What I love about Jacksonville

[brapt]

kosta's pizza italian (their homemade italian dressing alone is more than worth the trip, and the rest ov the food is delicious as well).

An often overlooked and unsung gem in 5 points to be sure.  I've gone there with my family since I was a child and still love it.  I would take Gus' entrees over Al's any day.  Just not the pizza... never order the pizza.

[Captain Zissou]

^ock, you're an interesting dude, but i think perhaps a little too singleminded...

best things about jacksonville that are still here (we've lost a lot ov nifty things, even in my brief lifetime):
some previously-mentioned bookstores (i love chamblin and jerry's, but they've already been heartily recommended).
jack rabbits.
park system (recently discovered the arboretum--fun little trails around a lovely lake).
urban decay (if you're into that sort ov thing, which i am--it's depressing that these buildings are falling apart, but they do it so beautifully; shades ov albert speer).
klutho's legacy.
MOCA.
the downtown public library (from both a reading and an architecture perspective).
kosta's pizza italian (their homemade italian dressing alone is more than worth the trip, and the rest ov the food is delicious as well).

I'm interested to hear some of the things you like that are no longer with us.  Your list is a great one, so I'd like to hear more.

[KuroiKetsunoHana]

a few things i miss:
club 5 (i know, the building has been restored to its movie theater glory--i'd personally rather have the venue).
theory shop (ms. faircloth on occasion set things aside for me that she thought i might like--i found some really good stuff that way that i'd've never found out about in a store with less personal customer service).
tilt at the landing (especially the built-in shooting gallery).
the old downtown public library (the building's still there, but last i heard still in limbo).
...and i know there are some restaurants i miss, but at the moment i can't place a single one--i must not be hungry enough.

[undergroundgourmet]

oh what I miss .....
Creole Queen in 5 Points
LeOrient for raw fish and everything else
Wag's Record Hound
Ben and Jerry's in the landing
Metropolis
and Moto Lounge

oh yeah...5 Points Lounge before it became Wallstreet

[Jaxson]

undergroundgourmet --- talk about a blast from the past!  i remember going to wag's record hound when i was in high school.  the store was in a strip mall on kingsley avenue - across the street from orange park high school.  i remember buying lots of cassettes, albums and cds from that place. henry reminded me of a cross between the simpson's comic book guy and otto the bus driver.  i have since wondered what had happened to him...

[Ocklawaha]

I'll play that one a little more seriously... what I miss?

Wooden bridges where Blanding crosses McGirts Creek!
Peterson's 5 and 10 in 5-points
Milligan Burger (local chain)
Bluff Landing in the woods on the Ortega River where it is rumored that 1/3 of Jacksonville was conceived (God knows I did my part!)
The old Prison East of imeson
NAS JAX, Fields (Arlington), Edgewood (Murray Hill) Hobby shops, and a long ago downtown hobby shop.
Acosta Bridge (which they promised to save part of in a city park... LIARS!)
The old ships rotting at Pottsburg Creek and the Intercoastal Waterway
Jacksonville Terminal when it would have put JIA and OIA to shame in a day.
Imeson Airport, wouldn't you think they could have saved the terminal?
Air ships, the Navy Patrol Blimps that would float over our skies.
Sears Downtown and the fresh roasted nuts dept that scented the whole store
Dizzyland Amusement Park on beach - (The orange dinosaur is all that's left)
Kiddyland on Blanding, (see Dizzyland but a tad smaller)
Storybook Land, it was in town and like the one in Tampa but I'll be damned if I remember where (it might have been called "Miss Muffet Land."
Oriental Gardens, San Jose
Propeller driven fighters at NAS, Cecil, Mayport, etc... (God what a sound in the early AM warm ups)
Iveys, Furchgotts, Rosenblooms, Cohen Brothers, Morrison's...  ALL DOWNTOWN!
The streetcar barn and powerhouse, Skyway facility and TU sites today.
Dad's fricking huge wooden power boat with the inboard Chrysler V-8 in it! (like a private PT boat)
Singing Dixie - no matter the race or color, anywhere!
Shipyards on both banks of downtown
Those cool old Havana Car Ferries that rotted away on the Southbank (near the present School board)
Hemming Plaza, when it was HEMMING PARK
Ortega Village and Fairfax when they had that 5-points vibe going on...
The bakery in Venetia Village
Long lost childhood friend MATT SKEINS, and the cool HOUSE OF BARGAINS STORES his dad owned.
Beach Midway
Green Cove Springs NAVAL STATION and LEE FIELD
Kingsley and Strickland Beaches (Clay County)
Yukon, Bayard, Springfield, Marietta, South Jacksonville, etc... railroad depots
Also railroad towers at Myrtle, Grand Crossing, Beaver Street, etc...
Florida life when we were "THE CITY and THE OLD MONEY".
LaVilla
Fairfield
Brooklyn
........................hell

