Maritime Museum relocates to the Landing

[duvaldude08]

Speaking of the MOSH, WHY is it so unattractive? Even the MOCA is more attractive. The MOSH is overdue for an external face life. Maybe some life dinosaurs outside? Something outside of the box. The last time I been to the MOSH is when I was elementary school and I am 29 now, and that building has not change AT ALL. I wish it really looked like a Musuem. But oh well, people in hell want ice water. LOL

[thelakelander]

^At the very least, it needs a whole new entrance with a cafe or something that opens up into park and fountain.

[ChriswUfGator]

MOSH should have been located in any of the bajillion historic vacant buildings downtown that COJ knocked down for no reason, and not on the southbank to begin with. That was a mistake. At least they got it right with MOCA.

[Bativac]

Speaking of the MOSH, WHY is it so unattractive? Even the MOCA is more attractive. The MOSH is overdue for an external face life. Maybe some life dinosaurs outside? Something outside of the box. The last time I been to the MOSH is when I was elementary school and I am 29 now, and that building has not change AT ALL. I wish it really looked like a Musuem. But oh well, people in hell want ice water. LOL

I'm with you on MOSH and how ugly it is. I've been there within the past couple years -- my wife's younger sister visits on occasion and we used to take her over there -- but the last time we were in there was probably the last time, period. Especially having traveled to places like Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Tampa, Orlando, NYC (should I keep going?).... MOSH is kind of an embarrassment. It's a shame Jacksonville doesn't have a big, beautiful science and history museum. (The Planetarium is fantastic, though.)

However, I don't think the people of Jacksonville would support a new museum. I doubt MOSH has the money to put into a new building or even a building facelift... I mean, when was the last time they updated their exhibits? Everytime we would visit, half of the stuff in the JEA exhibit was broken. I think the majority of Jacksonville citizens send their kids there on field trips and that's it. The place is practically a ghost town on non-school days. I don't think exposing their children to educational materials is real high on the priorities list for many Jacksonville residents.

I don't think the Maritime Museum will be in the Landing for long, not if another tenant comes along... but on the other hand, it is the Landing, and it ain't like potential tenants are falling over themselves in a race for rental space...

[ChriswUfGator]

Can you guys imagine how cool MOSH would've been in something like the old Masonic Lodge mid-rise off main (demolished to make a parking lot) or the old Rhodes Furniture building (demolished for current employee parking / unloading area in back of new main library)? We keep tearing dense uses down to make parking lots and building new buildings to house everything, we are not far off from becoming one giant strip mall.

[Wacca Pilatka]

It's a shame that MOSH doesn't do any outreach or advertising with the gift shop.  It's pretty nice and well stocked.

Does the FL Theatre have a gift shop?  I'm a contributor to the FL Theatre and sadly I don't know the answer to this.

[Wacca Pilatka]

^At the very least, it needs a whole new entrance with a cafe or something that opens up into park and fountain.

That's for sure.  I really like Currents of Time and like going to MOSH for that reason (say what you will about the broken science exhibits, but I think at least Currents is quite well done), but at first brush it's difficult even to spot where the main entrance is supposed to be.

[ChriswUfGator]

Speaking of the MOSH, WHY is it so unattractive? Even the MOCA is more attractive. The MOSH is overdue for an external face life. Maybe some life dinosaurs outside? Something outside of the box. The last time I been to the MOSH is when I was elementary school and I am 29 now, and that building has not change AT ALL. I wish it really looked like a Musuem. But oh well, people in hell want ice water. LOL

I'm with you on MOSH and how ugly it is. I've been there within the past couple years -- my wife's younger sister visits on occasion and we used to take her over there -- but the last time we were in there was probably the last time, period. Especially having traveled to places like Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Tampa, Orlando, NYC (should I keep going?).... MOSH is kind of an embarrassment. It's a shame Jacksonville doesn't have a big, beautiful science and history museum. (The Planetarium is fantastic, though.)

However, I don't think the people of Jacksonville would support a new museum. I doubt MOSH has the money to put into a new building or even a building facelift... I mean, when was the last time they updated their exhibits? Everytime we would visit, half of the stuff in the JEA exhibit was broken. I think the majority of Jacksonville citizens send their kids there on field trips and that's it. The place is practically a ghost town on non-school days.

But thats also because of the business interface model that the non profits have in this town.  Its outdated and frankly presumptuous.  There are no concessions at the Mosh worth speaking of, and the gift shop does absolutely no outreach or advertising.  Two excellent sources of revenue are completely ignored and the entire cost of maintaining the space falls onto contributions instead.  It is exactly the same at the Florida Theatre.

IMHO, the city needs at least one more museum, and thats a Southern Music Museum and performance venue.

