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The intersection of Bay and Main Streets in 1901, immediately after the Great Fire.
May 3, 1901 was the day that 146 blocks of Jacksonville burned to the ground in what would become known as the country's third largest urban disaster by fire. Destroying over 2,000 buildings, this event now known as the Great Fire of 1901, would forever change the face of Jacksonville by ushering in an unprecedented period of rapid population growth and rebuilding.
Within a decade of the Great Fire, over 13,000 new buildings of various thought provoking architectural styles would grace the city's streets as the population swelled from 28,429 to 57,699 residents.
The intersection of Bay and Main Streets in 1910.
This 1910 image of the reconstructed intersection of Bay and Main Streets illustrates the basic components of the viable downtown streetscape. The concepts of mixed use development, walkable streets, ground level building interaction with adjacent sidewalks, multiple modes of transportation, all within a compact pedestrian scale setting, are just as important to the area's ultimate success as they were in 102 years ago.
Let's take a closer look at what this scene illustrates.
The buildings feature a mix of uses.
Sidewalks are pedestrian friendly and walkable, in terms of how adjacent buildings interact with them.
Pedestrian scale amenities include ground level interactive street displays, signage, and walkways that protect pedestrians from the elements.
Buildings in a vibrant downtown tend to activate the street edge with retail and pedestrian scale signage.
Regardless of use, Jacksonville must find a way to enhance the interaction of existing businesses and buildings with the pedestrian at street level.
In a humid climate like Jacksonville, amenities like awnings that provide shade and visually frame the street should not be overlooked. Somewhere in the late 20th century we forgot this important yet critical principle.
Pedestrian scaled urban environments should be designed for people, not automobiles. This means an environment that accommodates multiple modes of mobility should be a high priority.
We've been kicking around the idea of downtown revitalization since the 1950s. However, historically, we tend to ignore and overlook the basics in favor of expensive one trick pony developments that have continued to fail to deliver the results we hope for. They say there's nothing new under the sun. We should apply this line of thinking with every single project related to downtown and the surrounding walkable neighborhoods.
Text by Ennis Davis. Graphics by Stephen Dare. Historic imagery courtesy of the Florida State Archives and Shorpy.net. .
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Anti redneck
May 11, 2012, 04:50:52 AMGreat article, but I doubt anyone will catch on.
vicupstate
May 11, 2012, 05:04:54 AMWhere are the vacant lots? Aren't those mandatory?
Debbie Thompson
May 11, 2012, 07:10:47 AMWow. Great points. We don't have to visit Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Ybor City or anywhere else. All we have to do is visit our own history to make downtown to work. We've already re-invented the wheel once a hundred years ago, and it worked well until we undid it during urban renewal mid-century.
JeffreyS
May 11, 2012, 07:17:36 AMNo no no sure that would work there but in Jax! Wait errrr.....nevermind. Great job.
vicupstate
May 11, 2012, 07:58:17 AMThey better hurry, the bulldozers are at full throttle. Next stop City Hall Annex and the Courthouse.
jcjohnpaint
May 11, 2012, 10:09:20 AMYeah I think having all council member be forced to visit this site once a day would help this city immensely.
urbaknight
May 11, 2012, 11:04:06 AM^agreed, I was just thinking the same exact thing.
dougsandiego
May 13, 2012, 09:19:30 AMThis is a pithy and very effective article; a great teaching tool.
Timkin
May 13, 2012, 04:33:35 PMI am curious... since the fire of 1901, I wonder how many of the buildings that replaced those destroyed by the fire, exist now?
Great Article.
fsujax
May 14, 2012, 07:47:38 AMAnyone notice what's missing in those pics? no trees or fancy landscaping.
jerry cornwell
May 14, 2012, 10:58:42 AMGreat story, valid points made as always by Ennis.
That being said, revitalization is underway along the lines of East Greenwich Village, NYC in the late "80s. I dont see traditional business having any impact in immediate development of Downtown. As it hasn't occurred in more than 5 years. Indeed, IMHO, its gone backward ever since the closing of Boomtown DT.
With numerous clubs, venues open or opening soon (Underbelly's at the end of this month, or June) DT moves as an artist's dream. Affordable rents and abundance of large appropriate spaces, DT is showing good signs of growth that's wont be reflected in business statistics until this valuable asset of cultural presence is realized.
DT development should be tied to Mac Eastons apparent success of the CoRK art district. With all artists spaces rented out of all three phases and a waiting list in hand, Mac has ample space DT to move forward. And other DT developers should take note of Mac's recent success.
I know as a tenant of CoRK, I may betray a bias towards Jax art community. But Ive also been active in DT revitalization, trying to buy real estate DT around 2007 and living at DTs MetroLofts at the same time. Also I try to support DT by attending those clubs DT.
One thing I feel strong about is that Jacksonville is a viable metropolitan center with an area population over one million. Jacksonville, with the presence of two underrated universities anchored in liberal arts, is in a great position to move ahead of many other competing metro areas. And indeed has been. The city IS getting good population growth in these times.
For short term revitalization of DT, we are concentrating on cultural development DT. What we here can do is support it by attending these new businesses that already are DT.
stephendare
May 14, 2012, 11:29:49 AMmeh. I love you man, and thanks for the shout out, but this is a stretch.
Ennis actually kind of of jumped the gun on the article I've been preparing (understandably perhaps, since I first created the graphics almost a year ago), in order to make the point that we've already redeveloped an entire downtown before with even less to work with than what we have not.
We did it in ten years, with a minimum of government intrusion or help, almost no planning boards, and a remarkable dearth of committee meetings.
Compare and Contrast that to the 40 years of failure and devastation that describes our modern attempt to 'redevelop' the downtown.
There is a larger point to be made here, of course. But the most obvious one is that we've already got a successful example of how to rebuild/redevelop.
What do you suppose the major differences between the 10 years after the great fire and the 40 years that describe the course of yours and my lives, jerry?
Bativac
May 14, 2012, 01:20:16 PMIt is clear to me, from this article, there's only one solution: burn downtown to the ground!!!
In all seriousness, downtown revitalization efforts seem to suffer from someone periodically deciding "what Jacksonville needs is..." and then trying to come up with some new thing that will magically restore Downtown Jacksonville to a center of commerce and activity. Meanwhile most of the city doesn't care because they don't live in or near downtown and don't want their tax dollars spent there. A new overpass on Kernan is okay because their commute will be 10 minutes shorter, but you want to spend HOW MUCH on DOWNTOWN?? Everyone knows that place is full of crime, homeless people, and desperation.
Jax2FOE
July 03, 2012, 12:39:12 PMJacksonville's downtown was a happen'n place once. It can be again, we would just need to clean the "cobwebs" out (Kimberly Daniels, Clay Yarborough, Don Redman, etc.) from the City Council and bring in some people with fresh ideas. Jacksonville needs a fresh new start
BackinJax05
August 18, 2012, 01:13:57 AM^^ All we need to do this is another Great Fire. LOL