Crash Trash and Weekend Bash! The MJ Club Crawl.

[Jennifer Browning]

Good start. Reviewing bars/clubs/venues is extremely hard to do, mainly because the crowd, drink specials, etc. can change daily. For instance, TSI on a Tuesday night for Karaoke is generally not going to have the same vibe as Penny PBR Fridays or Intermission Saturdays. I consider myself a nightlife aficionado, especially in the Jacksonville area. As much as people won't realize it, the Jacksonville scene is as dynamic as any I've encountered, it just takes a gentle understanding of social movement in the city. I think this will be a good project, but in all honesty, I really agree with some of the commentary about the rating system. A lot of it is going to be exceedingly subjective. I am also a firm believer in needing to get to know a bar by experiencing an entire night there before passing judgment. Spending an hour here or there really does not give an accurate perspective of the ebb and flow of a place; happy hour at Park Place is going to attract the a different crowd or create a different atmosphere than Park Place just after happy hour is over.

I met Jennifer a few weeks ago at TSI and believe she will do a good job fettering out the nuances of the city's watering holes. I just hope she takes her time and paces herself, both with the project and the oatmeal cookie shots.

Chris, I totally agree with you about the differences in nights at TSI which is why we're going to review the scene on different nights in order to give an accurate picture of what's going on with the nightlife in Jacksonville.  Thank you for your support. 

[Ocklawaha]

Jeez, Ock. Sounds like you are the life of the party at the meet and greets. 

Still waiting on more info on the Baldwin rail history (or point me where to find it). Thanks in advance  

Not really, though I do like to down a straight bottle of good Southern Bourbon now and then. Guess I'm too old for arm candy and not rich enough to be the sugar daddy, but the imagination downs more then drinks.

As for BALDWIN RAIL HISTORY, we could do an article on it. Otherwise go to the downtown library, Florida collection, 4Th floor. Ask for my book, "Rails 'Neath the Palms". Inside the chapters are laid out as the systems build, so start with the Florida Railroad and move up through the others to the Seaboard Air Line and beyond. There are family trees of the companies laid out so you can see how the pieces came together.

Photos, we can always dig up more photos. Oh and the double take for Baldwin is it also the name of one of the nations largest steam locomotive builders. Based in Eddystone PA. Baldwin came to the Diesel party too late, partly due to war production board only allowing them to build a proved product + their new diesel switcher. Alco, EMD (GM) and others got to build road and passenger diesels. Where the intersects Baldwin, FL is interesting. Seaboard Air Line, which owned all 4 Baldwin FL routes, was a loyal Baldwin customer. They were one of only (4) 3 railroads to order the strange super engine called the Centipede. This rare as heck and WAY AHEAD OF ITS TIME engine has just come out in model form $450 bucks +/- . I did a thread on this a couple of weeks ago. These Baldwins, were regulars in BALDWIN! Just looking up Baldwin and Seaboard and you'll find a host of cool photos.

Lastly, no Baldwin fan town or train, should be allowed to live without knowing the tune from the War of Yankee Aggression. This is a folk song and a real belly laugh. Just pull up "Bobby Horton, Old Abner's Shoes." 

(4) Union Pacific, ordered a sample then for unknown reasons refused delivery. The others were Seaboard, National of Mexico and Pennsylvania Railroad.

OCKLAWAHA

[lastcall]

What a great idea and article to read. I agree that the rating system is highly subjective as I have been to most of these bars and they are all very different every night and also tend to change throughout the night as well. I have a few questions to pose since I usually just read the forum and do not post often. Question #1 - I do not see any review on Twisted Martini, Maverick's, or The Ivy. What gives? You visited most of the bars / clubs in the downtown area so why not those establishments? I think for the article to have merit then you should visit all of them and give a review, not just providing positive reviews for bars that are advertising on this website. Question #2 - You spelled Ivy incorrectly. Why? It is Ivy not Ivey. There is a big sign on the side of the building if you need to verify its spelling. Again, I think the idea behind this article is much needed and will allow for all kinds of opinions to be posted. However, in your review of Mark's you made the personal comment about some meatheads from Ivy find their way down to Mark's. This leads me to believe that you have a personal issue with some of the bars in the downtown district since they were not reviewed and poor comments are being written. Kind of hard to take your article seriously when you do not review all of the bars in the said area and I look at the top of the page and the bar with the highest ratings just happens to be an advertiser on the site. Maverick's was packed all weekend with the Country Concert Series and Country Concert (only at Maverick's on Saturday) and there is not a mention of that. Twisted was also fairly busy with overflow from the crowd at The Landing. I went bar hopping as well and found most of the downtown bars to be average to slow. I love the area and hope is grows into a very vibrant part of downtown but articles like this should include everyone. I think one of the best attributes of the bars on Bay St. and surrounding areas is the vast diversity of the types of bars. It is not like the beach where you simply open up a bar and people show up in the masses. Mark’s is great with the awesome décor and being a pioneer of Bay St., Dive is a great get-a-way and people that smoke and enjoy being inside as opposed to Mark’s and Ivy making people go outside. Ivy is doing a great job in being consistent and opening during a recession. I didn’t figure they would last this long and I am glad to be wrong. TSI provides a completely different style of music and crowd which is nice when I need a change of scene. The Landing is what it is but I always have a good time at Twisted and Maverick is not for everyone but at least the option is there for those who like country music.

