Lost Jacksonville. Downtown Hotels: The Grande Dames

[Timkin]

This is the downtown I remember.. You should have seen it at Christmas.   Beautiful picture, Stephen...


It makes me sad to look at it , and remember.....

[uptowngirl]

WOW, it is always shocking to me  to see how much Jacksonville has lost of it's past.

[Timkin]

Actually.... I see nothing in that picture that still stands today.. If it does,it must  be hidden by one of the hideous structures that replaced all these beauties.

[stjr]

AT & T building sits where the Mayflower and other assorted smaller buildings were.

[Timkin]

If I had it my way...Id prefer the 1960 Skyline... O well.. it was not up to me

[Tomcatteralways]

It always surprises me when people talk poorly of Jacksonville but now that I see what a great city it was, it makes me sad to think how great it would be today if we had our buildings! People love history... tourist love history. Which is why most people just drive through on their way to St. Augustine. =o(

[stjr]

In 1948, this is what San Marco looked like.  From across the River (about where Baptist Hospital is, you can see the hotels.

Stephen, can you check that location?  This looks to be between the Main Street and the Acosta bridges.  That would mean this is where the (new) Prudential, Friendship Park, Mosh, and River City Brewing are.

[stjr]

Stephen, can you check that location?  This looks to be between the Main Street and the Acosta bridges.  That would mean this is where the (new) Prudential, Friendship Park, Mosh, and River City Brewing are.

You are probably right, STJR, it just seems a bit further from the shoreline to my eye.

From Baptist, I would expect to see this scene looking through the FEC bridge and underside of Acosta, both being to the right of the view.

[Mike D]

I also remember the downtown shown in Stephen's picture.  The giant neon signs on top of all the hotels were so striking at night and seemed to shine over a city that was alive and a place where things were happening. One of the criticisms of downtown back then was that there were so many old buildings in disrepair and "slumlike" conditions around the edge of the area.  But it makes your head spin to wonder what we could have today if even half of the demolished buildings were still here.

[BackinJax05]

Here is a photo showing the actual construction of the Robert Meyer.

I still say the old Robert Meyer would have made great condominiums. As a hotel, it had everything. And all of those amenities could have easily been converted for residential use.

I would have bought a Robert Meyer condo.

[ChriswUfGator]

So we've systematically replaced everything that made money with non-taxable government offices, and we wonder why we're having problems. That's sure a difficult one. :rollseyes:

[Debbie Thompson]

I just looked at the Sprint article, which contained a skyline picture. When you compare it to this one, it looks positively skimpy.  And now we are adding yet another parking garage.  Sigh.

[Keith-N-Jax]

That 1960's pic is awesome!!

[BackinJax05]

I also remember the downtown shown in Stephen's picture.  The giant neon signs on top of all the hotels were so striking at night and seemed to shine over a city that was alive and a place where things were happening. One of the criticisms of downtown back then was that there were so many old buildings in disrepair and "slumlike" conditions around the edge of the area.  But it makes your head spin to wonder what we could have today if even half of the demolished buildings were still here.

The George Washington would have made a great boutique hotel, today (whatever that is). Or, possibly restored & added on to the way the Vinoy in St. Pete was.

The Robert Meyer would have made great condominiums. It had plenty of parking, an awesome pool, and meeting rooms & restaurants that could have easily been converted into a clubhouse.

As for the Seminole, Floridan, & Mayflower, I dont know. What would you do with them, Mike?
What would anyone here do with them? (this is gonna be good. the more creative the better!)

Now to get off topic for a minute, If I had my way, I would have incorporated the Rhodes Furniture building into the design of the main library somehow, rather than imploding it. The state blended old & new very well when the Capitol was built. Why couldnt the city have done the same thing with the public library?

[BackinJax05]

Something else to think about. Every time one of these hotels closed, dozens of people lost their jobs. I can only imagine what the ripple effect was. Former employees who had less less money to put back into the economy, suppliers (food service, linen, etc.) losing a valued account. In time I would think they would have to cut back, and so on, and so on.

Oh well. The hotels were in the way of vacant lots & parking garages so I suppose they had to go.