Jacksonville History - Our Historic Treasures Amidst Changing Times

[@edofjville]

I love all of the archived pictures. Jacksonville's history is full of interesting details and lots and lots of change. Its fun to look at old photos and see how downtown has changed and evolved over the past 100 plus years. I was born in 1989 so I'm too young to have experienced May-Cohens, Ivey's, or the toll booths but even in my lifetime, downtown and Jacksonville at large has changed significantly. Its amazing to think that within my lifetime, the Acosta and Fuller Warren bridges were replaced, the Colosseum was demolished and replaced with the Arena, the Gator Bowl was replaced with Everbank Field as we got an NFL team, the Avenues Mall was built, the St. Johns Town Center was built, the interstate 295 beltway was completed, 4 condominiums were added to the downtown skyline, we got a pro soccer team, and we hosted a Super Bowl. I hope downtown's renaissance continues into the future and that the Laura Street Trio gets redeveloped, the Landing redevelopment goes through, the Shipyards get cleaned up and utilized, the District gets built on the Southbank, the Everbank Field amphitheater and indoor practice field are built, Coastline Drive is fixed, the Prime Osborne is turned back into a train station for Amtrak, and we build a new convention center on the river. It would be great to have an aquarium and the U.S.S. Adams naval museum next to it on the river and extend the northbank riverwalk all the way to the sports complex and Metropolitan Park. Last but not least, modernize and extend the Skyway to the Sports Complex and Brooklyn.

[@TheJaxLeft]

+EdofJville Thanks, It is so remarkable how much has happened and there are many great ideas for the city! I hope that we see at least some of the ones that you mentioned within our lifetime.

[@Triskster]

I remember going to Sears downtown in the 70s. There was a Grants on the corner of 103rd and Blanding in what's now known as Anchor Plaza.

[@elizabethgould994]

What, in your opinion, destroyed downtown??? So many abandoned buildings and so few stores 😭

[@TheJaxLeft]

I would say vast suburbanization throughout Duval County since the 1950's and people choosing to build brand new elsewhere.

[@battalionchiefparker2820]

What's the Intro song name?

[@TheJaxLeft]

Thanks for the question, It’s The Jax Life Theme Song. I commissioned a friend on Facebook to create a song with the criteria that it be a song that "sounds" like Jacksonville - North Florida. It ran on the channel on most broadcasts for a long time. I was glad that I was able to have a unique song for a unique channel.

[@TURNER6368]

FORREST 1970