Major Jacksonville Photo Thread...RAM, JIA, Panoramas, Food, and More!

[simms3]

Coming as soon as a I can edit it and put it all together so I am just trying to pique interest.

[kells904]

mission accomplished, simms3...

[simms3]

Starting off with two panoramas.  These are simply attempts.  I have a new camera and I haven't learned even 10% of it yet.  I took this using motion control and fast snaps to maintain a level shot.  There are some disconnects and a little bit of contrast from right to left.  There is a pan feature on my camera that I don't know how to use yet.





Both pictures taken from the base of the Ortega Bridge this past Sunday.

[simms3]

Food.

First pictures taken at the Brick.  I ordered beef tenderloin benedict, and other dishes at the table were varied.  I forgot to take pictures of the food because it just never occurred to me, but the pictures are of the inside of the restaurant.

The second pictures were taken at 'town, just down from the Brick.  Both of the meals were brunch type meals over the past weekend.  'town was a bit of a letdown because I ordered the market fish, which was red snapper, and out came salmon.  The waiter tried to convince me I was wrong and that the red snapper literally was red.  I honestly at first thought it might be someone else's dish.  I wasn't too impressed with the bed of mushrooms, either, but the three tater tots you see were absolutely delicious.  I probably won't be going back.

Brick:


(Please ignore my father LoL)









'town

[simms3]

A large photo/pan:

[simms3]

Jacksonville International Airport:

Guys, we really have a cool airport.  It might be small, but it is NICE.  It is very fast and efficient, and it offers lots of great service.  It is clean, too.  The bars/restaurants are very good for airport places and there are several worthy shops (the PGA Tour shop/Jax shop, a Haskell gallery, Brighton Collectibles, and a Brooks Brothers).  The whole space is very airy and definitely points visitors in the right direction of a progressive Jacksonville on the move.  The color scheme is appropriate, too.  I really just can't say enough.

A model of what the airport will look like when built out in a decade (or less depending on growth).




Space still UC (recently remodeled)




The above photo seen from the plane:


Haskell gallery had some interesting art:




There was of course live music in the atrium:




One of many food spots, the food court in the concourse with Sbarro, Freshens, and Quizno's.


One of the new concourses:


Planes at the airport:

[simms3]

The area where I took the panoramas.

Baker Point and the Ortega Bridge Park are relatively new (~6 years) public parks at the foot of the Ortega Bridge.  They were largely financed by private donations from individuals in the Ortega area, namely the Bakers.  They are very very popular parks and serve as small scale examples of what Jacksonville should have in all of its parks.  They also offer the best skyline views and beautiful views of the river.

[simms3]

Riverside Arts Market

This is a weekly art market held under the Fuller Warren bridge (I-95).  There are lots of local art and local produce vendors, live music, entertainers, and just an excuse to be out and about on a Saturday.

I would say that for Florida, and even for the South, Jacksonville is kind of artsy fartsy in a funky sort of way.  I have never been to a city with so many art shows/walks and with the same amount of local produce being sold everywhere.  I live in Atlanta now, but going to art walks in Midtown and Piedmont Park and searching for local produce vendors makes one want to cry.  I guess Jacksonville is just fortunate enough to have good weather, lots of scenery in the area, St. Augustine, Amelia Island, and lots of old, funky neighborhoods.  There are weeks in Jacksonville where six similar art shows will take place in one week all over town, just by coincidence.

The other thing that was funny to me was seeing everyone bundled up.  It was 63-83 for the previous week or so, and then a cold front came through and the high dropped to maybe 68 or 70.  Don’t get me wrong, Jax can get pretty cold in January and February, but coming down from Atlanta where even I thought Atlanta was too hot for this time of year made me laugh to realize that to these people 60s is cold.

RAM











Some Asian dude rapping while some other guys break dance

[simms3]

Scenes from an early winter weekend









There were soooo many birds out all weekend!

[simms3]

Scenes Part II

[simms3]

Near the Riverside Art Market, people can walk to a host of other places.  Riverside is one of Jacksonville’s most dense neighborhoods with densities in some areas well above 6,000 people per square mile.  Riverside used to be the bohemian/counter-culture hub of Jacksonville, but is now the hub of art and gay life in Jacksonville.  There is a good mixture between yuppies, hippies, gays, and the elderly in the neighborhood, which is also served now by a continuously running trolley.  This will definitely be the first Jacksonville neighborhood to see streetcars and there is already a push for that.

Residents of this neighborhood can walk to dozens of restaurants and bars, a theater, a neighborhood Publix, several churches, and a host of stores.  People can also walk to two great parks (one is photographed), one of the South’s best art museums (personally I think it is the best in FL, though because Salvador Dali is one of my favorite artists I enjoy that museum in St. Pete…another artsy town).  There are also tons of B&B’s in the area, but no standard hotels.

An example of the average Jacksonville bus stop: a concrete bench with a sign.  There is a comprehensive sign ordinance in Jacksonville guarded by a prominent attorney.  Many would like to see a public-private partnership where private companies sponsor a bus station with space for an advertisement (what most cities do), but this would involve the unraveling of the sign ordinance, which this lawyer fiercely protects.  Parts of the ordinance are legitimate, but the language is too general and includes too many things.








Jacksonville Women’s Club, purchased by the Cummer and currently being refurbished, originally constructed in 1927.






The Garden Club




Another dismal bus stop.

[arb]

Very impressive
I enjoyed looking at the pictures.

[simms3]

Side note about the Cummer:

The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens

Ninah Cummer (pronounced Nine-Uh) launched the museum from her private collection in 1961.  The current building was constructed at that time on the site of the Cummer house.  The Cummers made their money in timber, and to this day you can find old Cummer hardwood floors in many old mansions across the city.  Ninah was an avid gardener and travelled the world to pull ideas, and she eventually created several very famous gardens with the help of such firms as the Olmsted Brothers and the famous landscape designer Ellen Biddle Shipman.  There is an Upper Gardens, the Olmsted Garden, the English Garden, and the Italian Garden.  These gardens remain on the exact site as they were originally created in 1903.  To see the gardens, visit the museum, which also has quite a good permanent collection (Rubens, Gaddi, Steen, Lorrain, Norman Rockwell, Benjamin West, Gilbert Stuart, the second largest Meissen Porcelain collection in the world, and a good amount of antiquities).

The Cummer has a very active board and there are several events/fundraisers at the Cummer each year, namely the Cummer Ball and Cummer Garden Week.

Thought I would do a little advertising here

[mtraininjax]

The Cummer has a very active board and there are several events/fundraisers at the Cummer each year, namely the Cummer Ball

Cummer Ball was cancelled for either last year or this year due to budget issues. Great party for sure, but I think it is coming back to celebrate the 50th anniversary or some other large milestone. Not sure the event, but I do know they recently skipped a year.

[simms3]

Riverside

1926 apartment building


1892 Queen Anne


1927 Riverside Presbyterian Church




1922 Riverside Presbyterian Day School