Daniel Cashen

Journal of Undergraduate Research
Volume 8, Issue 3 - January / February 2007

Redeveloping a North Florida Post-Industrial Landscape

INTRODUCTION

The city of Jacksonville currently thrives with new urban development. Historically, Jacksonville depended on its geographical location for the development of maritime industries along the river's edge. This situation created an urban fabric of intermixed residential and industrial zones. Slowly, as the commercial and residential areas grew, the need to distance industrial zones became imperative for better living conditions in the residential areas. The traces of these post-industrial landscapes stand as relics that provide testimony to past objectives that constitute the current configuration of the urban fabric. Their revitalization now depends on a careful analysis of these sites and on a method that can contribute to a progressive urban development of the downtown area while still retaining the historic identity on which the city was founded.

HISTORIC ANALYSIS

Jacksonville has undergone numerous transformations throughout its history. Its geographic location marked an important crossing point for the transportation of goods along the coast of Florida. It was initially known as Cowford, a name translated from the indigenous term “Wacca Pilatka.”¹ During the late 1700s the initial growth of the city was slow. William Bartram had described the area of Jacksonville as a “handful of houses scattered in and out of indigenous river vegetation lined across the cape of the river.”² He documented this memory as he crossed the St. Johns River by ferry. And even though the inherent characteristic of Jacksonville was that of a crossing point, the first bridge across the St. Johns was not completed until 1820.³

The city became an essential transportation hub for routes spanning from St. Augustine to Savannah. Jacksonville characterized itself from its beginning as a city of trade, maritime transportation, and temporary stay based on its access to the St. Johns river.

“The St. Johns is the grand water highway through some of the most beautiful portions of Florida; and Tourists, safely seated at ease on the decks of steamers, can penetrate into the mysteries and wonders of unbroken tropical forests.”⁴

It was this geographic location that led to the establishment of numerous hotels to serve travelers along the coastal route of Florida. As a result, Jacksonville was aptly named the “City of Hotels” during its early years because of the number of these commercial institutions built to serve the waves of tourism.⁵ This phenomenon influnenced the initial configuration of the city's grid. The density of the commercial sector established around the port services of the areas around the river's edge grossly accumulated and displaced residential sectors to surrounding regions such as Avondale, Ortega, and Riverside. This rapid accumulation created a sudden inflation on the newly planned grid.

The grid was effectively expanded, resulting in a linear water frontage of nine miles, enabling most of the settlements to take place along the river's edge, advancing inland when necessary.⁶ Lumber yards, wharves, docks, and manufacturing industries could now align themselves across this extensive water frontage. Unlimited possibilities of port-service development now existed.

Initially, the grid was laid out regularly. The first planned layout would subsequently be dependent and continuously reactive to water frontage extensions. But during the early 1800s, the grid still remained in its regular simplicity. Street widths ranged from 32 to 80 feet (holding an average of 62 feet). The Philadelphia style⁷ of street planning was established, and Main Street (located north of the river's edge) divided East from West. The initial regularity of the street blocks held dimensions of 210 by 315 feet.⁸ This regularity was strictly imposed, and it can be observed that the creation of blocks from the water's edge depended solely on water frontage extensions; but the placement and regularity of the blocks depended on the planned grid (with no shifts allowed).

From the official founding in 1822, Jacksonville has always focused on the development of its water frontage. Most of the light-commercial zones for the region were dependent on inland agriculture. In the surrounding area, pockets of fertile soil were used to start small scale agricultural productions, but agriculture was not a primary source of economic income. Jacksonville was essentially the first coastal city at the mouth of the St. Johns River. The seaports of Jacksonville served both the settlements of the “inner coast” of the St. Johns River and the naval freight lines of the east coast of Florida. The municipal docks and the surrounding service ports were established during the 1840s, making Jacksonville one of the leading cities in Florida.⁹

Figure 1a. Jacksonville, 1884. The moving force of the city's economy was naval industry's growth. This is evident by the growth of the commercial sector near Bay Street. This sector served the trading of the Municipal Docks. and shipyards in general. Consequently, the Bay Street area grew as a consolidated interface of trade and commerce for the city of Jacksonville.

Figure 1b. Jacksonville, 1891. As further development of the trade industry grew, so did the economic ramifications. The commercial sector expanded, and the realization that Jacksonville was continuously under a steady stream of growth, led to departing to the industrial functions throughout the grid. Bay Street as a circulation axis was now only secondary. The relationship of trade and commerce remained, as Jacksonville was now outsourcing raw material. But, prospects of future growth led to a fearless fragmentary expansion.

