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About Commodore Point
Sawmill workers in 1897.
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nounhttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/commodore
1. (Military) Brit a naval rank junior to rear admiral and senior to captain
2. (Transport / Nautical Terms) the senior captain of a shipping line
3. (Transport / Nautical Terms) the officer in command of a convoy of merchant ships
4. (Transport / Nautical Terms) the senior flag office of a yacht or boat club
[probably from Dutch commandeur, from French, from Old French commander to command]
A house on the Kalem Company's studio complex.
Commodore Point was a part of a 225-acre Spanish land grant to Daniel Hogans that was sold several times prior to 1850, when it was subdivided by John Brantley and Mrs. George Houston. Sawmills were soon built along the riverfront, the first by Alexander & Hardie, followed by T.V. Cashen, Eppinger & Russell. John O'Neil, Dexter Hunter, and Henry Clark. In 1882, the area became a part of the City of Fairfield. The City would only be in existance for five years with it being annexed into Jacksonville in 1887. Fairfield's name came from it being the site of Florida's first state fair in 1876. The fairgrounds were the site of the only world's championship prize fight ever held in Jacksonville. On January 25, 1894, heavyweight champion James J. Corbett knocked out Charles Mitchell in the third round to retain his title.
In 1908, the Kalem Company opened in a former boardinghouse at the foot of Clarkson Street, becoming the city's first motion-picture studio. Today, this site is occupied by the former Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant. The assembly plant was constructed in 1924 and designed by famed Detroit Architect Albert Kahn. At its height of operations, it employed 800 people and produced 200 Model-Ts a day.
Over time, Commodore Point's riverfront would increasingly become dominanted by maritime related industries as the original sawmills faded into history.
Source: Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage
A motion picture advertisement by the Kalem Company in 1910.
A sawmill on the St. Johns River in 1915.
Steamboats docked at Commodore Point in 1939.
Steamboats docked at Commodore Point in 1939.
A Commodore Point warehouse filled with diesel engines in 1942.
Inside a new Commodore Point warehouse in 1943. Today, this structure is occupied by North Florida Shipyards.
Looking over Commodore Point with downtown in the background in 1948. Union Carbon dioxide's plant can be seen in the center of the image (small buildings with smoke stacks).
Inside the Ford Motor Company assembly plant in 1948.
An aerial of Commodore Point in 1951.
An aerial of Commodore Point in 1953.
Overlooking Commodore Point in 1953.
An aerial view of the Gator Bowl Stadium over Adams Street (looking east) during the 1954 game between Auburn University and Baylor University.
Aerial view of the John E. Mathews bridge in 1953.
Commodore Point Today
The Mathews Bridge spans the St. Johns River, forming Commodore Point's north border. Constructed in 1953, the bridge brings traffic along the Arlington Expressway between downtown Jacksonville and the Arlington neighborhood. It was named after John E. Mathews, a Florida state legislator and Chief Justice of the 1955 Florida Supreme Court, who helped gather funding for the bridge's construction.
The old Ford Motor Company assembly plant sits just north of the Mathews Bridge.
Water Recovery, LLC (WRI) is a centralized waste water treatment facility and used oil processor located on Albert Street.
East Church Street's Russ-Doe's Sandwich Shop is the home of the Russ Doe's Special, seasoned ground beef served in a fresh pita with a variety of condiments and toppings.
Looking east down East Church Street.
The Tidewater Transit Company.
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Our company moves dry and liquid materials in bulk. We service many industries by providing safe, dependable, and efficient transportation for a variety of products. Our tanker fleet of over 800 trailers moves everything from sulfuric acid to plastic pellets. Most of the materials (hazardous and non-hazardous) we haul go directly to manufacturing facilities that make everything from lipstick to 2 liter plastic bottles. The products we transport are contained in tanks that are specially designed to handle these materials safely. TWT also operates and owns rail sites located on both the Norfolk Southern and the CSX railways (including the Aberdeen and Rockfish short line). We are constantly looking to expand and furnish our customers with the transportation support they need to stay competitive. Our terminals are located close to the customer plant sites and in many cases we operate as their "private fleet" offering dedicated service.http://www.tidewater-transit.com/company.html
Established in 1917, Brennan Rental Equipment markets themselves as Jacksonville's premier source of construction and industrial maintenance rental equipment.
