Urban Parks: Boone Park
(http://www.metrojacksonville.com/photos/thumbs/lrg-6203-p1140505.JPG)
Avondale's 28 acre Boone Park may be one of Jacksonville's most overlooked public spaces.
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/879
A beautiful park, has gotten into much better shape in the past 10 years.
Agreed. It's more like a small urban forest than a typical suburban park. I play tennis at the club. Great facility and cheap - just 2.50 for 1.5 hr slot.
Quote from: civil42806 on August 20, 2008, 08:24:19 AM
A beautiful park, has gotten into much better shape in the past 10 years.
Well, the city may keep the grass moved on a regular basis, but personally I will always be bitter over the (somewhat sinister) removal of the old playground. I always felt a strong connection to the original playground (photos anyone?) which just vanished and was eventually replaced with a simple, joyless, prefab, nightmare. While the former playground had two slides, seesaws, swings, and the central post of a long lost merry-go-round, it was most notable for it's numerous, colorfully painted, concrete animals. For anyone who didn't have the experience of tying to climb the tall giraffe, hopping over the frog trio, or reading a book while lounging on the back on the crescent shaped dolphin, you have my sympathy. For all the anonymous designer's old fashioned obligation toward education (each animal was embossed with it's letter: Z for zebra, etc) the playground, perhaps as a result of the natural passage of time, also possessed an enigmatic quality (Does anyone have an explanation for the concrete "swiss cheese" sculpture? I don't. But it sure was fun to climb.
The old playground had integrity, was contemporary with its surroundings (the neighborhood: 1920's-40's bungalows) and was far more genuine than historic marker signage and faux-vintage lighting. Was lead paint buried deep underneath 50-60 years (and layers) of paint? Yes. Another community community with the same level of affluence and ingenuity as is present here, would have found a way to preserve the old "play-sculptures" without bringing in the midnight wrecking crew.
The current playground serves only to mock what a proper playground should look like, as well as remind anyone with any degree of institutional memory that Jacksonville, too frequently chooses to define itself though waste and mediocrity.
My guess would be a liability issue, which makes sense afetrall.
I agree kirkerer. They did something similar to the playground at my elementary school. The old structure was really tall with slides and ramps and poles and rooms to hide out in. The new structure is prefab. I can see the reasoning, but wooden play structures are superior in my opinion. For a good one, go by Deerwood. They have the best wooden play structure I have ever seen. It was one of my favorite places as a child.
Quote from: reednavy on August 20, 2008, 11:59:05 AM
My guess would be a liability issue, which makes sense afetrall.
Liability is window-dressing. It's a cop-out, nothing more.
In the mid 1990's a piece of the copper cornice of that slender klutho building on laura st, blew off in heavy winds. The building had long been abandoned by it's owner ( at that point, Bank of America) and in a larger sense, by the city, for tolerating the neglect. After the metal ornament had fallen, the Bank, erected a scaffold, removed (and presumably disposed of) the entire cornice and jack hammered off the pair of (unique to that building) decorative, Praire-style concrete capitals. Today, a view of the roof from a taller neighboring structure will reveal what remains of klutho's design, dumped on the roof. The capitals had nothing to do with the copper cornice falling off, but the bank was worried about........liability.
This city needs less lawyers and more human beings.
I love this park. It is so well placed being close to Avondale. The neighborhood is great too.
Quote from: GatorDone on August 20, 2008, 10:23:41 PM
While this is one of my families more favorite parks. As far as Jax goes, this is one of the nicer parks, yet could still use more attention.
As for liability as a cop out ... attend law school, work for or as a personal injury attorney, or hold an executive level position in a company and you will find out how much of a cop out it is. It is not a cop out and it is not the average attorneys’ faults, it is the select few attorneys who seem to always find the clients who are the "victims" in everything they do in life. Spending a few thousand dollars on updated play ground equipment not only lowers maintenance costs but it is also a fraction of what a nuisance lawsuit will cost to go away.
Thanks for your two cents, big guy. Your advise for me is to attend law school, or work as an execitive to better understand the peculiar forces that needlessly plunder MY town? Now let me reframe my previous statement. Keep up with me now. I don't want "junior" to nibble on some lead paint and get cancer. The point is not cancer, and the point is not liability. The point IS don't throw out the baby with the bath water.
