Merrill-Stevens/Jacksonville Shipyards Site Timeline:
1850s - Jacob Brock opens Jacksonville's first shipyard off Bay Street.
1877 - Shipyard sold to Alonzo Stevens after Brock's death.
1887 - Stevens joins James Eugene and Alexander Merrill to form Merrill-Stevens Engineering Company.
1901 - The Great Fire of 1901 destroys the shipyard.
1902 - 1914 - Site used to build barges used in the construction of the Panama Canal.
Jacob Brock's shipyard off Bay Street
From left to right: A. Stevens, James Eugene and Alexander Merrill
Inside the machine shop of Brock's shipyard in the 1800s.
Merrill-Stevens Engineering Company in 1895.
Shortly before the Great Fire of 1901.
An image taken in 1903.
1906 - Shipyard is rebuilt and includes the largest dry dock between Newport News and New Orleans. The company is renamed Merrill-Stevens Co.
1918 - Merrill-Stevens employs 1,500. A description of the Bay Street shipyard from the United States shipping board emergency fleet corporation hearings in 1918.
Quote
The Merrill-Stevens Company now have two yards. The old yard is in Jacksonville proper, right on Bay Street, that is where they repair ships. They have a floating dock that lifts 4,500 tons; they have a marine railway; and they have three very ingenious electric hoists, the biggest of which could lift 270 tons.
In that yard they were also building a number of small ships, the biggest one being for the Gulf & Southern Co., a very complete ship, all steel. They build barges and ferryboats.
United States shipping board emergency fleet corporation: HearingsIn that yard they were also building a number of small ships, the biggest one being for the Gulf & Southern Co., a very complete ship, all steel. They build barges and ferryboats.
1916 - Shipyards renamed Merrill-Stevens Dry Dock & Repair Company after WWI.
1950s - Shipyards sold to Aerojet and Merrill-Stevens relocates to Miami, where they still are in operation today.
1960 - W.R. Lovett purchases the shipyard and it becomes known as Rawls Brothers Shipyard.
1960 - At the time of Lovett's purchase, the shipyards employs 700.
1963 - W.R. Lovett renames the company the Jacksonville Shipyards, Inc. (JSI).
James Eugene and Alexander Merrill and wives.
1968 - The 23,000 ton SS Constitution is overhauled at JSI becoming the largest passenger ship, at the time, to ever visit Jacksonville. 26 feet had to be removed from the ship's mast to fit it under the Matthews and Hart Bridges at low tide.
1969 - Fruehauf Corporation purchases JSI.
1973 - JSI employees 2,500 workers.
1977 - JSI is Jacksonville's largest civilian employer.
1980s - The shipyards begin to lose money for a string of consecutive years.
1989 - Winsconsin based Terex Corporation acquires Fruehauf. Terex, a road construction equipment manufacturer, announces that it will attempt to sell JSI. If there are no buyers, the shipyards will be closed.
1990 - Terex closes the shipyards, laying off 800 workers.
1990 - Terex reopens the shipyards after secret negotiations with the worker's union.
1991 - The Jacksonville Shipyards (JSI) employs 525 people.
1991 - Terex sells JSI's large dry docks for $28.8 million to Bahrain's Arab Shipbuilding & Repair Yard Company. Used to lift large ships out of water, the dry docks were the shipyard's primary revenue earners.
1992 - Without the dry docks, JSI closes for good putting 200 employees out of work.
A waterside view of one of the dry docks Terex let go.
1994 - The Satulah Group submits a proposal to turn the shipyards into a marine park and marketplace.
1995 - Jacksonville Riverfront Development Inc. purchases the shipyards. The corporation is a partnership between the Satulah Group and San Francisco developer John Hanan.
Late 1990s - Shipyards buildings converted into the River City Music Sheds, a place for concerts and special events.
1999 - Trilegacy Group, LLC. purchases shipyards site with the intention to build warehousing facilities.
