Urban Neighborhoods: Five Points

[stephendare]

Dog Walker.  Perhaps you could elaborate in greater detail!

Is Melanie an architect as well?  Which Government agencies and private companies were involved?

[Dog Walker]

Melanie Bishop is an architect.  I don't think Bill Bishop is.  I think she did all of that terrific work for nothing, too.  Her use of berms, required by the elevation change, as stadium seating is absolutely brilliant.

Dr. Wayne Wood has been working on the idea of the Riverside Arts Market for over fifteen years; ever since he saw the preliminary plans for the replacement of the Fuller Warren Bridge.  He was inspired by a similar space he saw in Portland, OR. 

He managed to bring together the Florida DOT, and the City of Jacksonville together with Fidelity National, which uses the leased space as parking during the week and who gave a grant and with First Guaranty Bank which also put up money and allows the use of their parking lot for the Market.  I think JEA was even involved too since there is a huge sewer system lift station on the site as well.  I am sure there was some federal grant money in there to.  Knowing Wayne, he might have even gotten the Corp of Engineers and the Inland Navigation District into the act!

The Riverside Arts Market would not have happened without the vision, quiet persistence and persuasiveness of one person, Wayne Wood.

[stephendare]

Wayne Wood created the Riverside Arts Market?

Why don't more people know that?

[Dog Walker]

Wayne Wood also created the Riverside/Avondale Preservation Society and the Riverside/Avondale Historic District, the first historic district in Jacksonville.

Go to the Market on a Saturday.  Look for the distinguished looking, gray-haired guy in an Arts Market T-shirt wearing some sort of weird hat or headdress. Thank him for the Market.  That's Wayne Wood.

He has the ability to inspire people and get them to work together to a goal.  Just ask Melanie Bishop, Doug Coleman and Tony Allegretti and a host of others.

[stephendare]

I do know Dr. Wood!  and you are right, he is quite the charismatic man!

I also knew that he created RAP, wrote The Great Fire, and had worked on the RAM.

But for some reason I thought he was out of the project, and that Allighretti had created this version of it.

[Dog Walker]

I don't mean to diminish anyone's contributions to the Market, especially Tony Allighretti's.  There are a lot of different people's visions, ideas and accomplishments in there and everyone involved deserves reputation points.  Wayne Wood's ideas and team building were the core that was built on and he was involved until the opening and beyond.

[debsreturningtofl]

I loved the photos.  I used to live in the Clearwater area and now have been living in SC for two years.  I plan to return to FL for school and to check out the east coast now.  If I attend school on Blanding Blvd where is a safe place to live nearby? 

[DavidWilliams]

Happy Hour at the Derby House? Sounds odd. I thought they were just a breakfast/lunch greasy spoon type place.

[Dog Walker]

Derby House is expanding its offerings.  They even have live music on their deck on Friday nights.

[ChriswUfGator]

Derby House is expanding its offerings.  They even have live music on their deck on Friday nights.

When they expand the number of waitress visits you get during your meal from 2 to at least 3 or 4, I'll go. 

[grimss]

Re. Dr. Wood, Tony Allegretti et al.  Dr. Wood remains hugely involved in the market--he manages the RAM website, books all of the street performers, comes up with all the crazy theme ideas (be on the lookout for Viking Day everyone!), fields a lot of the PR interview requests, and generally just keeps it humming. Tony is doing an awesome job of applying RAMROD's vision (they're the folks who really got this up and running--the group includes Wayne Wood, Cindy Guy, Pamela Tellis, Doug Colman and Teresa Fish) to a terrific organizational structure he's developed, including a first-of-its-kind internet-based reservation system.  I just learned RAM has been selected as one of 12 markets IN THE COUNTRY to host the Toyota Farm to Table event--super cool.  It's happening in October. Details will I'm sure be forthcoming.

[Dog Walker]

Just shows you what a small group of people with vision, determination and persistence can do!  Thanks and congratulations to them all! 

All of those people have other lives.  How in the world do they find the time and energy?

[CS Foltz]

Just shows you what a small group of people with vision, determination and persistence can do!  Thanks and congratulations to them all! 

All of those people have other lives.  How in the world do they find the time and energy?

Dog Walker I agree.............vision, determination and persistence appears to be the key to it all! The whole of us can benefit from that point of view!

[ggatorggirl]

Riverside Arts Market is one of the best things to come to Jax in a while. Thoroughly enjoyable for the entire family. Thanks to everyone involved.

[GreenInstall]

I think that trolly or more public transportation is a great idea..