Preserving history - such a simple concept, apparently so difficult to execute.

When a historic building is demolished, some people say, "That's progress".  Yes, that's true, but is all progress good?  "Progress" has shown us that it is possible to see the horizon from parts of LaVilla.  "Progress" has shown us that it's silly to maintain an older building that one might own, when it's much more cost effective to dynamite it and plant grass. Most importantly, "Progress" has shown us that while people might like looking at older buildings, they would much rather park on it's foundation.

Today, MetroJacksonville.com takes a look at some of the "Progress" that we have made over the last 30 years.

The story goes that the Jacksonville Traction Company got its historical start when an African American man found a four wheel tram, built a car body on it, and went into the street railroad business. While that may sound far fetched today, it should be remembered that many different trams and rails were in use in industry, such as sawmilling, throughout the area. There is also a story of the first car to climb the old Acosta Bridge Viaduct in Riverside. It is said that when the motorman reached the top and looked down the hill, he set the brakes, got off and quit his job. Having talked to many of the old crews, they said that hill never gave them any trouble. 

Established in 1852, the Old City Cemetery on East Union Street, is one of the most overlooked and underrated historic sites in Jacksonville's urban core.

Let's take a walk back in time and visit Jacksonville's past. We once had the Jacksonville Traction System, which included operations on the Ortega Traction System and South Jacksonville Municipal Railways. With nealy 60 miles of track, this was by far the largest Streetcar system in Florida (first major system abandoned). Tampa/St. Petersburg (the longest lived), Miami/Coral Gables (Coral Gables used Interurban Cars), and finally Pensacola, rounded out the BIG FOUR systems in the State. There were many others, including small lines in St. Augustine, Palatka and Fernandina Beach, and many more. "Welcome Aboard" our trip down memory lane!

In just over eight hours on May 3, 1901, a small fire, started in a LaVilla mattress factory, would sweep through 146 city blocks of Jacksonville, destroying over 2,000 buildings, taking seven lives, and leaving almost 9,000 people homeless in the process.  This tragic event would eventually be known as the Great Fire of 1901, the third largest urban fire in American history behind the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Chicago Fire of 1871.

Over time, many cities have left their mark on our architectural landscape.  New York has its Brownstones, Charleston the single house, and Chicago School of Architecture in the Windy City.  Believe it or not, our own city has earned the right to be mentioned in this conversation.

Jacksonville has more examples of the Prairie School style than any city outside the Midwest. It has also lost more great Prairie style buildings than any other city, with perhaps the exception of Chicago.  To many, it seems to be an anomaly that there could be any Prairie School buildings in a second tier Southern city, hundreds of miles from the style’s birthplace… the Midwest.  Unfortunately, a century later, Jacksonville still does not fully appreciate the treasures that it possesses.

For over 40 years, Jacksonville Municipal Airport Imeson Field was the center of the First Coast’s commercial aviation scene. Jacksonville Municipal Airport Number One opened in 1927, with a dedication that included Charles Lindbergh.  In 1931, Eastern Air Transit (eventually Eastern Airlines) became the first major commercial airline to provide regular service to Jacksonville.

In this special, the staff of Metro Jacksonville shares a section of the 1931 Jacksonville Master Plan, that predicts how the city would develop, 40 years into the future.

While the previous article uses city directories to illustrate the rise and fall of downtown, another effective way to get the point across is the use of historic photographs that correlate with the timeline. The pictures below are intended to give readers a visual image of the rise and fall of downtown Jacksonville from the early 1900's up to the 1970's.