Hey folks, seeking input for a potential article: what attractions would you like to see in Downtown Jax? It could be anything from what you'd like to see in parks to artworks to museums and amenities.
Don't know what exactly, but it has to be something to draw in people from all over the city, county, and area; maybe a good sized mall (larger than the landing (several blocks) with a movie theater, restaurants, but is has to be different than your average mall nowadays. Or take one street, or two or three, and make them THE entertainment district downtown with restaurants, fast food places, bars, sports bars, a night club or two (or 3, or 4, or 5, etc.), gaming centers, coffee houses, etc. I don't know (in my opinion LaVilla would be perfect for this as it was heavily laden with such (for blacks) back in the day; Jax seems to be just so distressed, with her head down, it appears the leaders just don't know how to plan, organize, control, promote, advertise, etc., to get such things off and running, and then keep the momentum going. I hope something spurs very soon.
The main businesses that survived until Demo Lenny at the Landing were restaurants and bars. So those need to be close to the river. Further back, residential. On the water you need something other than the water taxi. Boat, jet ski and kayak rentals. Guided boat tours. Get people on the water.
Pick a city at random and peruse their vistor's bureau web site. 90% of their cultural attractions could be "anytown usa". The difference between us and them is that they actually do it.
I just got back from vacation in NYC (no, this isn't a comparison) and what did I want to do while there?
Nothing in particular, I just wandered around lower Manhattan for a day. Took everyone to Coney Island Thursday. Went to a Yankees game on Sunday and spent Monday just wandering around Governors Island. The rest of the trip was spend in the NJ country and rafting in PA.
So what attractions do I want? None. I just want more options - more places to eat, more places to wander, more places to sit back and watch other people doing shit.
I have season tix for our family at: Jags, Theater, MOSH, Zoo. I go to a few shows a year at Daily's and I go to a few at the FL Theater. I'll hit 6-10 Jumbo Shrimp & Sharks games a season. But what I never do is just go to wander around. There's really not much there that I haven't seen.
The main attraction that DT Jax needs is perception. No one's going there to do anything that they can't do elsewhere in town aside from special events, so the powers that be just need to make the perception of going downtown en vogue again.
N-RN W , you are missing one of the few world class organizations in Jacksonville, The Jacksonville Symphony.
I guarantee it's a lot less expensive than watching our mediocre football team, and we offer something for every member of the family. Tickets start at $19 in the upper balcony, which is a great place to listen from. Come on down to Jacoby Symphony Hall, you will be proud of YOUR orchestra.
www.jaxsymphony.org
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on August 12, 2019, 08:49:55 PM
So what attractions do I want? None. I just want more options - more places to eat, more places to wander, more places to sit back and watch other people doing shit.
^This. Clean up and invest in the destinations, parks and attractions already present and attempt to fill in the gaps with local businesses, housing, services, etc. as much as possible.
Quote from: MusicMan on August 12, 2019, 09:06:46 PM
N-RN W , you are missing one of the few world class organizations in Jacksonville, The Jacksonville Symphony.
I guarantee it's a lot less expensive than watching our mediocre football team, and we offer something for every member of the family. Tickets start at $19 in the upper balcony, which is a great place to listen from. Come on down to Jacoby Symphony Hall, you will be proud of YOUR orchestra.
www.jaxsymphony.org
Thumbs Up
New downtown resident, here. Moving into our place in February and steadily getting around downtown. Several ideas mentioned get my "thumbs up," particularly getting folks on the water and affirming the appeal of the symphony, Florida Theatre and the Main Library. Two quite modest "quality of life" suggestions I would make: (1) careful grid of dedicated bike lanes and (2) commitment and resources to collect trash/litter and even clean the pedestrian walkways.
On a humorous note, has the gondola idea been scuttled? Just wondering...sure seemed like a stretch to me.
Quote from: MusicMan on August 12, 2019, 09:06:46 PM
N-RN W , you are missing one of the few world class organizations in Jacksonville, The Jacksonville Symphony.
