Major Jacksonville Photo Thread...RAM, JIA, Panoramas, Food, and More! (St. Augustine: insurance, lofts)

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Scenes Part II

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Near the Riverside Art Market, people can walk to a host of other places. Riverside is one of Jacksonville’s most dense neighborhoods with densities in some areas well above 6,000 people per square mile. Riverside used to be the bohemian/counter-culture hub of Jacksonville, but is now the hub of art and gay life in Jacksonville. There is a good mixture between yuppies, hippies, gays, and the elderly in the neighborhood, which is also served now by a continuously running trolley. This will definitely be the first Jacksonville neighborhood to see streetcars and there is already a push for that.

Residents of this neighborhood can walk to dozens of restaurants and bars, a theater, a neighborhood Publix, several churches, and a host of stores. People can also walk to two great parks (one is photographed), one of the South’s best art museums (personally I think it is the best in FL, though because Salvador Dali is one of my favorite artists I enjoy that museum in St. Pete…another artsy town). There are also tons of B&B’s in the area, but no standard hotels.

An example of the average Jacksonville bus stop: a concrete bench with a sign. There is a comprehensive sign ordinance in Jacksonville guarded by a prominent attorney. Many would like to see a public-private partnership where private companies sponsor a bus station with space for an advertisement (what most cities do), but this would involve the unraveling of the sign ordinance, which this lawyer fiercely protects. Parts of the ordinance are legitimate, but the language is too general and includes too many things.








Jacksonville Women’s Club, purchased by the Cummer and currently being refurbished, originally constructed in 1927.






The Garden Club




Another dismal bus stop.

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Side note about the Cummer:

The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens

Ninah Cummer (pronounced Nine-Uh) launched the museum from her private collection in 1961. The current building was constructed at that time on the site of the Cummer house. The Cummers made their money in timber, and to this day you can find old Cummer hardwood floors in many old mansions across the city. Ninah was an avid gardener and travelled the world to pull ideas, and she eventually created several very famous gardens with the help of such firms as the Olmsted Brothers and the famous landscape designer Ellen Biddle Shipman. There is an Upper Gardens, the Olmsted Garden, the English Garden, and the Italian Garden. These gardens remain on the exact site as they were originally created in 1903. To see the gardens, visit the museum, which also has quite a good permanent collection (Rubens, Gaddi, Steen, Lorrain, Norman Rockwell, Benjamin West, Gilbert Stuart, the second largest Meissen Porcelain collection in the world, and a good amount of antiquities).

The Cummer has a very active board and there are several events/fundraisers at the Cummer each year, namely the Cummer Ball and Cummer Garden Week.

Thought I would do a little advertising here

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Riverside

1926 apartment building


1892 Queen Anne


1927 Riverside Presbyterian Church




1922 Riverside Presbyterian Day School

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5 Points

This was the epicenter of Bohemian/liberal life in Jacksonville, but now shares its space with yuppies and the elderly (2 large retirement buildings nearby and tons of highrise and lowrise condos filled with grandparents nearby, too). The 5 Points Theater was recently restored to its original glory, and hosts independent films, live shows/concerts, and other movies. The area is rife with independent retailers (think clothes, books, audio, organic grocers, beer/wine, tattoo/piercing, smoke shops, salons, coffee shops, pubs, and a host of good restaurants). There are two great parks within walking distance (though if you ask me, both need refurbishment). This is the type of place where you will see people walking their pet pigs and goats. This is probably one of the biggest liberal holdouts in FL, and also has a very large local gay population (there are around 5 or so gay bars/clubs in the area). You’ll also find a wicca store and various art galleries.



















I believe the owner of this business is Jewish, but he hired a bunch of young Asian girls to work there. Anyway, I was one of the only non-Jewish looking people in there at the time I got a boba tea and a pastry. For all in Jax, it was good, but not as good as Aroma Corners on Baymeadows in the Southside. Perhaps it just needs time (opened a month ago…the staff was very friendly, though).

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Residential Developments and Housing Style Around 5 Points

1661 Riverside (sadly the developer of this building and a neighbor of mine passed at a young age battling cancer recently). This is one of the best new developments in town.


It stays true to the architecture of the area and is fully leased with local shops for the most part. Zoe’s Kitchen is great (locations in Jax, Birmingham…the family has ties to Jax and Birmingham, it’s a Greek family, and Atlanta…in Peachtree Battle Station for those who live in Atlanta and want to try this place).


This place was packed when I returned from the park. I saw a large group of young people beat boxing and break dancing on the corner with a crowd at Starbucks watching.




1926 H.J. Klutho Mediterranean Revival design

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Riverside Housing (Continued)



Craftsman Masterpiece


This could very well be from the 1800s as a good amount of buildings in the area are.




Brand New Chelsea Lofts, again fitting in with the area

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Memorial Park (Riverside)


This is one of two major parks in the area. It was designed and built by the Olmsted Brothers out of Brookline, MA in 1922 (the other park, Riverside Park, was designed and built in 1893). Ninah Cummer and the local Rotary Club pushed the drive for the park (originally a very large hotel to “rival the big hotels of the East” was planned for the site). Roy Benjamin oversaw the construction of the park, and stopped plans for a floating dock to allow access from the river (gee, that would be great now…extend the riverwalk down at least ). The sculpture depicts the winged figure of youth rising from the mad maelstrom of earthly passions. It is a nude figure and caused a controversy among Riverside society when it was first unveiled. Back in the day, Riverside was the wealthiest neighborhood of Jacksonville, and the avenue was lined with so many large mansions it was known as “the Row”. All but two of these mansions and a carriage house are razed today.











The 1915 San Juline Apartments in the background


I took two separate groups’ photos in front of this thing (their cameras) when I was there.

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Views from Memorial Park, and Park Lane Tower

Park Lane Tower was constructed in 1926. The developer, Francis Mason, built out the units as co-ops, a novel idea at the time that he brought down from New York. This was Florida’s first residential high rise and really jump started the FL condo boom. It was also the 3rd tallest building in Jax for quite a while, and the first building to use “setbacks”. These setbacks allowed the upper unit owners to have balconies/open terraces. Units originally started at only $12,000.







Known as the Cloister Condominiums. The average age is probably 85






A much “younger” building. Average age might only be 40 here.

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Forgot this photo of Nemours Clinic, a clinic started by Alfred duPont, who built the Nemours Mansion near Wilmington, DE and his later home, Epping Forest, here in Jacksonville. Alfred duPont is one of about 5-6 prominent, wealthy northerners who basically started Jacksonville. He is responsible for a large, multi-billion dollar trust run out of a building here that I show later on. He started the Florida National Bank, Nemours, and St. Joe.