2001 - After being convinced by Mayor John Delaney, Trilegacy plan changes to a major mixed-used development that will include 662 residential units, 100,000 square feet of retail, 1 million square feet of office space, a 350-unit hotel, a 150-slip marina and a 16.8 acre park at buildout. The remaining shipyards industrial buildings, known as the River City Music Sheds, are demolished in anticipation for this development.
2005 - After Trilegacy fiasco, LandMar takes over shipyards with plans for a massive mixed-use development.
2009 - Ripped to shreads by the economy, LandMar files for bankruptcy and the city proceeds to foreclose on the site.
LandMar Shipyards project renderings
Looking towards the shipyards site today.
The Shipyards site in July 2008.
2009 - Mayor John Peyton announces his intention to decide on a plan for the site's future before he leaves office in 2011.
Source: Jacksonville Public Library Special Collections Department vertical files
Images by the State of Florida Archives
Article by Ennis Davis
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BridgeTroll
November 03, 2009, 07:04:35 AMNice article and pics...
fsu813
November 03, 2009, 07:07:50 AMwell.
at least the sidewalk is built.
mtraininjax
November 03, 2009, 07:56:40 AMGreat article and pictures!
civil42806
November 03, 2009, 08:11:49 AMNice article and even better pictures, but what does this have to do with SPAR or rail?
DarkEye
November 03, 2009, 08:12:53 AMMy dad worked for JSI from 1968-1990. He worked at the Mayport office. After 22 years one morning he was given his pink slip and told to go home.
I worked at the data center downtown for a few months in the summer 1985.
Overstreet
November 03, 2009, 08:56:37 AMSooner or later something will be there.
heights unknown
November 03, 2009, 09:09:03 AMProbably more later than sooner. Just shows how indecisive our City is in just about everything. We shall see (I hope).
Heights Unknown
jeh1980
November 03, 2009, 10:02:25 AMIt's not the city's fault that this shipyards land is empty. Maybe perhaps Donald Trump may one day have an interest on that land and make it better for the city!
Dog Walker
November 03, 2009, 10:20:36 AMAside from the military contracts, there is no shipbuilding industry left in the United States anywhere. The fancy cruise ships and ferries are built in Finland, Germany, and Italy. The freighters and tankers are built in Korea or Taiwan. High speed ferries are built in Australia and New Zealand. We didn't lose this industry in this country due to lower wages in other places, but for some other reasons.
During WWII, both sides of the river near downtown were turning out ships around the clock. Jacksonville was a major center for the building of Liberty ships. Bishop Kenny High School and Church of the Assumption are built on an old ship building site.
Something will be built on that site on the river. Waterfront sites eventually get developed, but usually only after a good deal of controversy and false starts. Queen's Harbour in Toronto and Canary Wharf in London come to mind.
thelakelander
November 03, 2009, 10:33:41 AMBtw, Merrill Stevens is still in existance today. They have a large yacht building facility on the Miami River.
http://www.merrillstevens.com/
Dog Walker
November 03, 2009, 10:44:50 AMThat yacht in the picture may have been at the Merrill-Stevens yard for repairs, but it was not built there. It is a Feadship and they are built in Holland.
The Gallant Lady, the JM Enterprises yacht, that has been in Jax for the past week or so for the game is also a Feadship.
stjr
November 03, 2009, 10:45:11 AMThe shipyards and JEA sites should be considered for public riverfront megasites - big event gathering areas, esplanade, ball fields for future kids (and the young-at-heart adults) living downtown, to preserve river access and show off our greatest asset to maximum effect, etc. If Mayor Peyton did this, it would be his greatest legacy bar none. A great way to go out with a bang!