Figure 1c. Jacksonville, 1913. With the introduction of railways, the naval industry and commerce sectors were consolidated. Technological advances led to efficient export and import. The railway dissected Jacksonville, and provided more opportunities for ectended transportation networks. This would eventually lead to the development of downtown Jacksonville as an isolated commercial zone, and clear the piers running along the NW line of the river.

During this time, proper development of water frontage property was essential to the progressive growth of the city's economic base. There were more than 200 manufacturing industries recorded in the late 1800s. Six privately owned ship terminals, four steamship terminals, four railway terminals, six motor truck companies, and twenty naval ship companies were all established along the central downtown river's edge.¹⁰

The municipal docks were located near the present downtown area. Their impact on the surrounding grid structure was noticeable, given that the constructed piers and warehouses covered an area of 136, 800 square feet at their location along Market Street and Talleyrand Avenue.¹¹ This area attracted most of the naval transportation industries and charged Bay Street with a large amount of vehicular transportation of goods. These industries flourished primarily because of the proximity to the Florida coast and the New York and Baltimore transportation lines. Therefore, the northern and western shoreline of this area developed into industrial zones as the southern shoreline remained mostly residential.

During the 1940s, the focus was still on naval and maritime activities. The Mayport Naval Base was constructed from 1938 to 1946. Jacksonville would be established as the first port city of Florida with permanent military and industrial transportation capabilities. Although the Mayport area was not directly tied to the central business district, it influenced the central ports with a heavier load of naval traffic. This immediately affected the residential areas on the southern shoreline. The discomfort of the residents from the presence of heavy naval transportation led to the rapid completion of the Mathews bridge in 1953. This opened the southern shoreline to inland sprawl, and the Arlington area soon became a prominent central suburban area.¹²

Jacksonville's growth has been constant, continuous, and progressive. The 1900s marked the establishment of the central downtown district as an inner hub of dense commercial zones with intermixed governmental establishments. This isolated the downtown area and stifled the industrial sector caught in the interstice of the commercial and residential. Consequently, most of the industrial zones along the central district's northern rivers edge were abandoned during the mid 1950s. These industries relocated to and redeveloped around the area of Blount Island (closer to the Atlantic Ocean, east of the central district), leading to a permanent disconnect for the naval industry from the central downtown area. But this also led to the city’s further advancement, with vast amounts of land available around the area of Blount Island. The industry underwent a massive expansion and branched off into specialized manufacturing, dedicated warehousing, coastal and trans-Atlantic import/export, ship building and repair, port services, and commercial fishing. Also established here were petroleum tank farms and unloading areas, which raised the limit of heavy freight transport into the St. Johns River.¹³

This relocation helped the progressive advancement of the naval industry by two factors: a closer outlet to the Atlantic Ocean and the availability of free land for water line development. From 1945 to 1970 this area underwent enormous growth, increasing to 453 percent in port tonnage.¹⁴ Given this growth, the Jacksonville Port Authority (1963) was established during this 28-year period of industry success to regulate, coordinate, and maintain a level of safety for maritime circulation.

Given the success of the relocation, the zone along the river's edge of downtown was abandoned. The creation of high density commercial towers in the central downtown area left these industrial zones permanently disconnected from the urban fabric of Jacksonville.¹⁵ Some of these properties were reclaimed as parking lots and the rest left undeveloped. The relationship of the urban fabric and the river was fractured during this time. The river's edge towards the northwestern shoreline of the central downtown area was restructured. The characteristics of the old piers were erased, and the zone was allocated for residential high rises, medium density commercial, and governmental institutions. Thus, the interstitial zone between the river and city fabric was ingested by new development. There are no traces left of the historic piers or the industry that resided in the area. In contrast, the region of the northeastern shoreline remains intact. The articulation of the river's edge exists as a historic depiction of the old port industry. Although this zone (unlike the northwestern zone) has not been redeveloped, it still remains disconnected from the fabric of the central downtown area.