[lastcall]

Stephen. Thank you for the insight. I stand corrected and look forward to the upcoming articles. I do read the forum a lot and post here and there. Love the site and hope no one takes the comments to seriously. Maybe I will see you all out this weekend! It is a good time for this article as well since the summer is ending and people tend to start going out downtown a lot more. Love all of the bars you all are doing a great job.

[stephElf]

maybe there was a secret meat head roundup that none of us were privy to

hehehe

[New To Jax]

I think your idea for this article is great and am glad someone finally put something out there for people who don't know Jax to well to check out places to go.  I am disappointed with some of the things you said about the bars.  I have been in Jax for about a year now and have never found Dive Bar to be packed on a Friday or Saturday and smoking inside drives me crazy.  And you were right about their bar tenders....they never make a decent drink.  Marks is good, not sure about the whole meat crowd thing but the last two times I have been in there a big fight broke out between two groups of guys and the second time I was with a group of 12+ and Mark himself would not make a deal with us for cover.  I mean 12 people going inside to buy drinks I think deserve a few free....but we had a good time anyways.  I think you should check out some of these places sober, I mean you ended your night at Marks after taking numerous shots and drinking most the night.  Of course your going to give a great rating I am sure you were having a great time.  I agree with what Last Call said but did see your response that you are going to the rest of the places.  Me and My friends love Twisted, Ivy and Mavericks and spend more time at those places then the rest you went to.  You can always count on Ivy for a free drink with the owner walking around talking to everyone making you feel at home.  E.L. is great on Saturdays!  And you can't say Mavericks isn't a good time who doesn't like a mechanical bull and two story club!!  Twisted has gotten slower these last few weeks but we still support it!!! I just think maybe you should take it a little more seriously then just going out and getting drunk rating things.  Try talking to the people and asking what they like instead of comparing cookie shots.  I good care less about the drinks half the time and just want to dance and meet people.   But thank you for giving me some insight on Jack Rabbits and Shanty Town, I have never been to those places and will probably go check them out this weekend!!!

New2Jax

[Jennifer Browning]

Stephen. Thank you for the insight. I stand corrected and look forward to the upcoming articles. I do read the forum a lot and post here and there. Love the site and hope no one takes the comments to seriously. Maybe I will see you all out this weekend! It is a good time for this article as well since the summer is ending and people tend to start going out downtown a lot more. Love all of the bars you all are doing a great job.

Thank you for posting.    I appreciate that you think we're doing a great job, perhaps we'll see you out during one of the Club Crawls. 

[TREE4309]

Should I start singing Kumbaya now or what?

[Captain Zissou]

I think the ratings were as objective as bar ratings will ever get.  It will obviously take time, but I think this will end up being a great resource for people who want to have fun.  I am moving to the south bank at the end of the week and am looking forward to trying some of the places DT that I have not yet seen.  This is a great way to get a preview of what to expect.

[marksjax]

To Stephen, Ennis, Jennifer and the entire staff at MetroJacksonville.com. Great job on your website in general and I want to thank you for doing what really (to my knowledge) has never been done locally: A detailed review of bars instead of restaurants!

It is refreshing to hear unsolicited opinions and comments (good or bad). I am always looking to improve and we will learn from our mistakes. Nobody is perfect, but we are really trying to offer a quality experience and make Downtown a fun place to party.

To those readers who have not been pleased with some aspect of Mark's and Dive Bar I would only ask that we get a chance to show you we can do better. We are just local folks trying to do the best we can. I am very accessible and am happy to discuss anything in person to anyone who has a complaint, compliment, suggestion, etc.

I also want to thank the other bars/clubs and restaurants that have taken a chance in opening Downtown. It has certainly been a challenge for us all, especially in the current economy.

I remain optimistic that Downtown can be a successful local destination for nightlife.

Thanks for doing what you do and keep up the good work.

Regards, Mark

[Bewler]

To those readers who have not been pleased with some aspect of Mark's and Dive Bar I would only ask that we get a chance to show you we can do better.

I don’t think it’s anything you guys do specifically, it’s just some people prefer dingy bars while others like a more swanky club atmosphere. Can’t please everyone all the time, though I understand the desire to when it’s the main aspect of your business.

[braeburn]

Yes, and some of us prefer men's night over ladies night 

[TREE4309]

To those readers who have not been pleased with some aspect of Mark's and Dive Bar I would only ask that we get a chance to show you we can do better.

I don’t think it’s anything you guys do specifically, it’s just some people prefer dingy bars while others like a more swanky club atmosphere. Can’t please everyone all the time, though I understand the desire to when it’s the main aspect of your business.

That pretty much sums it up.  The music and the ambiance of a particular bar or club is generally what will attract or detract me.  The ambiance of each place isn't going to change much from night to night, so if you want to attract varied subsets of people, then you might want to try switching up the music on different nights. Top 40 isn't for everyone.

[cayohueso]

In 5 Points, don't forget Mossfire's tequila bar (OK...too small for a club) but still cool and head to The Alibi  on Cassat for a good dive...and then Pasttime's of course.

[TREE4309]

The Alibi and Pasttime's are on Edgewood in Murray Hill.  =)