See more on this at:
"Proposed Super Bowl Legacy: Downtown Gathering & Event Mega-Site"
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,4434.0.html
sandyshoes
November 03, 2009, 11:08:13 AMVery nice article and pix...I can't get enough of these looks into Jax's past.
fsu813
November 03, 2009, 11:12:32 AMYou would like Wayne Wood's book then:
http://www.jaxhistory.com/Book-page-photography.html
and probably many others at this page:
http://www.jaxhistory.com/JHS-Bookstore.html#Family
AaroniusLives
November 03, 2009, 11:45:31 AMI worked on the advertising for LandMar's Shipyards development, and it was quite a plan they had going there. From their perspective, they were going to use their expertise in "experiential" development to create this mixed-use, semi-public/semi-private community.
http://amgordonwriter.info/uploads/ShipyardsThisChangesEverything.jpg
There was two problems with the plan as we saw it. In the first place, there's not really a large amount of pent-up demand for urban living in Downtown Jax...so we'd all have to create that demand. The next problem is obvious: downtown Jacksonville is full of empty plots of land...and isn't really a "downtown" area. There's just not enough critical mass in the core. While Shipards would have perhaps added some retail and residential to that depressed core...we were also selling a cosmopolitan lifestyle in a vibrant downtown that really didn't exist (or, at least, hasn't existed in Jacksonville since the 1950s.)
I've been exploring this site for the past two days, and it's pretty cool. I'm a former Miamian myself, so it's nice to see some interesting perspectives on a region even more screwed up than South Florida. Some interesting observations:
1. The mistake regarding your downtown is in wanting higher, taller buildings (indeed: it's the mistake made by the landowners jacking up the price and the "skyscrapercity.com" folk.) I currently live in DC, where there's nary a high-rise...but tons of real, urban life. And trees! I have nothing against the skyscraper, but many of them are not pedestrian or street friendly. Heck, I lived in Atlanta (where I worked on Shipyards,) in a 50 story building that required me to drive everywhere.
2. The reason South Florida is so dense involves geography, not a "desire for urbanity." Mass transit in every city south of DC sucks. Miami's especially sucks, is especially broke, and is run by especially corrupt people who have stole billions from the public till. Plus, it goes nowhere you want it to go and not in style. So, while Miami may have verticality and may be adopting some great urban principles (finally,) it's because they are 'done' with the build out of land...they have no choice BUT to build up...
3. ...this ties into my JAX moment. Use the DC model, which is a variation of the Paris model. It doesn't have to be vertical to be downtown. It has to be livable and beautiful. Instead of trying to get 5000 people to live in 8 high-rises while the rest of downtown looks like a moonscape, get them to move into a series of city blocks no more than 6 stories tall. The moonscape vanishes and the streets flourish.
4. In my meetings with LandMar, I noticed a very odd thing about Jacksonville...it's essentially this large place that's empty. Having moved from Miami to Tampa to Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta and DC, I was always struck by the "overbuilt" aspect of Jacksonville. A skyway to nowhere. A massive airport nowhere near capacity. A downtown festival marketplace twice the size of Miami's Bayside and always 1/4 as full. Outside of the core: malls with tons of space and not tons of people. I'm sure this is changing dramatically fast with your high population growth rate...but remember, you have tons of land and a market demanding suburban-style living. Before they over-run Duval and the counties that make up your MSA, you have to convince them that there's another alternative that doesn't look like NYC. Use DC as the model and densify horizontally.
thelakelander
November 03, 2009, 11:52:21 AMThe Gallant Lady, the JM Enterprises yacht, that has been in Jax for the past week or so for the game is also a Feadship.
I just yanked a photo off the web. However, they do build and repair yachts in Miami.
fsu813
November 03, 2009, 11:54:27 AMoh, densifying horizontally is not the problem. noone is rushing to build skyscrapers here. it's that the densifying is happening on Gate Parkway instead of Downtown.
thelakelander
November 03, 2009, 12:02:55 PMhttp://amgordonwriter.info/uploads/ShipyardsThisChangesEverything.jpg
There was two problems with the plan as we saw it. In the first place, there's not really a large amount of pent-up demand for urban living in Downtown Jax...so we'd all have to create that demand. The next problem is obvious: downtown Jacksonville is full of empty plots of land...and isn't really a "downtown" area. There's just not enough critical mass in the core. While Shipards would have perhaps added some retail and residential to that depressed core...we were also selling a cosmopolitan lifestyle in a vibrant downtown that really didn't exist (or, at least, hasn't existed in Jacksonville since the 1950s.)
