(Source of images: Florida State Archives)

What an ugly duckling the Northbank used to be!  Here's Jax's face during the Forties.  This old portrait doesn't show what the city would grow into, for there is no indication of today's impressive riverfront.  Indeed, there isn't much that remains from the picture, besides a few buildings and the Main Street Bridge, which opened in 1941.  

Let's get our bearings:  The blue arrow points to the approximate location of today's Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts.  The red arrow designates the future site of the well-known Jacksonville Landing, the semi-circular, waterfront marketplace with an orange roof.  The green arrow pinpoints the present spot of the Adam's Mark Hotel, while the yellow arrow touches on the St. James Building, a former department store that now houses City Hall.  In front of the St. James lies Hemming Park (Plaza). 

CLICK HERE for a recent riverfront view provided by Jacksonville University, and CLICK HERE  for an image from Skyscrapers.com.   CLICK HERE for a neat model of today's waterfront.  This scene comes from the website "Planet9.com," furnished by a business that plans for the best ways to deal with urban disasters.  For old images, please see below.

ON THE RIVER'S SHORES -- "A working son in the Florida family of playboys":  This description of Jax came from a federal government guidebook during the 1930s.  Such cities as Miami and Palm Beach received the lion's share of attention from most people.  They had drawn tourists and property speculators like magnets.  Nevertheless, Jacksonville chugged away, focusing more on trade and manufacturing.  "The Gateway to Florida" steadily increased in population and industry over the years. 

Unfortunately, though, the city's growth resulted in awful eyesore of a waterfront.  Wharves and warehouses crowded the Northbank, and railroad tracks added to the mess, especially west of the Main Street Bridge.  To make matters worse, many of the rat-infested structures were dilapidated and run down.   

AN EMBARRASSMENT -- It seemed as if Jax hung its tattered underwear in public to dry.  Train passengers going to South Florida usually crossed the railroad bridge that still lies next to the Acosta span.  What an eyeful they got!  And it could only grow worse with the building of the first Fuller Warren Bridge in 1954.  The bridge was to eventually serve as a link in the new interstate highway system, jumping the St. Johns near downtown's southern edge.  Motorists on the span could look over at the city's waterfront, receiving a dark first impression of the Sunshine State. 

Something had to be done -- And it was.  Led by Mayor Haydon Burns, the municipal government began to take action during the mid Fifties.  Over time, new waterfront buildings and parking lots replaced many of yesteryear's dreary structures.  Erected near the river were the County Courthouse, the 13-floor City Hall (today's City Hall Annex), the 12-story pretrial detention center, and the Civic Auditorium (now the Times-Union Performing Arts Center). 

Private businesses occasionally jumped into the act.  They added structures like the CSX Building, Jacksonville Landing, and Adam's Mark Hotel.  It's interesting to note, however, that many private enterprises initially shunned a waterfront spot in downtown Jax.  To some extent, this was due to a negative reputation the area had received from the previous, unsightly facilities.  No wonder the City of Jacksonville erected government buildings on what is now prime real estate.  The vista from the 13th floor of the old City Hall used to be spectacular before being blocked by the Adam's Mark Hotel.

The transformation of the waterfront still continues.  Consider the recent construction of the remarkable residential community, Berkman Plaza.  Just getting underway, moreover, is The Shipyards, a prestigious, $728 million residential development that will stretch from Berkman Plaza to Metro Park, near Alltel Stadium.  The Shipyards will include retail & commercial space, along with parks for residents and marinas for private craft.   Its property operated as an industrial area for over a century before closing in 1992.  For example, freighters called "Liberty Ships" were constructed there during World War II.  

WATERFRONT PROGRESS -- As the Northbank improved during the Fifties and Sixties, just what was built?  Take a look at the following links for "now & then" shots!

CLICK HERE for a birds-eye view of the Northbank, early Forties

CLICK HERE for docks in west downtown

CLICK HERE to see unlovely scenes in east downtown

CLICK HERE for the new Civic Auditorium

CLICK HERE for parking with a view

CLICK HERE for a Northbank oddity

CLICK HERE to gaze upon the Northbank after dark

CLICK HERE for the Northbank's "softer side"

CLICK HERE to meet Mayor Burns

CLICK HERE to learn where the wharves went

NOTE: The other photo on this page shows the unloading of newsprint from a ship in Jax on November 1, 1946.

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