The Underappreciated Side of Springfield
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/698569415_4Tptq-M.jpg)
The Springfield Historic District is well know for its diverse mix of single family residential structures. However, it can be argued that the mix of non single family building fabric gives the district its true unique charm.
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-nov-the-underappreciated-side-of-springfield
This gives a nice pictorial overview of the neighborhood, showing how diverse it is, not to mention how beautiful it is.
So much potential.
great photos, thanks for reminding us of all of our spaces
This is a terrific photo essay even by the usual very high standards of Ennis and Dan.
Where is the building pictured immediately below Kirby-Smith located? I don't believe I've seen it before.
Great JOB! It really is the prettiest district, when shown in this context. Can you please do Avondale/Riverside next, pretty please with sugar on it?
It is on the northwest corner of Market and Tenth, across the intersection from Corrine Scott/
Market Street Lofts.
^ I believe that's at the corner of 10th and Market.
Wow, gorgeous stuff - it's like a whole different town. And honestly, when I go over there it totally feels different; kind of wraps its arms around you in welcome. Is Old Holy Rosary still currently a Catholic church?
^^No, Holy Rosary is now a Seventh Day Adventist, I think. Always lots of activity, seems like a nice congregation.
Absolutely beautiful and stunning job. Certainly not the Springfield I knew in the 1980's and early 90's, a change for the better I must say.
Heights Unknown
Quote from: heights unknown on November 06, 2009, 10:11:00 AM
Absolutely beautiful and stunning job. Certainly not the Springfield I knew in the 1980's and early 90's, a change for the better I must say.
Heights Unknown
Which is what we've been telling everyone...the transformation in the past 10+ years is stunning
Quote from: mtraininjax on November 06, 2009, 08:43:28 AM
Great JOB! It really is the prettiest district, when shown in this context. Can you please do Avondale/Riverside next, pretty please with sugar on it?
Its up next but it may be a week or two before I can get on the bike to take images.
Is Duval Laundry currently occupied?
What is it's address?
The inlaws of a friend of mine run a commerical laundry business from there and live on the premises.
I love our warehouse district, I wish I had a way of jump starting it's revival.
I love that you took the time to do a photo essay on Historic Springfield. The buildings are magnificent and the neighborhood is lucky to have such great structures! I must admit that I was a bit disappointed that Vanderleigh Antiques on East 10th Street was not included in such an essay. The building was a grocery in the 20's and is now fully restored and functioning as an antique shop. I am hopeful that some in the community enjoy this building as much as I do!
Quote from: jason_contentdg on November 06, 2009, 08:45:27 AM
^ I believe that's at the corner of 10th and Market.
Thanks to both you and Billy for the info!
QuoteKirby-Smith Middle School is one of the few Mediterranean Revival style buildings in Springfield. Identical to John Gorrie, in Riverside, the school opened in 1924. The school is named after a Civil War Confederate officer from St. Augustine
Just a tad more information on these two great Floridians:
Dr. John Gorrie, was an engineering genius, since the late 1700's it was known that certain ether or volatile chemicals rapidly heated, then cooled, would form ice... and usually an explosion or fire! When Yellow Fever was wiping out the State of Florida, Gorrie was asked to come and join a team of medical, engineering and specialists from various fields on a team gathered in Apalachicola, to solve the plague. Dr. Gorrie, went back to the chemicals, started working with high pressue pumps to create the heat/cool effects he needed and in 1851, POOF, air conditioning. As electricity was still primitive in The War of Yankee Aggression, it is doubtful that the great professor ever got to enjoy fan forced - chilled air, but we all owe him big time! FYI, when the cure was sought, South Africa, Colombia, and Cuban doctors, worked to develop a vaccine. Smallpox, was the first vaccine ever discovered in Spain, in the late 1700's. A Spanish medical expedition with deputy surgeon, José Salvany, went toward today's Colombia and the Viceroyalty of Peru. They took seven years and the toils of the voyage brought death to Salvany at Cochabamba. Doctor Manuel Elkin Patarroyo, from the university of Bogota, would discover the first highly successful vaccine for maliria. (told you we have good medicine in Colombia and it's air conditioned too!)
