A tour of McCoys Creek in 1926

Started by thelakelander, August 12, 2025, 08:40:32 AM

thelakelander

Quote

McCoys Creek is a tributary of the St. Johns River, flowing eastward from the Murray Hill neighborhood before emptying into the river near downtown Jacksonville. Over the years, the creek has undergone significant changes, including channelization and rerouting. Today, it is the focus of an extensive restoration effort aimed at returning it to a more natural and resilient state. Presented here is a collection of photographs taken by the City of Jacksonville in 1926, offering a glimpse of McCoys Creek nearly a century ago.

Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/a-tour-of-mccoys-creek-in-1926/
"A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life." - Muhammad Ali

urban_


acme54321

As bad as it has been recently it looked a lot worse back then!

urban_

Quote from: acme54321 on August 12, 2025, 01:23:32 PM
As bad as it has been recently it looked a lot worse back then!
True that. Seems crazy how much trash is on the banks.

jaxlongtimer

Great article.  Unlike a lot of pix of Jax over the years that seem to pop up repeatedly, I have never seen this series, so a big thanks for posting.

A few observations:
(1) It appears it is 100 years since Flagler's RR bridge was built.  You would think there would be more buzz around that ever-present landmark by the City and its media.  FEC should throw a party, too.
(2) Interestingly, it looks like the basic construction of rail cars hasn't changed much in a 100 years based on these pictures.  They look an awful lot like contemporary rail cars.  Hats off to the early designers to come up with something that could endure over so many generations.
(3) The working class housing in the pix seems tidy and well maintained even if cheaply built.  I wonder why we can't mimic that more today.
(4) A missing piece in these photos of the area between LaVilla and Brooklyn is the large Railway Express Agency freight terminal.
(5) Once the City finishes rebuilding McCoy's Creek and the associated Emerald Trail along its banks, it would be nice to see some before and afters of the Creek over the decades compared to the finished upgrades.

Captain Zissou

Quote from: jaxlongtimer on August 12, 2025, 11:28:25 PM
Great article.  Unlike a lot of pix of Jax over the years that seem to pop up repeatedly, I have never seen this series, so a big thanks for posting.

A few observations:
(1) It appears it is 100 years since Flagler's RR bridge was built.  You would think there would be more buzz around that ever-present landmark by the City and its media.  FEC should throw a party, too.
(2) Interestingly, it looks like the basic construction of rail cars hasn't changed much in a 100 years based on these pictures.  They look an awful lot like contemporary rail cars.  Hats off to the early designers to come up with something that could endure over so many generations.
(3) The working class housing in the pix seems tidy and well maintained even if cheaply built.  I wonder why we can't mimic that more today.
(4) A missing piece in these photos of the area between LaVilla and Brooklyn is the large Railway Express Agency freight terminal.
(5) Once the City finishes rebuilding McCoy's Creek and the associated Emerald Trail along its banks, it would be nice to see some before and afters of the Creek over the decades compared to the finished upgrades.

The original bridge was built in the 1890s, so maybe there was celebration back then. The current double-tracked bridge replaced the single-track swing bridge in 1925.  The first iteration of the Acosta bridge was built in 1921 and there was a celebration and parade to celebrate its 100 year milestone in 2021. 

acme54321

#6
I drove by and noticed today that the new McCoy's Creek channel is flooded.  They still had the sheet pile in at the mouth but I assume it will be fully open pretty soon.

jcjohnpaint

This is the segment by One Riverside?