Sims, Waters & Associates, Inc. is a freight traffic management company that was established in 1986.
Ann's Sandwich Shop on Talleyrand Avenue.
Founded in 1897 in Allentown, PA, the Lehigh Cement Company operates this 1963-era cement import terminal where East Beaver Street meets the river. Four 10-inch pipelines extend from the Commodores Point Terminal wharf to six concrete, bulk- cement storage tanks with a total capacity of 31,950 tons.
This building housing Commodore Point Properties was built in 1915.
Adams Street Station.
Everbank Field tailgate lots.
Petroleum Fuel & Terminal Company's East Adams Street facilities date back to 1934. Apex Oil Company, PF&T's parent company, specializes in asphalt, kerosene, fuel oil, diesel fuel, heavy oil, gasoline and marine bunker sales.
Lafarge North America's cement terminal was constructed in 1962.
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In the United States and Canada, Lafarge is the largest supplier of quality cement products. With more than 20 types of cement and engineered blends, Lafarge provides innovative solutions for customers who include ready-mix producers, concrete product manufacturers, contractors, masons, builders, and municipal authorities.http://www.lafargenorthamerica.com/wps/portal/na/en/2-Cement
To access the 37,000 ton capacity cement storage silos, four 12-inch pipelines extend from the facility to the Commodores Point Terminal wharf.
This former Liquid Carbonic Carbon Dioxide Corporation chemical plant dates back to 1926. Liquid Carbonic was the world leader in carbon dioxide when it was acquired by Praxair in 1996. This facility ceased operations in 2005.
East Adams Street's Michael J. Lanahan Lumber Co., Inc. is one of the oldest operating lumber yards in the country, distributing lumber and building materials since 1946.
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It was post war 1946 when D.J. Lanahan founded Lanahan Lumber Company. The construction industry was at an all time high in Jacksonville, Florida and Lanahan wanted to contribute to the city he loved. Lanahan had a simple philosophy. Offer the best! It was and is today the Lanahan way: employ the best-trained people, offer the best product, guarantee the best service, and deliver the best quality at the best price.http://www.mjlanahanlumber.com/aboutus.html
The company continues its family-ownership, with CEO Michael J. Lanahan. Michael started his work at his father’s lumber yard at the age of 14. Pulling lumber orders, driving the delivery truck and building doors in the millshop. In 1985 he took over the operations as CEO / President of Lanahan Lumber Company.
North Florida Shipyards
North Florida Shipyards is the largest remaining maritime-related industry located in the downtown area.
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North Florida Shipyards, Inc. is a privately owned, small business company that operates ship repair and conversion facilities in Mayport and Jacksonville, Florida.http://northfloridashipyard.com/index.php/About-Us.html
North Florida Shipyards, Inc. was incorporated in the state of Florida in 1975. It is an outgrowth of Thermal Engineering Company, incorporated in 1967 and Ind-Mar Diesel, incorporated in 1970. Thermal Engineering and Ind-Mar Machine remain subsidiary divisions of North Florida Shipyards, Inc.
The main office and facility is located at Commodore Point. It has approximately 3600’ of bulkheaded wharf, 210,000 sq. ft. of warehouse and shops, and resides on approximately 25 acres of property. North Florida Shipyards Commodore Point facility has been in the ship repair, conversion and modernization business since inception in 1975.
Employee parking at NSF along East Adams Street.
NSF's new mobile vessel hoist under the Hart Bridge.
In 2010, NSF purchased a mobile vessel hoist, which lifts vessels out of the river and dry docks them on land for repair, with federal stimulus dollars. This $7.6 million investment is anticipated to nearly double the shipyard's employee base over the next four years.