Edmond Kirby Smith, was born in St. Augustine, and studied in West Point, becoming a US Army Major in the Indian wars, mostly in Texas. When Texas left the Union in 1861, Smith refused to surrendered to State Forces, telling them he would fight them with his command first. A few days later, he resigned his commission following proper channels, and was recruited into the Confederate States officers corps. He led regiments, brigades and finally divisions with Jackson, in the Shenandoah Valley. Promoted to Brig. General he led the Confederate Army's in a successful rout of the Federals in Kentucky, battle of Richmond. After the fall of Vicksburg, Smith was assigned the Confederate Department of the Trans-Mississippi, total command of everything west of the River. Given the make up of these forces, a strange mix of seasoned soldiers, French Cajun, African American business and plantation owners, Bushwhacker's, Mexican, Cowboy's, and the Cherokee Mounted Rifles, he was really more successful then historians generally record. The last Confederate to surrender his command (not including the Confederate Navy which would fight on for 6 more months) on May 26, 1865, and arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 2, whence he fled to exile in Mexico and then to Cuba.
Just an idea, but a story on our named schools might be cool, if anyone besides me cares. OCKLAWAHA
Dr Gorrie's air conditioning was to hand a block of ice in a suspended bowl above the patient and let convection currents coming off the ice fall and cool the patient. The system was not practical. The big invention was the steam powered ice maker that made the ice.
A while later fellow named Carrier modified it and made the systems we are familiar now.
You can visit the Dr Gorrie museum in Apalachicola.
http://www.floridastateparks.org/johngorriemuseum/default.cfm
The hall of statuary in Washington DC allows two statues per state. There are only 98 such statues since two states (I have forgotten which) have only placed one.
The two statues from Florida are of Gorrie and Kirby-Smith, both done by noted sculptor C. Adrian Pillars, who did the Dillon fountain in Klutho Park and The Life Statue in Riverside memorial park, this one put in the park in 1924 as a war memorial. Florida and especially Springfield are well represented in the Statuary Hall
Quote from: duchessd on November 06, 2009, 11:13:37 AM
I love that you took the time to do a photo essay on Historic Springfield. The buildings are magnificent and the neighborhood is lucky to have such great structures! I must admit that I was a bit disappointed that Vanderleigh Antiques on East 10th Street was not included in such an essay. The building was a grocery in the 20's and is now fully restored and functioning as an antique shop. I am hopeful that some in the community enjoy this building as much as I do!
The day I took the images, there were too many people outside of the building. Since its inconsiderate to snap close up shots of people, I decided to pass.
Just an idea, but a story on our named schools might be cool, if anyone besides me cares. [/color] [/b]
OCKLAWAHA
[/quote]
Heck, yeah! Great idea.
Wheeeeee, I'm not Newbie anymore....and now, back to Thread.
Fantastic pictures, really enjoyed this trip down memory lane.
Here is a link to Vanderleigh's website with some pics of the building on east 10th. I believe it is mixed use with upstairs residential. Definitely another great building.
Lake what about some of your work on W 6th(?)
and Main St. is so close to completion we can taste it!!! When did it begin, 2000?
Quote from: duchessd on November 06, 2009, 11:13:37 AM
I love that you took the time to do a photo essay on Historic Springfield. The buildings are magnificent and the neighborhood is lucky to have such great structures! I must admit that I was a bit disappointed that Vanderleigh Antiques on East 10th Street was not included in such an essay. The building was a grocery in the 20's and is now fully restored and functioning as an antique shop. I am hopeful that some in the community enjoy this building as much as I do!
Vanderleigh's has been added to the article.
Quote from: stephendare on November 06, 2009, 01:35:39 PM
We are also working on a photo shoot of the amazing interior of Vanderleigh's .
Veronica and I toured the awesome building a couple of days ago, and its just brilliant.
Crazily, I had no idea the place was there, nor how cool it is.
Fantastic place, and I had to purchase one of his teak benches, made out of reclaimed teak from an old Asian railroad car, a couple years ago.
Its a hidden gem over there, love his vinyl laminated wood floor upstairs, looks and feels like the real thing, old wooden floors.
Does anyone know if Vanderleigh's carries any antiques or artifacts that are specific to Jacksonville or old Jacksonville businesses?
