Brooklyn: Downtown's Final Frontier

[Metro Jacksonville]

Brooklyn: Downtown's Final Frontier



Characterized by narrow gridded streets, Brooklyn was platted shortly after the Civil War by Miles Price, a Confederate veteran, in 1868.  Although the neighborhood carries a Northern name, the east/west streets are named after Confederate generals.  The north/south streets were originally named after trees.

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http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/989

[Traveller]

A few weeks ago, someone one this site referred to a stretch in Springfield as the "Chicken District".  I've always referred to that stretch of Park St. in Brooklyn as the "Paint District," as I count four different paint stores within three blocks of each other. 

[stug]

Brooklyn is such a sad example of how the interstate system screwed and segregated neighborhoods. Very, very depressing. I can imagine it having become something like Murray Hill is today if more care had been given to what stayed and what went, demolition-wise. Most of what made it a neighborhood was destroyed.
And what happens to the remaining homeowners once the condos go up? Surely they won't fit the profile of what a developer will want to project to potential buyers.

[zoo]

This section of the neighborhood is slated for redevelopment.  Three major planned projects could bring many new residents and a central city park to the neighborhood.  Unfortunately, most of the historic building fabric was demolished to make way for projects now indefinitely delayed due to the poor economic conditions.

Jacksonville already has a central city park - it's called Klutho and Confederate parks, and it is a 27-acre greenway system. Maybe this city should stop wasting all of its incentive money on projects that take 15 years, or may not get done at all, and trying to create from scratch something that already exists! Half of that $24M JEDC has gifted to Hallmark/Miles for their Roman Coliseum-style stormwater ponds could make a fast and more impactful difference if it were spent fixing a "broken" area the city has neglected for decades.

Maybe if Springfield had a Mike Hightower, Bill Foley or a Blake Wilson to demand the area get fixed, this city could see some real, fast progress in its urban areas. This comes down to politics, the good old boys, self-interest rather than what is good for the city as a whole, and a theory of economic development that says "we have to build big and new (like suburban development), to realize job growth."

Why to Brooklyn and Springfield have to be at odds for the city's development resources, whether it be personnel time/commitment, financial, transit, public works, etc., at all? Because even as most metropolitan centers in the U.S. had forward-thinking leadership that was busy turning urban neighborhoods into economic-development gold, Jax leadership has continued its funding of suburban development and sprawl, making Cecil Field, JIA and numerous suburban corridors promoted and incentivized areas.

Watching this city continually shoot itself in the foot has been disappointing time and time again...

[JeffreyS]

Great pictorial there is a park on Myrtle in the area and the new forest street entrance and exits will make it one of the most convenient parts of the core to live.  The area needs lots of redevelopment but has some tremendous advantages over other redevelopment areas.  Great employers, already slated for some great projects, river access, skyway access(coming?), lots of paint, proximity to five points, downtown and with new on ramps Springfield, San Marco and most of Jax are easy. The Friday Musical is a great place to host an event the restoration looks great after it burnt down it is a shame they lost that piano.

[tufsu1]

Klutho/Confederate Park may be the City's main central park (or at least could be), but every neighborhood needs at least one too.....just look at how many major parks there are in Riverside-Avondale.

[Deuce]

Trav, that was me who tried to stake a claim to the Chicken District moniker. The author used it in his story that day and I was fishing to see where he had heard the expression. I like Paint District. My girlfriend and I call the Fidelity area along Riverside, Emerald City after all the green lighting on the tops of the buildings.

[aj_fresh]

Looks like a ghost town to me!!!!

[Joe]

Jacksonville already has a central city park - it's called Klutho and Confederate parks, and it is a 27-acre greenway system. Maybe this city should stop wasting all of its incentive money on projects that take 15 years, or may not get done at all, and trying to create from scratch something that already exists! Half of that $24M JEDC has gifted to Hallmark/Miles for their Roman Coliseum-style stormwater ponds could make a fast and more impactful difference if it were spent fixing a "broken" area the city has neglected for decades.

In all fairness, that retention pond was forced upon us by Department of Transportantion traffic engineers for the Forest Street widening. That's a state project, beyond the control of our city leaders. The pond was going to happen no matter what.

So I think it was actually one of the city's few urban sucesses - they took a lemon and made lemonade! If you are going to have a big ugly retention pond downtown, you might as well spend the money to make it a pretty public park.

But yes, I totally agree with your anger about the neglect of Klutho/Confederate Park. They should have been repaired and maintained years ago.