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If you’ve driven over the Mathews or Hart bridges, you’ve likely spotted ships anchored at the company’s 3600 feet of bulkhead wharf where they are undergoing repairs. Now, with the addition of a mobile vessel hoist, the company plans to expand, lifting vessels out of the river and dry-docking them in the shadows of the bridge’s ramps.http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/abel-harding/2010-03-31/jacksonvilles-north-florida-shipyards-looking-grow
The $7.6 million project will upgrade North Florida Shipyards’ downtown facilities, nearly doubling the company’s employee base over the next four years, adding 246 employees to its current 320. The average annual salary of the company's employees is about $40,000.
August 2010 is the target date for the installation of the hoist, as well as a new basin that will allow for the lifting and launching of ships weighing up to 600 metric tons on the St. Johns River.
The Isaiah David Hart Bridge is a truss bridge that spans the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. It is named after Isaiah Hart, the founder of Jacksonville. It was designed by Sverdrup & Parcel.
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The bridge has traditionally been painted green and is often referred to as "The Green Monster" by locals. The westbound end of the bridge delivers drivers to downtown Jacksonville or Martin Luther King Expressway, while the eastbound end sends motorists to Beach Boulevard. Daily traffic is 47,000 vehicles. The stretch of highway between downtown and Beach Blvd. is known as the Commodore Point Expressway, but more commonly referred to by locals as the Hart Bridge Expressway.http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hart-Bridge/103125219727713
The truss is either a cantilever or a continuous truss bridge, as it has been reported by different sources as each kind. Jackson Durkee listed the bridge as a cantilever truss in his 1999 report on longest spans. Alexander Svirsky publishes a copy of the National Bridge Inventory Database at NationalBridges.com, where the Florida Department of Transportation data lists the bridge as a continuous truss.
Now known as the Hart Bridge, this structure was originally called the Commodore Point Bridge and Expressway. According to Jacksonville Journal's Jimmy Walker in 1964, "The dramatic face-lifting East Jacksonville will undergo via the new expressway system is just days away." Mr. Walker was right. The $40.4 million project, which was intended to connect the 20th Street Expressway, north of Everbank Field, with Beach Boulevard on the other side of the river, resulted in 21 blocks of primarily residential property would be cleared so motorist could get downtown without having to travel through the neighborhood at street level.
Manson Construction Company's Jacksonville yard on the banks of the St. Johns River. Mason is a Seattle-based marine construction and dredging company that was established in 1905.
Commodore Point is located along the St. Johns River between the Mathews and Hart Bridges.
Historic photos courtesy of the Florida State Archives.
Article and images by Ennis Davis.
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Noone
July 28, 2011, 04:12:37 AMAnother great tour of Jacksonville's history captured through images of land, air, and water. As our city moves forward the creation and expansion of zones and districts. As for Adam St. Station. What will have to happen to Make it Happen?
Just love the pics from the river.
Beloki
July 28, 2011, 05:18:27 AMI always thought that the Jax Zoo should trade places with these shipyards.. both on the waterfornt but this one closer to downtown.
Ocklawaha
July 28, 2011, 07:52:26 AMThe reason they moved the zoo out of downtown in the first place? Ahh, there is nothing like the smell of elephant dung, lion piss and fresh Maxwell House Coffee to start your business day off right.
OCKLAWAHA
Garden guy
July 28, 2011, 08:04:46 AMI wonder if i could graze my goats on some of those empty lots full of grass and weeds.
thelakelander
July 28, 2011, 10:17:54 AMThey'll have tailgaters on them pretty soon.
Dog Walker
July 28, 2011, 10:37:02 AMGG, most of Brooklyn could use your goats now. Great idea!
Jaxson
July 28, 2011, 10:43:13 AMNot to go too far off topic, but I believe that the zoo used to be in Springfield before it moved to its current location...
As for the Hart Bridge and Expressway, I still ponder what would have happened if the expressway extended to Butler Boulevard as originally proposed instead of dead ending at Beach Boulevard...
