Hello Everyone--This is my first post on Metro Jacksonville. I have been logging in to this site for quite a while now and I am finally going to get involved. It is exciting ro see that there are so many like minded people in Jax that want to see this city live up to its tremendous potential. After watching the Jags game last night I think the first and easiest way to improve our downtown would be to improve the lighting. You couldnt even see the BoFa tower. Also there is no consistency with some of the buildings and the nighttime lighting. The JEA tower and the Federal Courthouse dont even light up sometimes. Anyway, enuogh rambling, I look forward to discussing many future topics.
Atleast they turned the MODIS sign back on this week. Riverplace Tower has sometimes been lit from dusk to dawn, but mostly shuts off at midnight. They need to hurry and repair BOA Tower's lighting on top, it looks so lonely.
GatorShane glad you are getting in the action we need more people like you and most of the metrojax community that care about our city. Some of these issues were mention in the Jags vs Steelers thread about BOA lights,which have been off for a very long time now. I taped the game just to see the city scences and they were nice. BOA was very dark and many other buildings can do much better. One thing that stands out always in Jax at night is the bridges. The shot looking over from BC/BS to downtown were beautiful. Our bridges really enhance the beauty of the city at night. Hopefully one day we will no longer need to have this type of conversation. :)
Quote from: Keith-N-Jax on October 06, 2008, 08:36:23 PM
GatorShane glad you are getting in the action we need more people like you and most of the metrojax community that care about our city. Some of these issues were mention in the Jags vs Steelers thread about BOA lights,which have been off for a very long time now. I taped the game just to see the city scences and they were nice. BOA was very dark and many other buildings can do much better. One thing that stands out always in Jax at night is the bridges. The shot looking over from BC/BS to downtown were beautiful. Our bridges really enhance the beauty of the city at night. Hopefully one day we will no longer need to have this type of conversation. :)
I admit that downtown was a lot darker with the top of the BOA tower and the Modis Tower's concrete edges not lighting up recently. Something must be going on around here! Downtown is not the same without bright lights not just on the streets but on the skyscrapers too. Let's turn that around soon! 8)
Could the building owners be trying to save on their electric bills? It's a shame when such concerns have such visible effects. C'mon building owners, save money somewhere else, light up the night!
gatorshane, i did once speak with the head of maintenace at the BofA tower and he told me that they were trying to figure out what to do with the lights on top of the tower. He even told me they were considering adding LED lights. I agree with you though, sometimes our Downtown looks so dark with so many of the buildings lights off. I dont undertand this. You go to other cities and their major buildings are very visible at night. I used to live in Atlanta and the BofA tower there you couldn't miss at night.
Quote from: fsujax on October 10, 2008, 08:35:21 AM
gatorshane, i did once speak with the head of maintenace at the BofA tower and he told me that they were trying to figure out what to do with the lights on top of the tower. He even told me they were considering adding LED lights. I agree with you though, sometimes our Downtown looks so dark with so many of the buildings lights off. I dont undertand this. You go to other cities and their major buildings are very visible at night. I used to live in Atlanta and the BofA tower there you couldn't miss at night.
LED lights? :o Hey! Bring it!! :D
The LED lights are still pretty expensive but the only use 1/25 wattage of regular lights. I recently bought one for my porch light from Wal Mart.
Thanks for the fedback everyone. Glad to know that I am not the only one to notice the missing lights at night.
In St. Louis for a Convention this week and the downtown streets where people walk from place to place are seriously bright at night.
When we promoted the idea of Lighting Laura Street, our main goal was to...improve lighting. I believe properly lighting our streets at night is more important than planting new trees and installing brick pavers.
One of the most successful things the City of Detroit did was upgrade lighting throughout their downtown right before the Super Bowl came a few years ago. These areas are now seeing the type of redevelopment we hope would visit our streets. Here is an image of a well lit street in Detroit right around Super Bowl time.
(http://www.metrojacksonville.com/images/rust_belt/detroit/Woodward-night.jpg)
Quote from: thelakelander on October 14, 2008, 07:55:17 AM
When we promoted the idea of Lighting Laura Street, our main goal was to...improve lighting. I believe properly lighting our streets at night is more important than planting new trees and installing brick pavers.