You mean the "shakedown" business model? Let's call a spade a spade, shall we, lol...

[Ocklawaha]

MAJOR MARITIME MUSEUMS OF THE WORLD


NEW ZELAND


KOBE JAPAN


SYDNEY AU


PORTLAND MAINE


DOOR COUNTY WI


ERIE MARITIME MUSEUM PA


ROCKPORT TEXAS


BALTIMORE MD


SAN FRANCISCO


JACKSONVILLE

ANY QUESTIONS?

OCKLAWAHA

[Keith-N-Jax]

LOL,, Ock,,LMAO,,,

[Keith-N-Jax]

Come on OCK its not that crucial yet. LOL

[Bativac]

It's a shame that MOSH doesn't do any outreach or advertising with the gift shop.  It's pretty nice and well stocked.

Does the FL Theatre have a gift shop?  I'm a contributor to the FL Theatre and sadly I don't know the answer to this.

No, Wacca, they do not.  Nor do they have anything resembling concessions.  If youve been lately, you can basically only get refreshments there for about 30 minutes per show, on the two or three nights that they are open.  And that is, if you like boxed wine served in plastic cups.

Same with the Ritz Theatre and Museum.  

Concessions are 70 percent of the revenue at private theatres, but in the case of the non profits, these sales account for less than 5%

I agree with you about the concessions at the Florida Theater. That is a beautiful facility and they put on fantastic performances. It'd be nice to be able to buy something besides a small cup of wine. How much of that is unwillingness on someone's part to not appear to be pandering to the lowest common denominator? "A COCA COLA?? How VULGAR!" And they really should have a gift shop, selling at the very least, postcards and books about the history of Jacksonville.

As far as MOSH, didn't they once have a cafe? That was never advertised, and that you'd only know about if you actually entered the museum...

[thelakelander]

MOSH should have been located in any of the bajillion historic vacant buildings downtown that COJ knocked down for no reason, and not on the southbank to begin with. That was a mistake. At least they got it right with MOCA.

Now that you mention it, I visited a museum in downtown St. Louis that had done just this, this past summer.

It was in an old shoe factory:

City Museum is a museum, consisting largely of re-purposed architectural and industrial objects, housed in the former International Shoe building in the Washington Avenue Loft District of St. Louis, Missouri.

Popular among residents and tourists, the museum bills itself as an "eclectic mixture of children's playground, funhouse, surrealistic pavilion, and architectural marvel." Visitors are encouraged to feel, touch, climb on, and play in the various exhibits. The museum attracted over 300,000 visitors in 1999 and over 600,000 in 2007. It has been named one of the "great public spaces" by the Project for Public Spaces, and has won other local and international awards as a must-see destination.

A scene from the old days.




An outdoor playground at the museum


Inside, each floor has a different theme.  On this particular level, there was a circus and miniature railroad.


This floor had an architectural ornament exhibit of demolished Louis Sullivan designed buildings.

City Museum was founded by artist Bob Cassilly, who remains the museum's artistic director, and his then-wife Gail Cassilly. The museum's building was once a shoe factory and warehouse but was mostly vacant when the Cassillys bought it in 1993. Construction began in January 1995 and the building opened to the public on October 25, 1997. The museum has since expanded, adding new exhibits such as MonstroCity in 2002, Enchanted Caves and Shoe Shaft in 2003, and World Aquarium in 2004. A circus ring on the third floor offers daily live acts. The City Museum also houses The Shoelace Factory, whose antique braiding machines makes colorful shoelaces for sale.

The building's fifth floor houses apartments, dubbed the Lofts at City Museum, which range in size from 1,300 to more than 2,800 square feet.

The museum has been visited by various celebrities, including Miley Cyrus in 2007 and the Jonas Brothers. The Museum has hosted concerts.

Its amazing what a little creativity will do when existing buildings are allowed to be put back into use.

[thelakelander]

^At the very least, it needs a whole new entrance with a cafe or something that opens up into park and fountain.

That's for sure.  I really like Currents of Time and like going to MOSH for that reason (say what you will about the broken science exhibits, but I think at least Currents is quite well done), but at first brush it's difficult even to spot where the main entrance is supposed to be.

I like that exhibit as well.  I believe if we really focused on our rich local history, it could be a major exhibit anchoring a completely separate museum. Sort of like a Jax version of the Tampa Bay History Center:

[Wacca Pilatka]

Maybe something like that will be an eventual possibility for St. Luke's/Florida Casket for the Historical Society.  It frustrates me that cities with less consequential histories than Jacksonville sometimes have elaborate separate history museums, whereas Jacksonville makes do with only a fraction of MOSH, though a well-done fraction.

MOSH in the old Rhodes building...what a nice thought.  Or maybe the Jones Bros. building on Hogan, or the El Modelo...