You. Yes, you. You own a Rolles Royce. Ok. Some guy (probably went to law school and/or was an executive), decides that at some point in the future, your Rolles, could become a problem for someone. So acting in the public good, he takes your Rolles, and (instead of repairing it) leaves you a nice Ford. Ford works. You should be happy with Ford. But your not. BECAUSE YOU HAD A ROLLES ROYCE.
But don't take my work for it GatorDone. Ask any of your neighbors who've been around here longer than you. My gut says they'll preach the same message.
I was a mere little Charlie then, but I seem to remember that those concrete animals were an issue in a mayoral campaign - Tanzler? Don't remember why - perhaps the way they were purchased? As I said, I was a wee Charlie and was wondering why people were talking bad about those cool animals.
Wow GatorDone. So let me get this straight. Your against: playgrounds, liberals, community college, AND historic buildings? You forgot to shit on apple pie and The 3 stooges. Once tropical storm Fay blows town, you should seriously reevaluate whether or not stopping by Jax was a good decision for you and your family. The news is not all bad, consider this, with the nations housing sector in price free-fall, seems to me you've got lots of affordable relocation options to choose from. Even now, I bet that there's a gated community somewhere in America with a bunch of stiffs, just like you, wishing and praying, you'd move into the neighborhood.
Work with me here. Try and stay focused on the present. The issue is: Boone park's old playground was sweet. It was needlessly demolished by thin skinned soulless lawyers and/or bureaucrats who use liability as a cover. Furthermore, it could easily be construed that anyone who isn't moved by the Klutho example in the previous post, must not have a soul. It's not rocket science dude. It's always the little things that over time dilute the quality from a community. And it's outlooks like yours that makes sure things continue on, in the wrong direction.
Oh and yes, just to recap, liability, in the two instances outlined in my previous posts is a cop out. Read them again if you still don't understand.You bring no authority to this discussion and your arguments are poorly reasoned. Better luck next time.
God bless you.
Quote from: kirkerer on August 21, 2008, 12:30:49 AM
Quote from: GatorDone on August 20, 2008, 10:23:41 PM
While this is one of my families more favorite parks. As far as Jax goes, this is one of the nicer parks, yet could still use more attention.
As for liability as a cop out ... attend law school, work for or as a personal injury attorney, or hold an executive level position in a company and you will find out how much of a cop out it is. It is not a cop out and it is not the average attorneys’ faults, it is the select few attorneys who seem to always find the clients who are the "victims" in everything they do in life. Spending a few thousand dollars on updated play ground equipment not only lowers maintenance costs but it is also a fraction of what a nuisance lawsuit will cost to go away.
Thanks for your two cents, big guy. Your advise for me is to attend law school, or work as an execitive to better understand the peculiar forces that needlessly plunder MY town? Now let me reframe my previous statement. Keep up with me now. I don't want "junior" to nibble on some lead paint and get cancer. The point is not cancer, and the point is not liability. The point IS don't throw out the baby with the bath water.
You. Yes, you. You own a Rolles Royce. Ok. Some guy (probably went to law school and/or was an executive), decides that at some point in the future, your Rolles, could become a problem for someone. So acting in the public good, he takes your Rolles, and (instead of repairing it) leaves you a nice Ford. Ford works. You should be happy with Ford. But your not. BECAUSE YOU HAD A ROLLES ROYCE.
But don't take my work for it GatorDone. Ask any of your neighbors who've been around here longer than you. My gut says they'll preach the same message.
I am for preservation probably a lot more than the average guy and especially in this neighborhood. But, dont you think you are being a tad bit too sensitive about this subject? The reality is there were more considerations than preserving childhood memories and cost and liability mitigation undoubtedly played a key role in the removal of the old equipment. I agree though that the City should have made their intentions known to allow people like kirkerer to raise money and properly remove the lead contaminants from the site.
Quote from: GatorDone on August 21, 2008, 01:09:49 PM
I am not saying we should raze every old building but you have to be smart in your approach to economic development which is exactly why Jacksonville is one of the shit holes of Florida.
Having extensively traveled around the state, I can categorically state that this is totally untrue. Jacksonville is actually one of the nicest places in the state. Of course, it all depends on where you live too no matter what city you reside in.
QuoteWhile I may be newer to Jacksonville than you does not mean I do not care about the city I live in so don't let your inbreed ego get to you because the long termers are the ones who let this city go to shit and are to blame for it.