Thanks to everyone for all the historical and other information upthread. I can't wait to tour 10th St. now on my next visit to town.
Quote from: Overstreet on November 06, 2009, 12:30:43 PM
Dr Gorrie's air conditioning was to hand a block of ice in a suspended bowl above the patient and let convection currents coming off the ice fall and cool the patient. The system was not practical. The big invention was the steam powered ice maker that made the ice.
A while later fellow named Carrier modified it and made the systems we are familiar now.
You can visit the Dr Gorrie museum in Apalachicola.
http://www.floridastateparks.org/johngorriemuseum/default.cfm
Where did this information come from Overstreet my friend? It is not correct according to my history texts, which credit Gorrie as the first truely successful AC guy.QuoteDr. John Gorrie
Refrigeration Pioneer
Dr. John Gorrie (1803 - 1855), an early pioneer in the invention of the artificial manufacture of ice, refrigeration, and air conditioning, was granted the first U.S. Patent for mechanical refrigeration in 1851. Dr. Gorrie's basic principle is the one most often used in refrigeration today; namely, cooling caused by the rapid expansion of gases. Using two double acting force pumps he first condensed and then rarified air. His apparatus, initially designed to treat yellow fever patients, reduced the temperature of compressed air by interjecting a small amount of water into it. The compressed air was submerged in coils surrounded by a circulating bath of cooling water. He then allowed the interjected water to condense out in a holding tank, andreleased or rarified, the compressed air into a tank of lower pressure containing brine; This lowered the temperature of the brine to 26 degrees F. or below, and immersing drip-fed, brick-sized, oil coated metal containers of non-saline water, or rain water, into the brine, manufactured ice bricks. The cold air was released in an open system into the atmosphere.
The first known artificial refrigeration was scientifically demonstrated by William Cullen in a laboratory performance at the University of Glasgow in 1748, when he let ethyl ether boil into a vacuum. In 1805, Oliver Evans in the United States designed but never attempted to build, a refrigeration machine that used vapor instead of liquid. Using Evans' refrigeration concept, Jacob Perkins of the U.S. and England, developed an experimental volatile liquid, closed-cycle compressor in 1834.
Charles Smyth experimented with air cycle cooling (1846 - 56), the problem was resolved by Willis Haviland Carrier's U.S. Patent in 1906, in which he passed hot soggy air through a fine spray of water, condensing moisture on the droplets, leaving drier air behind. These inventions have had global implications.
Ocklawaha
Quote from: Overstreet on November 06, 2009, 12:30:43 PM
Dr Gorrie's air conditioning was to hand a block of ice in a suspended bowl above the patient and let convection currents coming off the ice fall and cool the patient. The system was not practical. The big invention was the steam powered ice maker that made the ice.
A while later fellow named Carrier modified it and made the systems we are familiar now.
You can visit the Dr Gorrie museum in Apalachicola.
http://www.floridastateparks.org/johngorriemuseum/default.cfm
That's not really true.
Gorrie did originally start off hanging blocks of ice in hospitals, yes. But later, he invented the first mechanical refrigeration system ever created, and was granted Patent No. 8080 for it in 1851. I'm assuming this is what Ock is referring to.
Willis Carrier wasn't even born until 1876, a full 25 years after Gorrie had already invented mechanical refrigeration. So any suggestion that Carrier is the true inventor is pure myth, as you can quickly discover yourself, when you realize that Gorrie's 1851 Patent No. 8080 for mechanical refrigeration was granted a full 25 years before Carrier was even born, let alone manufacturing air conditioners. That would be some feat! I can't picture a bunch of sperm manufacturing an AC unit.
So it wasn't just ice suspended from a ceiling, he actually did create the first machine that used the evaporation and condensation properties, of brine solution as ock mentioned, together with mechanical pumps, to create refrigeration. Others had thought up the theory before, but Carrier was the first to actually do it. And Carrier simply carried forward with Gorrie's creation. Gorrie was a doctor, and was concerned solely with cooling hospitals and making ice for patients. I doubt it ever occurred to him to use his invention to cool private homes. Carrier, on the other hand, saw that potential.
So I guess you could say Carrier was definitely the better business man.