[stjr]

Just to add a few memories (best of my childhood recollections) left out:

Fred Abood's Green Derby restaurant was a city favorite on the corner of the Blue Cross high rise property (Blue Cross had to build their complex around him originally!).

Big "R" Riverside Chevrolet (the Nimnicht family) was on the river (where I believe the Times Union is now) until the mid or late 1960's.

Of course, there was the old "666" Monticello Drug building at the foot of the original Acosta bridge.  The bridge's 1960's era gerrymandered "improved" ramp system was built around this building marked by an awkward and highly elevated "T" intersection and traffic light at a point about a quarter of the way up the original Acosta bridge.  So, as you proceeded down the bridge toward the north bank, you were faced with a wall directly in front of you and the option, after using the traffic signal, of a hard 90 degree turn to the left (Riverside) or right (Downtown).  Before this 1960's change, as I recall, you could not go from Riverside Avenue direct into Downtown, you had to divert to Park (but you could do the reverse, go from Downtown to Riverside).

The city bus company and a number of rail oriented warehouses also used to be located at the foot of the Acosta bridge where the Skyway terminus is now.

As a suggestion, it would be neat to lay side by side old aerials or street level photos of these areas when these stories are done to see the exact contrasts.  The significance of the changes would be even more apparent.

[Shwaz]

Park St through Brooklyn into downtown is my short commute to work. It's like driving through a time warp to me. Little factories with workers all waiting at the bus stops in matching white uniforms and hair nets.
Sometimes I have to get away from Park St. for awhile and go by way of Riverside ave... the street condition is in such bad shape and the traffic light timing seem to get inconveniently off and out of control.

Does anyone know or remember "Da Tunnel"? Was it a club? Is it vacant?

[halimeade]

The cultural resources company I work for did the archaeological and historical permitting for the Brooklyn Miles project (which seems like its never gonna get started, huh?)

I grew up in Jacksonville, in Mandarin, and while I knew about the historic Springfield area I'd never even HEARD of Brooklyn until I worked on this project. The place is a complete ghost town- by the time our field crew got to the Miles project area everything but four houses and a church had been turned into a heap of rubble. I imagine those buildings are gone by now, or going to be gone soon. The rest of the area is like a slowly deteriorating desert on the outskirts of downtown.

Though I don't think Brooklyn will ever be able to cut it as a historic district (what historic architecture of any significance is even left standing?) I'd love to see this area of town be revived as a modern urban community. It's in a fantastic location and could really contribute to the rebuilding of Jax's core.

[Tripoli1711]

I grew up at the beach and also had never heard of Brooklyn.  When I mention it to some of my friends who still live at the beach, their response is "What? Where's that?"  Reading this post, I am overwhelmed with how much potential this area of town has.

[JaxNative68]

I used to work in one of the Riverside Avenue buildings that were torn down for the avenue widening project.  Actually the buildings on the west side of the Avenue wore demolished for the expansion of the Skyway for a Riverside stop, which to my understanding has been permanently cancelled.  My best recollections of leaving work in that neighborhood are of the chickens and other poultry that ran around the parking lot, the mangy dogs that would sleep underneath your car, and the strung out drug users hitting you up for money with the same story night after night.  Not to be a cynic, but I don't miss it . . . well maybe I miss the chickens a little bit.

As for the new retention ponds, why could they not be vaulted below grade?  The new building on the corner of Riverside and Forest has vaulted all of its storm water retention underneath its parking garage; it's not a new technology, thus leaving the intersection property open for development.  The City of Jacksonville wants to make that interchange the gateway to downtown Jacksonville.  Nothing makes a better gateway to city than a scum infested retention pond.  I honestly think the City could have worked with FDOT to keep the corner lot from becoming an unmaintained retention pond.

As for why the riverfront in that area has not been developed further until now, the stretch that used to be Mansion row become the dumping ground for the city clean up after the great fire.  There is so much rubble below the surface that makes it expensive and sketchy for foundation designs and construction.

Unfortunately the historic fabric of Brooklyn has been lost forever, but there are still a few gem buildings still standing amongst the neighborhood worth saving.  A bigger misfortune is what the city let become of PS No. 4, a grand building rotting and suffocated by the highway expansion.  Hopefully the same does not happen to the rest of the historic structures in that area.  The industrial building of that area would make a great foundation for an art and design district for the city, similar to what has been done in Miami, and it would keep them from being torn down.

Brooklyn has so much potential, hopefully it won't get squandered.

[Shwaz]

Unfortunately the historic fabric of Brooklyn has been lost forever

I disagree... Da Tunnel is still standing!