I guarantee it's a lot less expensive than watching our mediocre football team, and we offer something for every member of the family. Tickets start at $19 in the upper balcony, which is a great place to listen from. Come on down to Jacoby Symphony Hall, you will be proud of YOUR orchestra.
www.jaxsymphony.org
Baby steps, MM... lol.
It's coming, but it took me 40 years to even make it to a broadway show - Le Mis last year.
Call me a dullard, but I'd be genuinely thrilled to just have a CVS/Walgreens, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and pizza restaurant without rats within a block of Laura Street.
Plus a well designed urban waterfront park with lots of amenities nearby.
At least twice I week, I get in my car, leave downtown, and drive to Memorial Park in Riverside to get the above experience.
Shouldn't have to be that way.
Someone already mentioned this on another thread, but with the landing demo pending (big lost opportunity for a food hall in the current structure, at least part of it) and a "park" replacing it, I would like to see something like the Water Works park on the Tampa riverwalk as a central attraction at the new park.
https://www.tampagov.net/parks-and-recreation/featured-parks/waterworks
A Fuddruckers.
https://www.engadget.com/2016/01/26/the-big-picture-singapore-supertrees/
Something like the artificial forest in Singapore would be really cool. If they're planning to tear down the Landing, a vertical garden with light effects and so on would be a cool replacement. Imagine that on a postcard.
In another thread you talked about Baltimore. We need an area like the inner harbor (ideally at laura street). We need an Aquarium a science center, move mosh in there, a festival marketplace (sh!t, we had one), many areas to just chill outside, lots and lots of restaurants and bars, some interesting retail, convenient nearby parking.
Then people will come from all around to spend the day, even if there aren't many residents in the immediate area. Then once that is established, the area around hogans creek and the jail could be revitalized like fells point (also in Baltimore) to be a residential based entertainment district. More bars and restaurants, but this time supported by mostly local residents supplemented with visitors.
Then we can have infill connecting the "inner harbor" with the hogans creek area and eventually the stadium district. People would come if its done right.
I'd like to echo some of the other sentiments. Easier bike/pedestrian access and just more stuff to do. As a St Nicholas resident, i spend most of my time in the square and Murray Hill lately. Unless I am specifically attending an event or satisfying a Volstead craving, I'm never in DT on the weekend.
I would love to want to come downtown, but there's not much to do. I like Bellweather, Spliffs, Dos Gatos, & Super Food, but they aren't connected enough to just go downtown and figure it out. Many Fridays my girlfriend and I start at Posting House, Grape & Grain, or Town Hall and then just see where we end up. You currently can't do that DT. The ideal situation would be ride bikes to the Atlantic blvd skyway station, take that to Hemming Park station, walk to the bar at the Snyder Memorial and then spend the evening enjoying the downtown atmosphere at a number of Laura Street bars, restaurants, and patios for a few hours.
"Baby steps, MM... lol.
It's coming, but it took me 40 years to even make it to a broadway show - Le Mis last year. "
I'll take it. This year the Broadway Series is AMAZING. I actually bought a 4 pack so my family can go to all the shows.
WICKED, HAMILTON, ANASTASIA, RENT............... There are more, but that line up will have the TU packed!
Jacksonville Symphony starts the Season off with Jacksonville native Marcus Roberts (Piano) and his trio doing Marcus own arrangement of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" for Piano Trio and Symphony Orchestra. It should be incredible.
One night ONLY September 28.
marcusroberts.com
jaxsymphony.org
Quote from: I-10east on August 13, 2019, 03:36:45 PM
Quote from: Adam White on August 13, 2019, 07:53:21 AM
A Fuddruckers.
I sense the sarcasm LOL
:D
On a serious note, I think just more of what we have now - restaurants, bars and cafes or whatever. Maybe some shopping. I remember what downtown was like when I moved to Jax in the late 70s. It was dying then, but there was still stuff going on. I think we can do it again - it really just takes some leadership and committment from our local government.