J A C K S O N V I L L E  !


OCKLAWAHA

[JaxNative68]

^ would you settle for whistling Dixie?

How about the Milk Bar and the free range chickens around the science museum?  I have recently seen a new herd of chickens on the side of the Beach Blvd Expressway near Parental Home Road.

[Ocklawaha]

I didn't know one could herd chickens!

OCKLAWAHA

[JaxNative68]

^ anything is possible in J-Ville!

[Captain Zissou]

tilt at the landing (especially the built-in shooting gallery).

I loved the shooting gallery.  Many a quarter went towards perfecting my aim.

[RiversideLoki]

1. The pocket parks on the ends of the streets in Riverside and Avondale. Even when they put shrubs and gates up to cover them (which is even better because then no one else goes there).
2. Larry's Giant Subs. Nuff Said.
3. Traffic.. it's really not that bad. Have you ever driving in L.A.? Jax is a walk in the park.
4. Wall Street Lounge.. to be able to walk in on any random night of the week and it be either SLAMMED or dead empty and still be able to grab a drink. It's the only hole in the wall in Jax I would call home.
5. Being able to say "Hey, I feel like going to the beach!" and being there 20 minutes later.
6. Saying "Hi there, how's your day going?" to nearly anyone, anywhere in town and them giving you a sincere answer.
7. The car shuffle on any street in Riverside. Where you're traveling down Forbes and you and the opposing car both pull to your respective sides. Then it becomes a competition to see who's nicest first and lets the other guy through. And then you both WAVE and smile!

Welcome aboard Kirkols!

[CS Foltz]

Herding chickens is easy Ock............try milking one!

[JaxNative68]

^ damn it!  why didn't I think of that line? . . . and I really don't want an answer to that softball.

[Ocklawaha]

Yeah, maybe so CS, but I bet milking a rooster would be even harder!

Is this sort of like a "Heffer Bull"?  ... There REALLY is such a thing you know!

OCKLAWAHA

[newzgrrl]

What do I love about Jacksonville? In no particular order:

>Familiarity with its history, places and people (Two years downstate not knowing what streets went where made me appreciate this immensely.)
>"Mild" winter (as northerners call it) and hot hot hot summer
>The skyway
>Porches, particularly on the front of bungalows and craftsman-style homes
>Jenkins Quality Bar-B-Q and Lou Bono's Barbecue
>Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
>Driving into town on the Hart bridge in the evening, when all the lights are aglow. (How I look forward to the end of bridge work!)
>The Jaguars
>Hemming Park
>The elegant angles of the Independent Life tower, and the way the glass panes reflect back on each other.
>The multiple corner offices of the AT&T building
>The smell of the river in the evening when the breeze lifts off the water
>Gliding down the Main Street Bridge ramp on a bike after a long climb to the top
>Watching movies on the grounds of Jessie Ball duPont/Treaty Oak Park
>The small-town feeling that pervades this big city
>Dos Gatos, Lit, Burrito Gallery, The Sinclair
>WJCT
>Pocket parks on the river, particularly the one at the end of Holmesdale in Saint Nicholas
>The Great Fire monument
>The Florida Life building (I dream of living on the top floor of the restored building)
>Southern grace and charm
>Spanish moss dripping lazily from ancient live oaks
>The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens

and on and on ...