Great article!!! So many improvements. The potenial in Jax is amazing
Are the Lauderdale Apartments occupied at present?
It looks like the windows are boarded up.
Also what is the building above the photo of Waafa and Mikes?
Is that the old Jewish Community Center?
What is the address?
Quote from: billy on November 07, 2009, 10:26:29 AM
Also what is the building above the photo of Waafa and Mikes?
Is that the old Jewish Community Center?
What is the address?
Yes, the old Job Corp right across from Klutho park at Silver street
Great neighborhood with really good bones. Thanks for the tour.
It's so nice to see how Springfield has improved over the past 10 years. My brother used to get bussed out to Kirby-Smith for the magnet program when we were kids, and I HATED to have to go out there. Private yards with 6 ft. tall fences and barbed wire make a big impression on a young kid that it wasn't a place I wanted to be. Plus the arson across the street from the school. It was scary.
Anyway, all of you who live in Springfield and love it have really made the difference, and I wish you all continued success.
These are great pictures and good info. A wonderful tour.
It's hard to believe all this is in Jax. It shows how much untapped potential we have. If only the City leaders could get it.
Imagine if we took just a fraction of the hundreds of millions for 9B, the billions for the Outer Beltway, and the wasted millions on the $ky-high-way and invested them in connecting grids of street car systems in Springfield, Downtown, Riverside/Avondale, and San Marco what we could do with our historic infrastructure. It's so obvious, you have to wonder why our community hasn't figured out how to make it happen. Sad and many lost opportunities (and jobs!).
Agreed. 9B is completely unnecessary, dilutes resources that could strengthen our regional core, and continues the disastrous development pattern favored in Jax (sprawl!)
When it comes to urban core revitalization, organic, neighborhood-level economic growth is completely ignored in favor of the knight-in-armor-delivered mega-development projects.
the springfield warehouse district could one day be like Castleberry Hill in ATL. that area has great potential.
oh and Vanderleigh's is an awesome place...if you are in the area i would recommend visiting them.
Awesome job. The Fab 4. The MJ 4. You can take this show on the road and pack an Auditorium. I'd pay.
Quote from: b real on November 09, 2009, 09:39:46 AM
oh and Vanderleigh's is an awesome place...if you are in the area i would recommend visiting them.
i've never managed to catch them open...moot point, though, since i only go by there when i'm beïng dragged around by what i laughingly refer to as my dog.
The S-Line through the Springfield Warehouse District in 1943.
(http://fpc.dos.state.fl.us/spottswood/sp02047.jpg)
We lived at the corner of 11th and Market St. when we came back South-my grandmother had a boarding house on that corner that was torn down and the area is now a parking lot. Under the picture of the Cola Cola plant - I think that building was right across from us on 11th and Market and at the time in 1954 was a bar-and I recall the owner killing a huge turtle and making turtle soup on the property. I attended 10th and Market Street elementary school from 1954 - 1957 and then went on to Kirby Smith. I do not recall the year that 10th and Market Street School became Corrine Scott however Miss Scott was the principal there for many more years and she was quite old when I went there. She was never married. I seem to recall her passing away in the 60's or early 70's. I am not sure. I am now 68 years old and I walked most all of Springfield. I lived at the corner of 4th and Silver Street as a bride of 19. Also at the corner of 8th and Boulevard where much of Shands is located was a hospital called "St.Lukes" I am not sure when St.Lukes was built but I was born there in 1943. I know much about several of the buildings shown above but would like to know the location before commenting on them.Maybe one day soon I will ride over that way (I live in Georgia) and take some picture and add them here with some history of what I know about some of them. There was some great teachers at Corrine Scott and Kirby Smith-I also attended Andrew Jackson.
I will always remember Miss Scott- a soft spoken, slender, tiny lady who will always be one of my fondest memories of my youth. I wish more Springfield people from long ago would post on here and speak of the past.
When I tried to join I got the answer wrong to the question "Who is the mayor of Jacksonville?".
I entered Brown but I had to re-enter Peyton to get approved.
Just a little Fyi.
Brown's term won't officially start until July 1, so that particular question is probably confusing right now since Peyton is a sitting duck for the next two weeks.
Welcome Barbara... Hope to hear more stories of the Springfield area... :)