Yeah, but...what about pedestrian traffic. If I would choose between lighting up Laura Street and improving the landscapes, I choose both :D. MetroJacksonville's idea is good. But let's not sell the city leaders short. Their idea also call for my pedestian traffic with wider sidewalks which they will put stuff like kiosks, venders, benches, new trees, etc. Hopefully, they will put better lighting on Laura Street in the process too (and perhaps they may install a huge video jumbotron like NYC do on Times Square :D). 8)
Proper lighting encourages pedestrian traffic because people begin feel safe in those areas. While nice, when you're working with limited funds, spending money for wider sidewalks, pavers, etc. may not be necessary. That's why its always important to focus on getting the basics right first and worrying about the bells & whistles later. If you can create spots where people feel safe, they'll visit those areas regardless of sidewalk color and width. Btw, enhancing lighting is apart of the city's plans for Laura Street.
(http://www.metrojacksonville.com/photos/thumbs/lrg-4526-p1090733.JPG)
(http://www.metrojacksonville.com/photos/thumbs/lrg-4532-p1090924.JPG)
(http://www.metrojacksonville.com/photos/thumbs/lrg-4681-p1070997.JPG)
Where were those pictures taken, Lake?
San Juan, Puerto Rico and Fort Lauderdale.
Um, why hasn't MODIS changed to it's teal lighting scheme for Jaguars football season?
Was wondering the same thing,especially during the steeler game would have been nice. :o
I think all downtown towers should do that during major games. Riverplace, CSX, MODIS, and BoA should all do it. The MODIS Tower should be like our BoA of Miami building, change colors with themes and such for the day. I'd honestly love to see Riverplace Tower pink this month, and orange on Halloween.
The color scheme for Miami's BOA is pretty impressive.
(http://www.miamist.com/attachments/miami_jr/8406Miami.jpg)
(http://img126.exs.cx/img126/4886/f004h1tv.jpg)
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1359/1024394454_415a3b3921.jpg?v=0)
(http://www.jbsmiamivice.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/boa.jpg)
NICE ;D One of my favorites in Miami,,too bad we dont have that kinda spirit.
It's all about the owner probably. After Eola Capital of Orlando bought the Modis Tower, the great lighting seemed to stop. Same thing with the BOA Building. They got a new owner and they no longer even light the top at all at night.
Quote from: Keith-N-Jax on October 23, 2008, 10:23:08 PM
NICE ;D One of my favorites in Miami,,too bad we dont have that kinda spirit.
I'll be the judge of that! I think we forgot the times when the Riverplace Tower had shown red lights on one side and green lights on the other over the Christmas holiday. I guarantee you they'll do it again this year. ;) 8) Just watch and see!
That would be nice, but we need Modis to go back to teal. We do have a Thursday night game vs the Colts in the futuer and I like the teal better. I wonder if we can contact the new owner. I have never seen Riverplace with those lights, but I am out of town alot so that's probably why. Anyone have pics of Riverplace during the Holiday season? :)
I just e-mailed someone with Eola Capital asking abou the Modis lights....lets see if I get a response. I have seen the Riverplace Tower lit up green and red before during Christmas.
Some good news....I e-mailed Eola about the lights on the Modis Building. Below is the response.
"Thank you for your email. I forwarded this to our property manager, who replied and said that they will be looking at purchasing more teal light film to cover the lights (creates the appearance of the teal light). If you don’t see the teal lights during home game weeks in the next couple of weeks feel free to follow back up with me."
Michael
Michael K. Loftin
Senior Leasing Associate
EOLA CAPITAL
1 Independent Drive, Suite 1850
Jacksonville, FL 32202
Direct: 904.665.1703
Fax: 904.358.5479
Web: www.eolacapital.com
Way to go, what a quick response. I wish the rest of downtown would get on board or should I say more of downtown.
Yeah, he seemed very accommodating. Almost too good to be true. Ask him if they'll also build a twin sky rise next to the Modis...
Did anyone notice that the Wells Fargo Building signage isn't lit tonight? The skyline looks awfully dark without it. Hopefully this is just a temporary issue, and not another BOA situation.
Quote from: I-10east on March 29, 2012, 12:46:57 AM
Did anyone notice that the Wells Fargo Building signage isn't lit tonight? The skyline looks awfully dark without it. Hopefully this is just a temporary issue, and not another BOA situation.
If it's just tonight I wouldn't worry about it.
The sign was lit at 6:15 this morning.
^^^Thanks for the update.