I thought LandMar's and the city's focus on downtown living was off too. The demand for urban living isn't luxury, its market rate. The path to downtown vibrancy should be making the place more attractive to urban pioneers to add culture and life to the city. When it is a vibrant place, the luxury market will come on its own.
Good advice!
stjr
November 03, 2009, 12:40:01 PM3. ...this ties into my JAX moment. Use the DC model, which is a variation of the Paris model. It doesn't have to be vertical to be downtown. It has to be livable and beautiful. Instead of trying to get 5000 people to live in 8 high-rises while the rest of downtown looks like a moonscape, get them to move into a series of city blocks no more than 6 stories tall. The moonscape vanishes and the streets flourish.
... you have to convince them that there's another alternative that doesn't look like NYC. Use DC as the model and densify horizontally.
AaroniusLives, welcome. Your post is timely as I just started a thread in this vain on MJ yesterday titled "Top 10 Things to Make DOWN-town a BOOM-town" at: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,6638.0.html .
I think you will find most of my suggestions are in the spirit of your recommendations, i.e making people WANT to live downtown because it has the livability amenities they are looking for. Much of this is the little things that make life convenient such as recreation areas, an assortment of everyday stores and services (drug store, grocery store, cleaners, car repair, gas station, beauty and barber shops, schools, doctor offices, etc.), schools, and ease and reliability of movement (such as great sidewalks, street cars, and buses).
With our continuing lack of retail frontage, there aren't many opportunities for these places. Such retail spaces need to be incorporated into larger buildings serving other purposes due to the value of the land. It's sickening to see how many parking garages we have with little or no ground level retail. Nor do many of our high rises. This becomes a chicken and egg issue.
We also need wide open play areas and schools for families to move downtown. No kid is going to be happy with out a playing field to run around on or do Little League. Using the Shipyards property would even give families a fishing pier. Won't find that in most suburban communities! Neighborhood schools would be a master stroke. Families would do much to live within a short distance of a quality school wherever it's located. This alone could attract hundreds of families downtown. The school playgrounds could double as neighborhood playgrounds as well.
I did push for policies making high rise residential living more appealing versus urban sprawl developments but, perhaps, what I should have said was to make high DENSITY housing downtown more appealing. Aside from that, I think we may be on the same page. Take a look and add your comments. Thanks again.
Dog Walker
November 03, 2009, 03:03:46 PMAshville, North Carolina, although much smaller than Jax, is a good example of "low rise" downtown revitalization. There are dozens of two and three story buildings with lots of small restaurants, bars, dry cleaners, boutiques, galleries, shoe repair shops, etc.etc. with lofts, condos and apartments above them. There is life on the streets almost 24/7.
It doesn't take thirty story towers to make a vibrant downtown.
stjr
November 03, 2009, 03:10:18 PMIt doesn't take thirty story towers to make a vibrant downtown.
See also most of Charleston and Savannah and a good part of New Orleans.
Dan B
November 03, 2009, 03:14:07 PMVery few cities have more than a few sky scrapers. I would love to see new scrapers going up, but I would rather see our broken tooth smile of a downtown filled in with 2 and 3 story buildings.
Right now between the Shell Station and the bridge, there is only one place with a door facing Main Street. I would like to see that change too.
billy
November 03, 2009, 03:16:13 PMAn enormous opportunity was wasted with the wholesale clearing of La Villa, not to mention Brooklyn.
Many of these buildings would have been perfect small scale candidates for reuse, and would have provided redevelopment connectivity between Riverside and Downtown.
stephendare
November 03, 2009, 03:18:03 PMno doubt billy.
Sadly this is the outcome when the only people whose opinions matter are big developers.
Im sure they were all torn down on a case by case basis though.
thelakelander
November 03, 2009, 03:36:00 PMNot LaVilla. It was a coordinated demolition derby and one that Jax should be ashamed of.
stephendare
November 03, 2009, 03:55:54 PMthe statement was obviously facetious
Ocklawaha
November 03, 2009, 05:10:22 PMAbsolutely Nothing! Right!
