"great fire 1901" News

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Big Jim, Voice of 1901 Great Fire, Still Whistles

May 3,2012 at 3:42 PM EST

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- On May 3, 1901, right around lunch time, one of the most devastating disasters in southern history scorched Jacksonville.

It all started in an upholstery factory on the northwest side of town.

"At the corner of Beaver and Davis," said Fire Museum...more curator Wyatt Taylor.

He says things were under control, until the wind picked up.

"10,000 people were homeless," he said. "It burned 140 city blocks. I mean, people lost everything."

The warning systems we have now didn't exist then. So Jacksonville citizens depended on alerts from a steam whistle to stay safe.

"Big Jim blew throughout the entire day because of the scope of the fire," Taylor said.

Big Jim, which came to Jacksonville in the early 1890s, still sounds four times a day downtown.

It sits on top of a JEA office building downtown, making the same steam powered whistle sound it made 111 years ago when The Great Fire was destroying

Downtown Jacksonville

Downtown Landmark Faces Possible Demolition

Watch the story

Apr 4,2012 at 3:23 PM EST

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A downtown landmark at the corner of Ocean and Bay streets displaying several jaguar murals could soon be be demolished.

The Bostwick family has owned the property since the 1830s. Last week, the 110 year-old building was hit with fines for code violations. The...more owners, who were first cited in 2005, now face $100-a-day fines.

"We asked for leniency," said Val Bostwick, whose family has been involved with the property since day one.

Bostwick says the building has been vacant for nearly three decades and the current commercial real estate market has produced no takers.

"We are faced with the decision that we either got to sell it in a very short period of time or demolish the building," said Bostwick, who is also a commercial realtor.

The 7,600-square-foot building is currently on the market for $225,000.

Bostwick says it would cost $1 million to bring the building up to code.

The Bostwick property

Downtown Jacksonville

Three Springfield Residents Vie For Elected Office in Upcoming Elections

Feb 21,2011 at 9:15 AM EST

In the aftermath of the great fire of 1901, thousands of Jacksonville’s residents, many of them affluent, fled downtown and rebuilt in what is today called Historic Springfield. Back then, it may not have seemed unusual to hear of multiple residents from the neighborhood running for office, but...more in more recent decades it hasn’t been as common. Since the boom years following the Great Fire of 1901, Springfield lost some of its luster, and with it much of its political influence. In what some hope is a sign of its returning political influence, Springfield will have three residents on the March 22nd ballot, competing for two different city council seats. Marc Mccullough, a Democrat, is challenging 1st term councilman Dr. Johnny Gaffney, also a Democrat, for the District 7 seat. Because the Jacksonville municipal elections are non-partisan, there will not be a primary, and because there are only two eligible candidates, The March 22nd election will most likely determine who wins the

Springfield

Hogans Creek Activists Plan More Cleanups

Feb 18,2011 at 3:56 PM EST

Hogans Creek, the downtown creek that served as a natural fire break during the great fire of 1901, and later as the centerpiece of an elegant central park designed and built by famed Jacksonville Architect Henry Klutho, has been regaining people’s attention in recent years. Running from Shands...more Medical Campus, near 8th and Boulevard, through Historic Springfield, Confederate Park, the Cathedral District, and the Stadium District, empties into the St Johns River near the Maxwell House plant on Bay Street. On February 12th, 2011, a group of dedicated environmental, and urban activists converged on a seldom seen portion of Hogans Creek. The group, led by John Noone, donned waders and gloves and began pulling everything from tires, and trash, to shopping carts out of the neglected creek. As a resident of Springfield and a fan of the creek, I thank John Noone, Lucas Hildebrand, and the many other volunteers who took the time to pull the above pictured debris from the creek, and I look

Springfield

RAP Debuts Free Podcast Walking Tour of Historic Riverside

Oct 27,2010 at 3:10 PM EST

City’s first MP3-based walking tour puts history in the palm of your hand Riverside Avondale Preservation (RAP) has released an innovative video podcast walking tour to celebrate Riverside Avondale’s recent designation as one of the American Planning Association’s Ten Great Neighborhoods for 2010....more The free, self-guided multimedia tour begins at RAP’s popular Riverside Arts Market (RAM) and concludes in the heart of “new” 5 Points. It allows tour-goers to explore a small slice of historic Riverside and experience first-hand what makes the neighborhood such a wonderful place to live, work and visit. Downloadable tours are a growing trend worldwide, but RAP’s “sound-seeing tour” is a first for Jacksonville.

Avondale - Riverside, San Marco, Springfield

Riverside-Avondale Historic District Boasts Most Diverse Collection of Historic Homes in State

Oct 13,2010 at 12:47 PM EST

The American Planning Association (APA) today announced the designation of Riverside Avondale as one of 10 Great Neighborhoods for 2010 under the organization's Great Places in America program. APA Great Places exemplify exceptional character and highlight the role planners and planning play in...more creating communities of lasting value. Also designated in Florida as one of APA's Great Places for 2010 is Plaza Real in Boca Raton.

Avondale - Riverside