A Century of Florida's Tallest Skyscrapers

[Metro Jacksonville]

A Century of Florida's Tallest Skyscrapers



The title of tallest building in Florida changed hands twelve times over the past 100 years.  Of the 13 buildings to hold the title, 6 of them are in Jacksonville.  Today, Metro Jacksonville takes a look at Florida's Tallest Buildings throughout more than a century.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-dec-a-century-of-floridas-tallest-skyscrapers

[Noone]

Great history lesson and I just wonder how many of these historic structures could be observed when people VISIT our DOWNTOWN PUBLIC PIER? Emily Liska, Wayne Wood, Jerry Spence, Ennis, Stephen add this to a Jacksonville History tour. 

[Overstreet]

The entry to the Heard National Bank building stood on the site for years guarding the parking lot until they began clearing the way for the Barnett Building.  The pillars of stone were then stored in the Haskel yard. During the  remodeling of the Times Union Center two of them were installed in the lobby and two were installed outside.

[Noone]

Thats good to know. I'll look for them the next time I'm Downtown.

[stjr]

The entry to the Heard National Bank building stood on the site for years guarding the parking lot until they began clearing the way for the Barnett Building.  The pillars of stone were then stored in the Haskel yard. During the  remodeling of the Times Union Center two of them were installed in the lobby and two were installed outside.

Heard National Bank was known in the decades before its destruction as the Florida Title Building.  I remember watching them filming an MTV style music video amongst the remaining columns on the site in the early 1980's it seems.  I also watched its demolition from a nearby tower.  They had a  small bobcat type tractor demolish each floor at a time.  It was scary to watch that guy and not think of him going over the edge as he knocked out interior walls.  Saving the columns was a result of historic preservation protests and Barnett trying to appease the community.

How many remember that Barnett was prepared to possibly regain the tallest building crown for Jax by building a skyscraper tower on the sight of the Times Union center and contribute to rebuilding a new performing arts center as well?  Community protests over selling valuable riverfront to private interests prevailed.  Where were people when we "gave away" the land for the Adams Mark/Hyatt box blight?

Another missed opportunity was when the Charter Company said it had plans to build a 70+ story tower on the old Sears block it owned (now the Omni/Wachovia/garage buildings/surface lots).  Unfortunately, Charter went down the tubes before that ever came to fruition.

It is also interesting to note how street friendly the oldest skyscrapers were compared to the cold shoulder at street level from the newer ones.  This likely has also contributed to the decline of our downtown as thousands of workers work there but are functionally disconnected from the city they work in.

[ChriswUfGator]

Street-friendliness is definitely nonexistent now, that is indeed a major problem. This is emblematic of modern corporate culture, management is removed and hidden away from the remainder of the enterprise, and the enterprises themselves as a whole generally disfavor any interaction with the public. You get directed to a call center now if you need to talk to someone. I guess we can thank all the office shootings for that.

[I-10east]

I'm I the only one that is getting driven crazy be the "obligatory FL modern highrise" that has to be either teal, aqua, white, or the combo of all three? Miami is basically all teal, aqua, and white, really monotonous; It's overdid in those colors. Okay, I get the whole "play on FL's plentiful water" thing with those warm colors. Hopefully Jax doesn't do anymore highrises (that are white, teal, or aqua) atleast in the next coupla decades. Okay the BOA looks nice, Modis, and Jax Center(or whatever) has the blue but NO MORE, please! LOL
What happened to nice old school bold colors in Chicago School like the browns, and beiges. The old Heard Bldg (RIP) put many modern FL buildings to shame.

[Jaxson]

I-10east --- Do you think that Miami Vice is to blame for our state's fascination (bordering on obsession) with cute pastel colors for what are supposed to be serious buildings?

[thelakelander]

Miami has its own architectural style.  They promote it well.  It would be nice to see Jax dust off it's style and promote it to the same degree.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Some of the best highrises are in Miami. IMO

[I-10east]

I-10east --- Do you think that Miami Vice is to blame for our state's fascination (bordering on obsession) with cute pastel colors for what are supposed to be serious buildings?

LOL.

Lake and Keith, Miami has great architecture, but does everything hafta be in those colors? Look at one of the few bldgs in Miami that isn't blue, or white the Historic Freedom Tower that's in a nice yellow color; IMO I consider that more of a true Miami type architectural style, then a typical glass blue office tower, or a mandatory white condo highrise. Houston, Atlanta and even Charlotte are good examples of a nice color changes in their skylines.  

[Keith-N-Jax]

I think their going with the feel of the region down there. You don't put ATL, Houston, and Charlotte highrises in a semi tropical region just my opinion. There also hues of red, purple, yellow and orange on their buildings. Why should they follow what Atl and Houston are doing? If they did wouldn't every DT in every city look the same? Just MO.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Careful Chris some will tell you on here that tall buildings means nothing. Leadership is needed not de-consolidation just MO.

[ChriswUfGator]

Sad thing is there is no conceivable hope of JAX ever reclaiming its titles on any front. Travel, insurance, banking, tallest building, any of it. It's a matter of time before CSX leadership changes again and says "WTF why are we here?" and moves to someplace more central to their operations. After that, the collapse of the urban environment will be complete. Lived here 11 years and am sadly forced to admit we are turning into one big ghetto version of Fort Myers with mostly strip malls, snake oil, and chinese drywall subdivisions. Make a quick buck, give back as little of it as possible, and then move onto the next thing. To hell with history, sustainability, or the people who actually live here. I can make $47 a week more if I rip that building down to make another parking lot? Let's git er done!

I know it would never happen, but this place needs de-consolidation. Let the former urban core and the original urban neighborhoods be free to protect their own interests, and the south side and intracoastal sprawl can look out for itself. If all the arguments about how sprawl is self-sustaining are true, then it shouldn't be any problem right?

[ChriswUfGator]

Careful Chris some will tell you on here that tall buildings means nothing. Leadership is needed not de-consolidation just MO.

The problem is you can't have effective leadership when you've incorporated so much territory that really doesn't fit together into a local government in such a way that the interests of the different parts are diametrically opposed to one another. We really need to recognize that local communities need to operate in their own self-interests and that the current setup just isn't working and isn't allowing that to happen.

We need to allow each community to focus on what is appropriate and sustainable for itself. And by sustainable I don't mean Ralph Nader / Greenpeace sustainable, I mean economically sustainable. What works for the original urban neighborhoods and downtown doesn't work in Mandarin, the southside, baymeadows, or vice-versa. What's good for one is by nature bad for the other, and when you make these middle-of-the-road compromises you manage to hurt both. Dwntown and the original neighborhoods need to be free to offer their own incentives to attract business back down there, and they can't do so when their leaders are more concerned with poaching a business that may otherwise locate in one of the sprawl-inducing office parks developed by the same people running the city. This place is rife with asinine conflicts of interest, and a mindset that focuses on the suburban quick buck. As long as this continues, we will lose ground. It's getting to where it's unsalvageable.