Ebb and Flow on Jacksonville's Northbank

[Metro Jacksonville]

Ebb and Flow on Jacksonville's Northbank



From EU Jacksonville: a brief history of Jacksonville's northbank

Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2016-jan-ebb-and-flow-on-jacksonvilles-northbank-

[thelakelander]

A few corrections for the timeline. I believe Jax was incorporated in 1832. Urban renewal's greatest impact on downtown came in the 1950s with the construction of the Jacksonville Expressway system and Haydon Burns' elimination of the wharves along Bay Street. The negative impact of suburban malls on the core didn't really start to take a toll until the later 1970s. For at least 20 years, downtown retail remained strong and expanded, despite Gateway, Normandy, Philips, Roosevelt and Regency being in business.

[vicupstate]

I've never seen a picture of that water fountain in front of the old Coliseum.  I wonder why it was eliminated.

[avonjax]

I'm pretty sure it was eliminated for parking. I remember it. It was kinda cool.

[Tacachale]

Nice article, but it does have a few errors. Jacksonville was incorporated in 1832, not 1859. And I believe what really killed the post-Great Fire building spree was the bust of the Florida Land Boom starting in 1925, not the Great Depression starting in 1929. But yeah, neither of those things helped.

I also agree with thelakelander: urban renewal started shortly after WWII and was in full force before Haydon Burns' time. And while the growth of malls were a contributor to the death of Downtown as a retail destination, the real impact was from the flight of tens of thousands of people from the Old City out into the suburbs starting after the war (which created the demand for malls like Regency).

But there's definitely been a sea change in attitude about Downtown. People and businesses want to get back there. It was much more of an uphill struggle just 10 or 15 years ago than it is now.