^^^It's very interesting that most people on the thread aren't calling for any grandiose mega entertainment complexes or anything like that, just simple things like some more restaurants, people doing things etc (like notably NRW said).
Quote from: I-10east on August 13, 2019, 03:52:23 PM
^^^It's very interesting that most people on the thread aren't calling for any grandiose mega entertainment complexes or anything like that, just simple things like some more restaurants, people doing things etc (like notably NRW said).
People doing things in a place with nothing to do is impossible.
A proper Children's Museum
IMAX
Downtown movie theater
Art Museums (Cummer is okay but I mean a real one)
Aquarium
Whitewater rafting facility
Observation tower
Iconic monument
Insectarium
Florida Sports Hall of Fame
Southern Rock Museum
Recreation of civil war forts that surrounded downtown
Florida Music Hall of Fame
Florida Walk of Fame
3D Projection on some building
Museum of Natural History
Duval/Jacksonville Historical Museum
Railroad Museum
Explorer Museum
Air and Space Museum
There are so many possibilities the ideas are endless. Where Jax fails is throwing money at 3rd parties thinking they are going to build the magic bullet projects when the City should just build these things directly and use corporate donations to close funding gaps.
The CSX Railroad Museum
Gate Museum of Natural History
Vystar Jacksonville Historical Museum
Fanatics Florida Sports Hall of Fame
Florida Blue Insectarium
More of everything, better landscaping, more places to live and shop, transit, more places to dine, cleaner parks, business growth, children's museum, etc. Most of all a city government with sound planning and direction to move Jax in a positive direction that allows all these things to take place naturally as the economy allows.
Does proven mass transit around downtown count?
Yep ^^^
An observation Tower, Mooneyhan Entertainment Complex, Macy's, an NBA team, a Starbucks and Fuddruckers. This would really change the game.
In seriousness, just more density. More people. More lame things to do within a half-mile radius. The need for another grocery store, this time with an urban footprint. Perhaps a scooter/bikeshare. And maybe also karaoke?
Quote from: Keith-N-Jax on August 13, 2019, 07:39:51 PM
Yep ^^^
In that case, I'd
happily take a fixed streetcar line running from the sports complex all the way down Bay Street, past Laura Street and the Landing, through Brooklyn with all the new development there, and into the Memorial Park/Five Points area. Maybe connecting to the JTRC along the way.
Feels like it would bring the corridor together and spur development 100 times more than a parade of clown cars in mixed traffic.
The no-frills Skyway station in Brooklyn that the site pushed for years ago remains one of the biggest missed opportunities out there.
Ah, the clown cars! We really do have a way of killing easy wins when they come our way. LaVilla finally starts getting housing units within walking distance of two skyway stations and......bam, that section of the line gets closed completely for JRTC construction and experimentation with what ride share companies are already doing. 10 years of knowing that development in Brooklyn was coming and knowing that a no-frills solution to tie skyway access into it was available......nothing but crickets regarding short term enhancement and more talks about plans for something where basic transit questions can't be answered because what's proposed doesn't really exist. Hotel boom, more residential going up within skyway station 1,4 mile walksheds in LaVilla, Brooklyn and the Southbank....but no weekend service.
This morning on Melissa Ross, a term that was repeated time and time again regarding downtown was being a "C" student. Promises of innovation and one trick pony proposals may be exciting but what Jax could really benefit is from doing the basic things that any average big city would do. These quotes say it all.
Quote from: ProjectMaximus on August 13, 2019, 09:18:42 PM
In seriousness, just more density. More people. More lame things to do within a half-mile radius. The need for another grocery store, this time with an urban footprint. Perhaps a scooter/bikeshare. And maybe also karaoke?
Quote from: Keith-N-Jax on August 13, 2019, 05:31:16 PM
More of everything, better landscaping, more places to live and shop, transit, more places to dine, cleaner parks, business growth, children's museum, etc. Most of all a city government with sound planning and direction to move Jax in a positive direction that allows all these things to take place naturally as the economy allows.
