I was searching through the forum and online but I can't seem to find much information or pictures on the neighborhood that is now Everbank Field and the approaches to the Matthews and Hart Bridges. Google maps calls it "Midtown" and wikipedia says Everbank Field is in the Eastside neighborhood (though the metrojax article on the Eastside doesn't mention it). Anyone know more or able to point me in the right direction? Just curious what might have been there before.
What your looking for WAS called 'Fairfield'. It had the largest collection of large homes to survive the great fire (thanks to Hogan's Creek) some dating to just after the War Of Yankee Aggression. Congressman Charles Bennett spent a fortune on Fairfield and Fort Caroline, in fact that is where his congressional salary went... apparently he didn't need the money. He was fighting to save Fairfield right up until his death. When he was gone the city bulldozers and dynamite crews came in and made certain that nothing worth looking at would survive.
There was once a large park with a circular 'lake' surrounded by sidewalks and shrubs, it sat about where the Suns right field is today. Enjoy.
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-mar-urban-neighborhoods-fairfield
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2007-jan-fairfield-east-jacksonville-photo-tour
The area known as the Eastside today was originally known as Oakland. Where the stadium is was originally near the border of City of Fairfield and East Jacksonville during the late 19th Century. Here is an article from 2007 we ran on it:
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2007-jan-fairfield-east-jacksonville-photo-tour
There are some historic aerials in the link below:
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-mar-urban-neighborhoods-fairfield
The stadium has been there since the 1920s. It was originally a lot smaller and was called Fairfield Stadium. It was consistently enlarged and was renamed the Gator Bowl in 1948 and continued to be expanded periodically due to the increasing popularity of the Gator Bowl and Florida-Georgia games.
The Fairgrounds eventually moved to this area, and in the 1950s mayor Haydon Burns acquired land for a baseball park and Coliseum. These were eventually replaced by the current Baseball Grounds and Arena. Everbank Field replaced most of the old Gator Bowl in 1995.
I have no idea why Google calls this area "Midtown"; I've literally never heard anyone call it that. Over time people began calling the whole area east of Downtown and Springfield "East Jacksonville" or "Eastside", but today most people consider the area where the stadium is something different. Most just call the sports facilities the sports complex or something similar.
'Midtown' came from either an ordinance or a resolution of city council. That was passed in the late '90's I believe.
^Interesting, I was wondering where that came from since I've literally never heard anyone call it that. The toponymy in the area is certainly interesting. "East Jacksonville" originally applied specifically to the unincorporated community across Hogans Creek from Downtown. After it was annexed by Jacksonville, "East Jacksonville" or "Eastside" came to apply to a much larger area through the 20th century, but today, the original site of East Jacksonville is rarely called that. The exact same thing happened with South Jacksonville.
Very cool. Thanks everyone. Always fun, though futile, to wonder what might have been. The Ford plant still looks like it could be a stunning space.
I think putting a stadium for a professional football team there is a nice use.
Ford Plant re-use would/will be amazing
Quote from: downtownjag on September 25, 2012, 08:11:01 PM
I think putting a stadium for a professional football team there is a nice use.
Ford Plant re-use would/will be amazing
I don't mind the stadium or the arena so much as the amount of land devoted to parking.