Historic railroad ties uncovered at LEVS Park

[thelakelander]

A relic of the past was recently rediscovered at the construction site of Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing Park. Old railroad ties that date back to a time when LaVilla's Houston Street was a red light district were discovered. During the early 20th century, railroad tracks ran down the center of the street, which was lined with bordellos, between Myrtle Avenue and Jefferson Street. The discovery may become a part of the park, which is planned to open on June 27, 2024.

Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/historic-railroad-ties-uncovered-at-levs-park/

[Charles Hunter]

Great historical find.

[Steve]

So cool - they absolutely need to be incorporated somehow. Even if they're just benches or something, can't get rid of them

[jaxlongtimer]

I found an 1960 aerial photo (https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00071741/00010/zoom/56) of downtown on the web.  It shows tracks at that time running down Houston Street and also between Bay and Forsyth, closer to the Forsyth side of the block.  It appears the latter ran from near present day I-95 to Jefferson Street.

I remember these tracks from my childhood and believe they were still in use into some part of the 1960's, at least.

[fsu813]

So cool - they absolutely need to be incorporated somehow. Even if they're just benches or something, can't get rid of them

Found some metal rail in Springfield under Main Street during construction, along with original historic "blue" bricks pavers. They were incorporated into a small historical marker in Klutho Park. Found wooden ties on Walnut Street during construction, I believe they were scrapped. It's cool to have tangible, physical ties to the past (forgive the pun) like that.

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/streetcar-tracks-uncovered-under-springfields-main-st/