Quote from: I-10east on August 13, 2019, 03:52:23 PM
^^^It's very interesting that most people on the thread aren't calling for any grandiose mega entertainment complexes or anything like that, just simple things like some more restaurants, people doing things etc (like notably NRW said).
Quote from: Captain Zissou on August 13, 2019, 09:31:40 AM
I'd like to echo some of the other sentiments. Easier bike/pedestrian access and just more stuff to do. As a St Nicholas resident, i spend most of my time in the square and Murray Hill lately. Unless I am specifically attending an event or satisfying a Volstead craving, I'm never in DT on the weekend.
I would love to want to come downtown, but there's not much to do. I like Bellweather, Spliffs, Dos Gatos, & Super Food, but they aren't connected enough to just go downtown and figure it out. Many Fridays my girlfriend and I start at Posting House, Grape & Grain, or Town Hall and then just see where we end up. You currently can't do that DT. The ideal situation would be ride bikes to the Atlantic blvd skyway station, take that to Hemming Park station, walk to the bar at the Snyder Memorial and then spend the evening enjoying the downtown atmosphere at a number of Laura Street bars, restaurants, and patios for a few hours.
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on August 12, 2019, 08:49:55 PM
I just got back from vacation in NYC (no, this isn't a comparison) and what did I want to do while there?
Nothing in particular, I just wandered around lower Manhattan for a day. Took everyone to Coney Island Thursday. Went to a Yankees game on Sunday and spent Monday just wandering around Governors Island. The rest of the trip was spend in the NJ country and rafting in PA.
So what attractions do I want? None. I just want more options - more places to eat, more places to wander, more places to sit back and watch other people doing shit.
I have season tix for our family at: Jags, Theater, MOSH, Zoo. I go to a few shows a year at Daily's and I go to a few at the FL Theater. I'll hit 6-10 Jumbo Shrimp & Sharks games a season. But what I never do is just go to wander around. There's really not much there that I haven't seen.
The main attraction that DT Jax needs is perception. No one's going there to do anything that they can't do elsewhere in town aside from special events, so the powers that be just need to make the perception of going downtown en vogue again.
Quote from: Ken_FSU on August 13, 2019, 12:49:16 AM
Call me a dullard, but I'd be genuinely thrilled to just have a CVS/Walgreens, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and pizza restaurant without rats within a block of Laura Street.
Plus a well designed urban waterfront park with lots of amenities nearby.
At least twice I week, I get in my car, leave downtown, and drive to Memorial Park in Riverside to get the above experience.
Shouldn't have to be that way.
I always thought a well-done museum dedicated to "southern rock" could be a draw for Jacksonville. The city actually has quite a few ties to the beginnings of the genre so its placement here would seem genuine. Plus, it would be something unique as opposed to the usual aquarium/ferris wheel.
Perhaps something similar to the National Blues Museum in St. Louis:
https://www.nationalbluesmuseum.org/visitor-info/ (https://www.nationalbluesmuseum.org/visitor-info/)
Quote from: Todd_Parker on August 14, 2019, 10:02:48 AM
I always thought a well-done museum dedicated to "southern rock" could be a draw for Jacksonville. The city actually has quite a few ties to the beginnings of the genre so its placement here would seem genuine. Plus, it would be something unique as opposed to the usual aquarium/ferris wheel.
Perhaps something similar to the National Blues Museum in St. Louis:
https://www.nationalbluesmuseum.org/visitor-info/ (https://www.nationalbluesmuseum.org/visitor-info/)
This would be cool to put either on the north bank or over on the RCBC property to create a culture/museum hub between this, the expanded MOSH, and friendship fountain. I'd like to see a Jazz museum too. These could be in the same complex with a shared music venue and dining on the water. If there was an open courtyard you could add a second stage for festivals.... Oh and if there was a nearby street that dead ends into the river and has surrounding green space... that would be perfect for a third stage! Gee... If only we had a vacant existing building that fit these criteria
Quote from: Todd_Parker on August 14, 2019, 10:02:48 AM
I always thought a well-done museum dedicated to "southern rock" could be a draw for Jacksonville. The city actually has quite a few ties to the beginnings of the genre so its placement here would seem genuine. Plus, it would be something unique as opposed to the usual aquarium/ferris wheel.
