Peyton's Struggles: Friendship Fountain
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/453396883_ygEiG-M.jpg)
If the city follows through with its current plans, Friendship Fountain, one of Jacksonville's most recognizable landmarks, could soon meet its demise.
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http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/995
Just To let you know.....The Jaxhistory link is DEAD!
This works... for now.
http://www.jaxhistory.com/
try this one: http://www.jaxhistory.com/Endangered-Buildings.html
Okay, I Have a question. Maybe someone can answer this?
Is there any way for us as the public and taxpayers to just start some kind of fund on our own and start collecting money to just fix the fountain. I'm sure if you asked most any one in town that visits or has visited the fountain at any time in there life. I remember going there as a child (I'm 43 now), we all have a memories that happen around this fountain. So, to get back to what I was saying. I truly believe, most of us would be willing to kick $5-10 bucks towards Saving this truly special fountain. The city says: ( The Peyton administration balked at the $856,000 estimate they received to restore Friendship Fountain to its former glory. )
Well, If it is truly only going to cost about 1 million dollars to bring this fountain back to it's "GLORY"... What are we waiting for? Let's start collecting money, and get it done!
If we leave this up to the Goverment, THEY WILL DESTROY THE FOUNTAIN! We owe it to this great landmark, to do what ever we can to say it!
So, once again, How many people here would be willing to give a few bucks to Save this fountain? Anyone agree?
Excellant! Thanks For the link Lakelander!
As much as I respect Mayor Peyton, his plan will never work. I always loved the friendship fountain. And I would rather see him restore the fountain than to replace it with a playground. Why won't we instead restore that fountain and put a observation deck/revolving restaurant, an aquarium and a small amplitheater around it! :D Keep the faith and LONG LIVE FRIENDSHIP FOUNTAIN!!! :D
There are some great pictures of the fountain and it's design on Taylor Hardwick's website. www.taylorhardwick.com. It is truly astonishing what this city has done to one of Florida's most respected architects work.
I don't agree with Peyton on much............but this I do.
Creating a great kids space with an interactive fountain, next to the river, next to MOSH, would make the area a huge draw for families. This is assuming they do the job well, of course.
It would create an area of congragation where there is none now and present an opprotunity for business (ice cream/hot dog vendors, etc). 7 acres for the Kidz Kampus is plenty, hell half that would be plenty if the job is done right.
While keeping ther fountain with repairs and minor renovations to the area would be sentimental, it doesn't speak to the future.
Why can't you have both? A great family friendly space with both an interactive fountain and a restored local landmark would be better all around.
i proposed to my wife in front of that fountain.
i love this city.
I wonder if the cost of the fountain replacements is similar to the costs for the courthouse; maybe could be done less expensively with fewer frills. Also wonder about the cost of landscaping and maintaining landscaping versus keeping things pretty much as is.
They could put pond pumps in the center of it & it would be an improvement at least in the interim.........
Ok
Here is my 2 cents
fsu813-I have to vehemently DISAGREE with you. YOU DON'T destroy the few icons left in a city.
It seems Jacksonville leaders have had your thinking for decades. And what are we left with? A downtown full of demolished history.
And now for the statement I'm sure will meet with disagreement from everyone. Even though MOSH is in the park, why do we need to add another play ground for kids?
I AM NOT ANTI CHILDREN, but hasn't the city recently added play areas in many of Jacksonville's great parks?
There is a playground park on San Marco Blvd. A nice one in Riverside Park, which in my opinion defaced it, and one on each end of Boone. And that's the three that come to mind that are close to downtown.
And of course why throw away over 4 million dollars on a park that is not even 10 years old.
The location may be a mistake but does it justify making another one?
Is it so wrong to have a wonderful park that caters to enjoying the beauty of the river and the skyline without providing children an outlet to play? (Take them across the river.)
When I was a little kid my parents took us to a park down the street with sliding boards, etc and then sometimes to places where we were taught to enjoy the surroundings. IT WOULDN'T KILL KIDS to have a little down time at a park.
This is a little corny, but Friendship Park is a very romantic place. I can understand why so many people were proposed to there. And when the fountain works right, like it did for the Superbowl it is magical.
And by the way EVERYTIME I have been to the park with kids there, they are just as intrigued and delighted with the fountain as the adults.
If the Fountain goes I may finally give up on our city, at least for my lifetime.
Yeah just how much enjoyment are kids who are busy running around and playing games, going to derive from being on the river? How much will the toddlers enjoy the view for that matter?
Does anyone really think that kids care that much about the location of their playground?
And for the ones who do, then as has already been stated, let them enjoy the park as it is. I don’t think children are all that picky.