I am a 3rd generation native and the city has not gone to feces. It has been continuously improving for my entire lifetime. What exactly do you expect? And, if you dont like the locals, perhaps you should leave. BTW, everyone should watch their language.
QuoteNext time you want to respond to a reply to your posts I suggest you address the issue stated in the response rather than riddling your comments with unintelligent insults that do not address the reply to begin with â€" otherwise you just proved yourself to be another jackass liberal with no analytical ability.
I am a conservative Republican too and you are sort of giving us a bad name here. While kirkerer's approach could have been better and less reliant on class warfare, the original point was that we should strive to preserve our history and historic built environment wherever possible. I agree with this and this is not just something that is a goal in Jacksonville. This is a nationwide and international trend. It can also be done in a way which is consistent with economic growth. I suggest you check out this site for more information on preservation efforts elsewhere: http://www.preservationnation.org/
Quote from: RiversideGator on August 21, 2008, 10:59:31 PM
I am for preservation probably a lot more than the average guy and especially in this neighborhood. But, dont you think you are being a tad bit too sensitive about this subject? The reality is there were more considerations than preserving childhood memories and cost and liability mitigation undoubtedly played a key role in the removal of the old equipment. I agree though that the City should have made their intentions known to allow people like kirkerer to raise money and properly remove the lead contaminants from the site.
Nicely put. Also i'd just like to conclude with, that I think it's neither naive nor sentimental, to desire this community to be more than just mediocre. That's the only reason I commented on the article in the first place.
Agreed. We can make Jacksonville better and preserve our history IMO. :)
I agree with those who dislike the remake of the playground. My son spent many hours during his growing up years playing on those little concrete animals and each time I pass by there, I think how goofy the place looks now. [/color]:(
First things first, my initial response was to comment that liability is a cop out. My job revolves almost 100% around limiting the liability of my employer and it is not because I work for an immoral company but rather because much of our society is looking to attack every opportunity to supplement their income. So when the city decides to replace old play ground equipment with new, there may be a valid reason for it. Boone Park is my children’s favorite park and not so long ago a rocking horse (or something like that) broke off its rusty spring. The city left a sharp point atop of that spring unattended for several months before finally removing it all together. If a little child running on the play ground tripped and fell on that spring, he would have been seriously wounded or maybe even killed. This is not a cop out and I bet some of Jax finest law firms would have loved for that exact scenario to happen. As I stated before, I do not know anything about the building that you discussed and mourning that building today solves nothing. In no way do I believe that Jax should tear down every old structure. Instead, Jax needs to plan revitalization projects in some of these neighborhoods so we have our history. However, it seems that Jax has done everything it can to hinder development or demolish buildings so we have the greatest concentration of weed infested parking lots in the state.
Telling someone to be content with their ford is not the purpose of this site or an intelligent response. Being content with were we are is the same as moving backwards. All of us come here because we want a better Jax for ourselves and our children. Now I apologize for over reacting in my reply to the response. For the record, I am not an elitist, and I live in a neighborhood of homes in the $115k range in west Jax, and yes, there are many Fords in my neighborhood ... they generally are part of a 5 or 6 car parking lot in my neighbors front lawns in which if 2 of the cars work at the same time they are ecstatic. This mentality epitomizes what I see in the leadership of Jax, plan poorly and throw money at the same old problem.
Ironically, I believe we are fighting about the same thing and if we ever sat down together, we would probably like what the other had to say.
:) I like the park and play tennis there when I can.
I live in Baltimore (for now), but my Dad was from Jacksonville, and every summer while growing up during the 60's we'd spend a month there visiting family. I remember having family reunions in Boone Park. We'd have barbeques and fish fries, with dozens of aunts, uncles, and cousins getting together and having a ball. My 86 year old aunt still lives in Avondale, and I try to visit her when I can. I love this area, and I love the park.
Come on down.
I'm seriously thinking about it! I'm looking at Murray Hill - I don't think I can afford Avondale. I had been looking a little further south - Citrus County to be specific. I like the town of Inverness, and there are some real bargains in real estate in that area right now. But I have so many good memories of Jacksonville, and I love the old south feel to the area. And, I really am drawn to the old Florida bungalow style of the houses - you can't find great houses like this in south Florida; at least not in my price range.