WRONG!
When the Fernandina and Jacksonville railroad was opened from Yulee - Oceanway - Springfield - Jacksonville, after the War of Yankee Aggression, they established extensive terminals, docks on the River, and a railroad station about where Maxwell House sits today.
The F&J was purchased by the Seaboard Air Line RR, after they built across the state line near Kingsland, connecting with the Florida Central and Peninsular RR, at Yulee for Callahan - Baldwin - Gainesville - Cedar Key, as well as a new "branchline," to a tiny bayside town called Tampa. The FC&P also had owned through a purchase of it's own, the railroad from Jacksonville - Baldwin - Lake City - Tallahassee - River Junction. One of the first orders of business, to consolidate the new and far flung Seaboard Routes, was to create a connection within Jacksonville between the former F&J and the Jacksonville - Baldwin mainline. By 1894 Seaboard was in firm control of Jacksonville's Railroading, the segments were later merged into the parent company in 1903.
The "S" line is a direct result of the mergers and the widely separated segments between Springfield and Jacksonville Union Station, which by the late 90's was already one of the busier terminals in America. Taking the "S" from Springfield, roughly alongside 20Th Street to Moncrief Road, and hence South into the Station was a master stroke. North of Springfield, past the old Imeson Air Base/Airport, Oceanway, Fernandina and all the way to Richmondl, the Seaboard anchored an Empire on the little railroad to the docks.
In 1897, the Atlantic, Valdosta and Western Railroad was chartered as a short - line between Valdosta and the Port of Jacksonville. The "S" effectively blocked the newbie from Port Access, and it wasn't highly likely they would be let in around the foot of Broad Street either. In 1902, the property was merged with several other lines to form the Georgia, Southern and Florida RR. This company then spun off a privately held shortline from it's yard in Grand Crossing, directly into Springfield, ending up at the Seaboards old F&J line, right where their "S" Line joined. Called the St. Johns River Terminal Railroad, the new railroad finally got across the Seaboards tracks.
In those wild days of railroading, like a game of chess, many a railroad would build just to block the other player. There were two ways around this, they could go to the State and plead their case, which usually ended up in the hands of a court friendly to the oldest and most moneyed carrier. The other was to reach the crossing, file the paperwork, then in the dead of night, throw down the needed crossing before sunrise. A loophole in the law allowed the railroad domain, once it was on the ground. Thus the G.S.& F. was safely able to enter the terminals, mills and warehousing of today's Talleyrand Docks area. They also split off a branch which cleverly followed the old F&J, only 50' to the west, from Springfield to the St. Johns River. Seaboard was something of a block bully and they were beaten at their own game. When in a short time the G.S & F. sold out to the Southern Ry., from the Maxwell House area they had almost exclusive access to the downtown docks.
When the Shipyards went up and in the Great War and World War II, both railroads were well positioned to take care of Jacksonville Ship building and repair. We launched around 100 large ships during WWII, and hundreds more landing craft, (at Huckins Yacht on the Ortega River). These railroads survived into the modern era of NS and CSX, and the last rails didn't come up until the industry was gone.
But perhaps that's not the end of our story Civil, consider that these two companies left us track and right-of-ways, ready made for Light Rail, from Bay or Beaver St. to Springfield, Gateway Mall, Shand's, Oceanway, Yulee, Kingsland.
YOU ASKED FOR IT!
OCKLAWAHA
Ocklawaha
November 03, 2009, 05:16:15 PMthe statement was obviously facetious
Sadly, in terms of historic PRE-FIRE fabric, the destruction of Fairfield, was probably even worse!
OCKLAWAHA
stjr
November 03, 2009, 05:27:00 PMCivil, you just had to ask?!!
mtraininjax
November 03, 2009, 05:59:10 PMI love riding by FL 2 alongside the GS&F. Its a cool ride.
JaxNative68
November 04, 2009, 01:50:26 PMhow many millions of taxpayer dollars has the city pissed away on the shipyards site in the last 10 years. If my count is right it is about 8, and we have nothing to show for it.