Perhaps something similar to the National Blues Museum in St. Louis:
https://www.nationalbluesmuseum.org/visitor-info/ (https://www.nationalbluesmuseum.org/visitor-info/)
I would like to echo this sentiment. It blows my mind that we as a city don't take any pride in essentially being the birthplace of southern rock. Yeah, they put up a sign outside the Van Zant house but c'mon. We should be screaming through the rooftop that we have such a rich music history in our own backyard. I would love to see some sort of a mix of a museum/brewery that is all things southern rock. Think intuition mixed with a museum. Hell, you could activate an entire music district. Something, ANYTHING.
Quote from: heights unknown on August 12, 2019, 05:34:04 PM
A night club or two (or 3, or 4, or 5, etc.).
Honest, old man (in his 30s) question:
Do people still go to nightclubs?
Bars and breweries seem to be thriving, but you don't see a lot of new nightclubs.
The Miamis and New Yorks and LAs are always going to have big club scenes, but do you see a lot of clubs springing up in our sister cities?
Quote from: Ken_FSU on August 14, 2019, 11:56:26 AM
Quote from: heights unknown on August 12, 2019, 05:34:04 PM
A night club or two (or 3, or 4, or 5, etc.).
Honest, old man (in his 30s) question:
Do people still go to nightclubs?
Bars and breweries seem to be thriving, but you don't see a lot of new nightclubs.
The Miamis and New Yorks and LAs are always going to have big club scenes, but do you see a lot of clubs springing up in our sister cities?
I think Orlando has a handful of them. More so on the EDM type of vibe (which I guess is what Myth is?) Would probably work well in a downtown environment.
Quote from: Downtown Osprey on August 14, 2019, 12:06:42 PM
More so on the EDM type of vibe (which I guess is what Myth is?) Would probably work well in a downtown environment.
LOL... that scene was thriving here and could have competed with any other city from about '95-'01. Gainesville as well.
When DARE started raiding clubs every weekend, the party was over and it's never come back.
Quote from: Ken_FSU on August 14, 2019, 11:56:26 AM
Quote from: heights unknown on August 12, 2019, 05:34:04 PM
A night club or two (or 3, or 4, or 5, etc.).
Honest, old man (in his 30s) question:
Do people still go to nightclubs?
Bars and breweries seem to be thriving, but you don't see a lot of new nightclubs.
The Miamis and New Yorks and LAs are always going to have big club scenes, but do you see a lot of clubs springing up in our sister cities?
I think a lot of it depends on your interests and background. In general, I've read that nightclubs are declining across North America (bars are also starting to decline, but not at nearly the same pace). But for some groups, they're as strong as ever.
Fun fact: James Weldon Johnson's novel The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man from 1911 has a scene featuring going to "the club".
Quote from: Ken_FSU on August 14, 2019, 11:56:26 AM
Quote from: heights unknown on August 12, 2019, 05:34:04 PM
A night club or two (or 3, or 4, or 5, etc.).
Honest, old man (in his 30s) question:
Do people still go to nightclubs?
Bars and breweries seem to be thriving, but you don't see a lot of new nightclubs.
The Miamis and New Yorks and LAs are always going to have big club scenes, but do you see a lot of clubs springing up in our sister cities?
Club scene is definitely out there especially in college areas. I think the mood nowadays though is a bar that is set up for dancing and mixes the two. Downtown Orlando has a bunch of them as does Ybor City.
Quote from: Tacachale on August 14, 2019, 01:13:20 PMI think a lot of it depends on your interests and background.
Whatever the opposite of fast-dancing and noise is ;D