  [/b]

There is some basis in fact to this, but it has nothing to do with the 60s and I don't know that it has anything to do with Baptists either.  Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, when Jacksonville was still more tourism-oriented and the movie industry was beginning to establish its foothold, Anheuser Busch proposed developing an amusement park, large hotel, and I believe some kind of a studio or theatre complex, basically in the Brooklyn area.  For reasons unknown, this ultimately fell through.  The plan was not for something as ambitious as modern-day Busch Gardens--I understand the grand hotel was a much bigger part of the project than the theme park--and I do not think Jacksonville was ever in the running for what ultimately became Busch Gardens Tampa (which predates the Jacksonville brewery by several years, I believe).

I think there is some detail about this project in both Broward's "The Architecture of Henry John Klutho" and Shawn Bean's "The First Hollywood."

[Jaxson]

It is true that Walt Disney talked to business leaders in St. Louis, but they balked at Disney's insistence that a theme park be free of alcoholic beverages.

[Wacca Pilatka]

A couple thoughts/responses:

2. Highlight the present and future, NOT MORE HISTORY.

Much of Jacksonville's history is disaster, corruption, botched efforts, failure, etc. Forget it! Move on! Start something fresh. How many tourists really care about the history of buildings of a downtown that no one goes to? Maybe a few enthusiasts, but not the masses.

Nothing wrong with highlighting the present and future, but I (as an outsider) consider Jacksonville's historical merits highly underrated and think too many Jacksonville residents have too low of an opinion of it...there are stories to tell here of the colonization of the United States, the Civil War, a resplendently triumphant emergence from a catastrophic fire, major contributors to the Harlem Renaissance, unique musical contributions in multiple genres (including being the near-exclusive birthplace of the Southern Rock sub-genre)...Harriet Beecher Stowe, Madeline L'Engle, and Zora Neale Hurston's literary accomplishments...one of the most unusually run plantations in the antebellum South, and the remarkable legacy of Anna Jai Kingsley.  And let's not forget the remaining examples of an architectural style found virtually nowhere else in the region.  

How many cities have birthed distinct musical and architectural styles, played an important role in the development of the film industry, and seen European powers battle for control of its territory?  There may be many regrettable elements in Jacksonville's history, but there is MUCH to be proud of and this city's self-flagellation needs to stop.