Inside the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant

[Ocklawaha]

One can do a search through the property appraisers office or the Court House. Another possible site is the JEDC on line site, with the GIS mapping under services. As the scale of the map gets larger, their are more and more "Toys" to play with, layers and other cool details that one can select, So you could go from map to detailed block map, to even more detailed lot map, flood plain layers, then with a click, go to photo image, and lot Id and owner...

Another way is shoot the photos from public access. A sidewalk or road in front, back or side often gives great views of the whole place.

Also, walk right in, past the NO TRESPASSING sign to the nearest gatehouse, guard or office you see. Go in and tell them THE TRUTH... Just learn to add or delete to suit your needs... For example "Javier" is a shoe sales clerk at a local Wal Mart Store, he might get transferred to the stock room with a 10 cent raise. He's a happy man and loves to photograph old buildings.

Javier walks up to a guard and asks to see the plant manager... "Oh Mr. Plant isn't in today, but young J.D. is." So we wait for J. D. and he finally shows up. Stand up, walk up and shake his hand. "J. D. I work with the Wal Mart Corporation out of Bentonville, Arkansas, and am moving into their transportation and logistics systems division soon. I was driving by and saw your rail siding and thought it looked like a perfect model for something I have been telling them about... Would you mind if I took a couple of snap shots of the building, and it's relation to the railroad?"

Next, is Frank. Frank is a homeless guy that works enough to buy the next bottle of dinner and loves to shoot film for his laptop, plugged in behind the Prime Osbourne, under the bridge in a tent! Frank was once big on Computers and loves his building photos. He shows up at the gate which is fenced, guarded and photographed. "Hi I'm Frank, I study photography and have some ideas for new digital images of our City Buildings. Forgive my appearance but we've been working with the homeless all day and I've been asked to photograph anyplace that looks like it might develop a problem with these sort of people. Do y'all have a problem with people in the property?

Well, you get the idea, just fit the conversation to the problem and tackle it like your life or job depends on it. If they give permission with strings attached, "Okay, but stay away from XXX or don't photograph the trucks or... " RESPECT THEIR WISHES.

In any and all cases, "TAKE NOTHING BUT PICTURES AND LEAVE NOTHING BUT FOOTPRINTS...."

Ockalwaha

[leahfu]

Your pictures took my breath away. I've always looked at that while riding over the Mathew's(Matthews?) Bridge and wondered what it was. Thankyou SO MUCH for sharing

[mborum]

My family owned--or at least rented--this facility in the 1970s and early 1980s. My grandfather's business, the Otis C. Borum Boat company, or just Borum Boats, manufactured hundreds of fibreglas boats during that time with a staff of a few dozen workers (including my dad, who was the lead draftsman).

I remember visiting this building as a kid and my brother and I would have so much fun exploring the parts of it that Granddad didn't use. Back in the 70s it wasn't in such bad repair since Ford had only shut it down a few years prior. Borum Boats used the showroom space and the manufacturing floor and kept it all pretty well-maintained. I used to be so proud to see our name on the huge "BORUM BOATS, INC." sign that used to be face out towards the Matthews Bridge every time we drove over.

Anyway, it's a terrible shame that it has become so ruined in the years since we gave it up. I no longer live in Jacksonville, but a space like this one is the ideal type of space for a public art gallery or  exhibition hall for special events. It's too bad the Talleyrand area in general is so industrial that it isn't very appealing to the general public. Still, I'd love to see the building restored (at least partially) and preserved for a more useful purpose.

[stjr]

Pictures courtesy of Old Arlington Inc. web site at http://oldarlington.org/GP-CP-FordPlant01.php :

[Keith-N-Jax]

I agree with Pancake.  If done right correctly it would put the Landing to shame.   

Doubt it. This place is isolated and cut off from everything. The Landing is in a prime location with access views to freindship fountain, three bridges, and most of the southbank. Beautiful at night.

[Sportmotor]

There was a lot of light in the place, due to all the windows and skylights it had.  I've explored a good number of abandoned buildings and I'd say the Park View Inn was one of the creepiest in Jax.

Inside The Park View Inn: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/344/117/

I got about 50+ pictures of my time exploring that, that was much fun

[Omarvelous09]

I'd love to see an aquarium, or some kind of public attraction....but doubt if anything ever happens with it. 

[BridgeTroll]

Check out the oil or fuel pollution coming from the plant...

[Dog Walker]

Was the assembly plant built on the riverfront because the parts came in by barge?  I presume that the assembled trucks went out by rail or under their own power.  Were other Ford assembly plants also built on the water?

My father was in his teens during Prohibition and lived just off Tallyrand.  He told stories of brewing up homemade wine, putting the bottles in a red wagon and selling it to the workers at this plant during their lunch break.  He bought his first, very used, car with the proceeds.

[Overstreet]

I know of some due diligence investigation into turning this into loft apartments, but I think it died. It is just too burried into the Talleyrand industrial area.

[ChriswUfGator]

I know of some due diligence investigation into turning this into loft apartments, but I think it died. It is just too burried into the Talleyrand industrial area.

Yeah that's the thing, because of it's location I can't imagine anybody wanting to live there. The whole area is heavy industrial. If the entire zone were tackled and converted at once, that might work, but I can't see anybody buying an apartment next to factories and shipping centers.

[904Scars]

I personally think it would make a great Jax / North FL historical museum. Throw some old planes from the airfield, some old trains from the old station, and some old Fords from the plant along with thousands of photos and any and all historical items from Jax. Maybe a section devoted to the fire etc etc. Would make a great tourist attraction (though we don't get much, we always complain there is nothing for them to do).

[billy]

What does the current Folio article say might happen with the property?
I don't have access to the article.

[Ocklawaha]

Being one of the explorers, my opinion is that it will be torn down. It's certainly not what I would want and the building is grand indeed, but it is buried. No matter what the "urban" use, the buyer or developer would have to buy out everything in front of it all the way to Talleyrand. There would almost have to be redevelopment of the Commodore Point area for Urban, Retail and Residential uses. At one time the streetcar line had 3 routes to Talleyrand, putting this in the middle of a historical area.

The negatives are that it is FAR from the downtown core, not walkable, hidden, not easily accessable, in a very industrially blighted neighborhood, along side a major expressway bridge, and MAYBE in the path of bridge or tunnel construction...

Other then that, it's beautiful.

OCKLAWAHA

[thelakelander]

Its got river frontage, rail access and surrounded by industrial warehousing and maritime uses. My prediction is that if it doesn't eventually fall down, it will be filled with an industrial/maritime related use.  Btw, I attended a public workshop last month where the owners requested a land use change back to industrial (a decade or so ago the land use was changed to allow for lofts).