PERFECT location for the NEW CONVENTION CENTER!

[Ocklawaha]

Kind of has a ring of truth to it, doesn't it? Okay, I'll confess that myself, trainman, and maybe Lunican would go to a convention here...I'm not sure how many others would.

OCKLAWAHA

[Joe]

I appreciate your sentiment. I think you make a good general argument about the convention center being turned back into a full rail terminal.

However, I must strongly dispute the subtext of this thread. The Terminal was slated for total demolition. If someone didn't have the bright idea of turning it into a convention center, every remnant of the place would have been wiped off the face of the earth. For that matter, the property could have been sold off (think the federal reserve across the street) and a future train terminal could have been totally precluded.

So I don't think it makes sense to insult/mock/joke/whatever about the idea of turning a former rail terminal into our convention center. It's not like the building and tracks would have just remained there, waiting to be reused some day. It was going to be destroyed.

[thelakelander]

Joe has a point.  If not for turning the place into a convention center, it probably would have became another vacant lot.  Now that the center is viable again as a transit hub, its time for the convention center to move on.  If it doesn't, both will struggle, which would be a detriment to the community.

[jacksonvilleconfidential]

Again, JC proposed a simple name change and statue erection (hehe) to amp up the convention centers' rep.

http://www.jacksonvilleconfidential.com/2008/06/optimus-prime-convention-center.html

[Ocklawaha]

I appreciate your sentiment. I think you make a good general argument about the convention center being turned back into a full rail terminal.

However, I must strongly dispute the subtext of this thread. The Terminal was slated for total demolition. If someone didn't have the bright idea of turning it into a convention center, every remnant of the place would have been wiped off the face of the earth. For that matter, the property could have been sold off (think the federal reserve across the street) and a future train terminal could have been totally precluded.

So I don't think it makes sense to insult/mock/joke/whatever about the idea of turning a former rail terminal into our convention center. It's not like the building and tracks would have just remained there, waiting to be reused some day. It was going to be destroyed.

Certainly the Terminal distruction would have caused a revolution in the city government. Since I was involved in cleaning it out prior to the Convention Center, I can tell you I don't think it would have been torn down. But whatever the case, my mocking is to the future of our conventions. True they saved the Terminal, and JTA is gaining ground in giving it a new name (which I detest). But now that we have a location and a plan in hand, it's past due for City Hall to do the right thing and get the darn Convention Business out of the railroad yard. Afterwhich we should look at reuse of the building or perhaps cutting it down in size and using a portion of it, so rail operations can resume.

OCKLAWAHA