A Century of Jax's Tallest Skyscrapers

[Metro Jacksonville]

A Century of Jax's Tallest Skyscrapers



Immediately following the Great Fire of 1901, the skyscraper made its way to Jacksonville. Over the decades to follow, the city's tallest building has changed nine times. Here's a look at those buildings.

Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2015-oct-a-century-of-jaxs-tallest-skyscrapers

[gedo3]

Wonderful historical article!  And it's great that most of these historic buildings haven't become parking lots, so that we retain some of our visible history through them!  Thanks for your hard work!

[BackinJax05]

The Heard National Bank was one of my favorites. I hated to see it go. 

As for the BofA tower, "Helmut's Pencil" is a 42 floor eyesore on our skyline.

[CCMjax]

The Heard National Bank was one of my favorites. I hated to see it go. 

As for the BofA tower, "Helmut's Pencil" is a 42 floor eyesore on our skyline.

Helmut Jahn's work in the 80's is some of my least favorite architecture on the planet.  He has always wanted to be "the glass guy" and has done some pretty crazy unconventional things with glazing but a lot of it does not stand the test of time in my opinion.  The Thompson Center in Chicago is a great example.  That thing was a monstrosity to begin with with its hideous 80's style salmon and teal and oddball reflective paneling everywhere, but it has also been very difficult to maintain over the last couple decades and just flat out looks bad.  I have respect for Jahn for having his own identity and sticking with his obsession (glass), and I will say some of his current stuff is pretty cool, but man some of his stuff from the 80's looked great on paper and concept but ended up looking bizarre.  Not so much his skyscrapers but the other buildings like the Thompson Center that were originally meant to blow people away.   

[I-10east]

The Bank of America is one of my favorites in Jax. The Heard Building was nice, and it's a shame that they tore it down, but lets move on for godsakes; Just my opinion feel free to disagree, I just think that the Heard (and other old buildings alike; Robert Mayer etc etc) talk is extremely 'stuck in the past' redundant. There are many 'Heard stories' are around America, and no one else (other cities) seem to use that as some kinda crutch against humanity or something.

IMO Helmut Jahn is a decent architect. I agree that his work isn't known to 'blow people away' as he doesn't seem to have many of these 'best of' awards, but I've seen alot of 'best of' architecture that looks hideous; Just because something is supported with a minimal amount of pilings, or is a 'twisted tower' doesn't necessarily mean that it should win a award. I guess that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say.

[Ajax]

The Heard National Bank was one of my favorites. I hated to see it go. 

As for the BofA tower, "Helmut's Pencil" is a 42 floor eyesore on our skyline.

Helmut Jahn's work in the 80's is some of my least favorite architecture on the planet.  He has always wanted to be "the glass guy" and has done some pretty crazy unconventional things with glazing but a lot of it does not stand the test of time in my opinion.  The Thompson Center in Chicago is a great example.  That thing was a monstrosity to begin with with its hideous 80's style salmon and teal and oddball reflective paneling everywhere, but it has also been very difficult to maintain over the last couple decades and just flat out looks bad.  I have respect for Jahn for having his own identity and sticking with his obsession (glass), and I will say some of his current stuff is pretty cool, but man some of his stuff from the 80's looked great on paper and concept but ended up looking bizarre.  Not so much his skyscrapers but the other buildings like the Thompson Center that were originally meant to blow people away.   

I'm going to have to agree to disagree with you guys about Helmut Jahn and about BofA Tower.  I prefer his work in the 80s to that of Norman Foster, Richard Rogers and Michael Graves, for example.  But maybe that's not saying much. 

I wish they had built BofA on its originally planned site - where the T-U Center is now.  I think they were going to incorporate a new "civic auditorium" as a part of BofA.  I would rather have Helmut's Pencil as the iconic building you see on aerial shots of Jacksonville than the Independent/Modis/Wells Fargo building, but maybe that's just me.  I've never really been a big fan of that building but it's Jacksonville's most recognizable downtown feature, along with the Landing. 

[CCMjax]

The Bank of America is one of my favorites in Jax. The Heard Building was nice, and it's a shame that they tore it down, but lets move on for godsakes; Just my opinion feel free to disagree, I just think that the Heard (and other old buildings alike; Robert Mayer etc etc) talk is extremely 'stuck in the past' redundant. There are many 'Heard stories' are around America, and no one else (other cities) seem to use that as some kinda crutch against humanity or something.

IMO Helmut Jahn is a decent architect. I agree that his work isn't known to 'blow people away' as he doesn't seem to have many of these 'best of' awards, but I've seen alot of 'best of' architecture that looks hideous; Just because something is supported with a minimal amount of pilings, or is a 'twisted tower' doesn't necessarily mean that it should win a award. I guess that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say.

Agree with both your comments.  The B of A building isn't so bad and is kind of a signature skyscraper for Jax.

Totally agree with your second comment.  I'm a "form (ever) follows function" Louis Sullivan fan so I'm not as impressed with some wild design that doesn't fully function for its intended purpose and has a plethora of ongoing maintenance issues.  Most decent architects can do that with an unlimited budget no problem, the great ones in my opinion combine style with function without needing an unlimited budget.

[fsujax]

I actually like the BofA tower. Looks nice when it is lit up and the blue glass with granite looks nice to on a sunny day.

[vicupstate]

I actually like the BofA tower. Looks nice when it is lit up and the blue glass with granite looks nice to on a sunny day.

I agree. BOA and the Independent Life/Wells Fargo building are sort of joint-icons of the JAX skyline. I think both have held up well over time.   

[simms3]

I like the BofA tower, as well as the Gulf Life tower (moreso the latter from a distance, it's a bit of a Monet in my opinion).

[CCMjax]

Gresham Smith and Partners is moving into the top floor of the BofA building so I guess the architects like it as well.

[thelakelander]

GSP is moving into the top of Enterprise Center.

[CCMjax]

GSP is moving into the top of Enterprise Center.

You are right, wow my bad.  I am still relatively new to jax and was thinking for some reason the enterprise center was another name for the BofA building.  Whoops.