Quote from: jaxlore on January 26, 2009, 01:00:23 PM
i proposed to my wife in front of that fountain.
i love this city.
are you Mr. Debby Boree?
I too visited the Friendship Fountain as a kid, in fact right after it was built in 1965 (giving away my age...I was about 8 or 9 at the time). Though Jax had no supertalls at the time, the skyline was awesome nevertheless, and it was breathtaking climbing up that spiral and viewing the Northbank. I think Riverplace Tower (Gulf Life) had not yet been built. Save the fountain! Refubish, rebuild, reconstruct, but don't destroy and/or replace it with anything else, or add anything else to it!
Heights Unknown
Oklahoma City is holding regular SHOUT OUT rallys in an attempt to save the Union Station yards from I-40.
They have tee shirts, attorneys, the green party, pro-transit, pro-Amtrak, pro-rail, balloons, brochures, handbooks etc...
So Jacksonville? How about a good old 1968 style protest! Chain my A-- to that railing and defy anyone to remove my 270 pound carcass... Got tye-dyes and signs?
Boy Peyton came to the charette for Kids Space Planning and INSTRUCTED the whole group with a pitch that went something like, "You KNOW we need that space, we need open ground, we need more flex space, think of ways to shove everything aside..." Real inspiration and like Lemmings the entire group made nice and EVERY SINGLE PLAN was poisoned with this nonsense. So when the citizens desires are told, it is going to be a very - stacked deck. Maggot brained contemptible twerp.
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/Ocklawaha/CRITICAL%20Cartoons%20and%20Fun%20Stuff/Fountain-Jacksonvilleprotest.jpg)
HELL NO! THE FOUNTAIN DOSEN'T GO!
OCKLAWAHA
I talked with one of the directors back a few directors ago and the cost to repair the two pumps was less than $200,000. The figure of $860,000 was fabricated so that they could help justify the fountain demolition. I can't understand why this administration surrounds themselves with incompetent people then pushes ideas then general public doesn't want. The good news is that in just a few years we'll have all of the incompetents out of City Hall....just hope we don't vote in equals.
I'm shocked... shocked I say!
As much as I respect Mayor Peyton, his plan will never work. I always loved the friendship fountain. And I would rather see him restore the fountain than to replace it with a playground. Why won't we instead restore that fountain and put a observation deck/revolving restaurant, an aquarium and a small amplitheater around it! :D Keep the faith and LONG LIVE FRIENDSHIP FOUNTAIN!!! :D
Keep the fountain and find room for a playground.
There is no reason to replace the fountain unless it is with something more iconic. Now.... I said "iconic", not "moronic"! 8)
Water and Florida go hand in hand and that fountain has made Jax more "Florida-like" in TV shots during countless national football games, etc. than anything else other than our beaches and a boat on the river.
The fountain is one of a kind and deserves this high profile spot. A playground is not. Also, should kids get too wound up (as they are prone to do in playgrounds) near the river, they might fall in. Then, they will tell us we need a 6 foot fence around the playground. How will our skyline look behind chain link?
Also, is it not cheaper to fix the fountain than to rip it out and build a million+ dollar playground (anything less will just be like a park in the neighborhood or gated development - in which case, why take a kid downtown to play) ? And, as a rule, downtown visits are initiated by adults, not kids. I don't see parents coming downtown just "to play".
If this is to be a major playground for downtown residents (who are more likely to be DINKS), I think there are better locations than this - like its current location by the stadium.
Why would the city want to relocate Kids Kampus from what's been counted on as a very family-friendly 'complex'... unless they're admitting that entire sports/entertainment zone idea was wrong?
I have a small child, and I have no problem driving over near the stadium to visit that park if I want to. Being over near the other stuff (arena, stadium, baseball grounds) has a certain charm to it, if you ask my son. He thinks it's neat to play near where the Jags are on TV sometimes.
Like everybody else (some exceptions, I noted) I do NOT want that fountain removed. It's been the backdrop to a lot of key moments in my life. When you go there, even to take pictures of the river, you have to be near that fountain. I remember when we could walk up the spiral deck to view it better. I also remember when the covered walkway was to the side and it was a big picnic-style area.
If anything, the one thing that's in the way there is the River City Brewing Company (no offense to the owners). Take that fountain down, and they'd have to relocate the restaurant as well to create the space needed for a kids park.
Peyton's muddled up enough in this city already to think he could get support on this one. Get on your council member's tail on it so they don't let him get away with anything.
Hey, I'll gladly jump into line for any restoration fund-raising effort! Count me in! Now, if I could just win the lotto, I'd pay for it myself... with council's permission, of course.