Looking at the interchange near the foot of the Mathews Bridge in 1953, I scratch my head. Looks odd...
jcjohnpaint
July 28, 2011, 10:49:04 AMWhat is the Adams St Station? What is this a station for? I feel like I should know this, but didn't know there was a station over here.
finehoe
July 28, 2011, 10:53:56 AMJudging from its past uses, I would guess that Commodore Point is probably one of the most polluted areas in the city. This will make it that much more difficult to redevelop. I certainly wouldn't want to feed my domesticated animals off what grows there.
http://epa.gov/brownfields/overview/glossary.htm
Wacca Pilatka
July 28, 2011, 10:56:46 AMYou are correct.
johnnyroadglide
July 28, 2011, 11:18:09 AMjcjohnpaint, Adams St Station is actually old railcars that have been converted into party condos.
http://www.adamsstreetstation.com/
thelakelander
July 28, 2011, 11:33:37 AMProbably so. Perhaps it should remain maritime industrial related and we should look for ways to bring more maritime related industry back to the remaining underutilized sites in that area. We have a river, rail and industrial land already in place. Might as well use these assets to stimulate more higher paying maritime related job creation.
jcjohnpaint
July 28, 2011, 09:42:30 PMThanks johnnyroadglide. I have never heard of this place. Very interesting indeed.
tufsu1
July 28, 2011, 10:21:25 PMwow....the 47,000 vehicles per day on the Hart Bridge sounded high....so I just checked....FDOT 2010 cout was 30,500 in 2010 (probably because of the painting project).
But here are the counts over the last 10 years
2004 - 46,500
2005 - 59,000
2006 - 47,000
2007 - 63,500
2008 - 43,000
2009 - 42,000
2010 - 30,500
Note that 2007 was when the Mathews Bridge was under construction....so we may see a similar spike in traffic on the Hart over teh next few years, as the Mathews is about to be repainted.
Garden guy
July 29, 2011, 06:11:45 AMtufsu1
July 29, 2011, 08:12:11 AMwell before anyone buys 100% into that logic GG, here are the counts on the Mathews Bridge during the same period:
2004 - 72,000
2005 - 68,000
2006 - 72,000
2007 - 74,000
2008 - 67,500
2009 - 66,500
2010 - 66,500
the odd thing is that the highest year was 2007, when the bridge was under construction.
btw....note that traffic counts all over the state (and in the country for that matter) are down 5-10% over the last five years....that's due to the spikes in gas prices that began in 2005 as well as the recession and slow recovery.
Beloki
July 29, 2011, 08:42:00 AMI never hear complaints from San Diego or Sydney Australia residents complaining about having a Zoo in their core. I also think that this location would be great since they can share the Jax Stadium parking lot for example.. connect all with a nice park back to the shipyards. Right now this isn't a place in downtown that attracts visitors or tourists now does it.......
I think we should create a downtown where tourists/visitors can stay in a hotel and never have to leave the core (rent a car) for dining, shopping and other attractions.
joeregistre
July 29, 2011, 04:01:29 PMI honestly think they (The City) should take all that land and turn it into a park. New York has Central Park. Chicago has Grant and Lincoln Park. Looking at it now and it's just depressing. Imagine all that space there as a park during the Gator Bowl and Jaguar games. It would compliment EverBank Feild perfectly. Gives people somewhere to go and an awesome place to talilgate. Imagine the priceless views you get of both the Matthews and Hart Bridge from that area. Reminds me very much of Brooklyn Bridge park in NY. Those pictures of under the Hart Bridge. Take away all the ugly shipyard mess and replace it with some green grass, trees, hills maybe with gardens with bushes and what not. How much better would that look. Extend Metro Park to loop around where all the red area is of the aerial map and give downtown Jacksonville a legit park.
In time something will be built over in the Berkman plaza area and they can connect the riverwalk there so people can walk from the Landing to the Park where EverBank Feild is for Jags and Football games. I would love to see them to that. I don't know... just my thoughts.