The Jacksonville Area Planning Board submitted an urban development proposal for this area in 1977. The primary goal of the analysis was to find ways to improve and renovate the river frontage zones along the entire span of the St. Johns River with relation to the city of Jacksonville. The study focused intensely around the central downtown district, and the aforementioned northeastern shoreline next to the Matthew's Bridge. The proposal called for the creation of a series of parks and walkways along the river's edge. This study emphasized the creation of a visual connection with the river, which would reconnect the central urban fabric to the St. Johns. This series of urban parks would also serve as a relief area for the central downtown district. Historical Wharfs are also proposed to provide insight into local history.¹⁶

This proposal for urban development was never executed. A few of the lots were acquired for private ownership while the city maintained ownership of the rest of the vacant lots.¹⁷ High density residential developments were proposed for the central district along the area of the old Jacksonville shipyards; but the planning was not fully regulated. Subsequently, this entire zone experienced two decades of stagnancy. Only within the last decade has there been a proactive effort to redevelop the old Jacksonville shipyards privately.

Figure 2. Schematic studies of the old Jacksonville Shipyards site. These diagrams serve to identify site specific characteristics of the territorial partitioning of the engaged commercial zones, and the vacanat available zones (post industrial Terrain Vague).

The site of the old Jacksonville shipyards was acquired in 2001 by the TriLegacy group.¹⁸ The area consisted of 44.7 acres delineated by the river from Berkman Plaza to the Metropolitan Park area. The proposed site redevelopment called for high-density condominiums that would house semi-public areas at the river's edge. During 2002, a range of disputes disrupted between the municipality of Jacksonville and TriLegacy group over funding issues for the shipyards. The $860 million redevelopment project overwhelmed the initial buyers, who in turn subsequently negotiated the transfer of the project to the LandMar group. The city and the various investment groups have been in negotiations ever since the transfer, leaving the site vacant regardless of its private ownership.

This area is a merging of zones with different load and circulation capacities. Essentially, the eastern area (Metropolitan Park) has a series of open parking lots to relieve the Alltel Stadium of congestion. This area is not in continuous use. Temporary festivals and staged events take place, but there is not a specifically designed circulation route into the area. Because of improper landscaping, the area suffers environmental problems due to the lack of proper water-retention strategies. The eastern area of the site (Berkman Plaza) contrasts these characteristics. The proximity of the Mathews bridge is problematic at peak hours because it generates a massive amount of vehicular congestion. But the surrounding circulation grid around this area was planned to handle high levels of vehicular circulation. Therefore, high density residential towers could potentially be placed into this area with proper amounts of ground level public space to create points of relief. Given the location of the site (mainly its proximity to the football stadium), the ground level spaces of this zone should effectively negotiate the streetscape and water frontage zone.

The proposed study of 1977 by the Jacksonville Area Planning Board would have effectively connected the water frontage to the immediate city grid, but at the same time it would have been problematic. The study only called for the creation of site-specific landscaping that would align itself along the shoreline. Yet, the main problem lies in the development of privately owned lots around this central area, specifically the aforementioned old Jacksonville shipyards. Without proper regulations, the presence of public space available in this area would diminish. The connectivity of the central urban fabric to the downtown water frontage would be limited, and the city-river connection would be lost.

Urban Analysis

The entire urban fabric of Jacksonville was configured to service the St. Johns River.¹⁹ The city prospered because of the strong connection between the river and the urban fabric. During its early years, the city thrived industrially in this aspect. Later, Jacksonville would see a boom of tourism as the industrial sector relocated to the Blount Island area. Despite the relocation, the strength of the economic base has continuously been dependent on the naval industries located within the region.

Within the last two years, the city has attracted a stream of investors interested in riverside residential developments. The lure of Jacksonville has always been the vast amounts of river shorelines available for residential construction, and the recent explosion of varied scales of development is due to this. Therefore, it is imperative that the development of the central downtown district's old shipyards engages the river's edge responsibly on an urban scale.

Figure 3a. The river's edge presents opportunities to align public urban spaces along the northern shoreline. This concatenation spans the length of the water frontage zones, but also begins to transverse the urban fabric perpendicularly to the river's edge.

Figure 3b. The entire zone of the river's edge is not continuous. It presents striations which hold different levels of historic erosion. This zone was studied as a series of interpolated linear territories aligned across the entire span of the water frontage zone, peripheral to the downtown district.

Regardless of the ownership status of these centric water frontage zones, city regulations should be created to help create riverfront public spaces. The relationship of these urban spaces should be similar to the relationship of the pier structures presently on site. The piers actually establish a dialogue between the outermost city's edge, the river, and the central urban fabric. These structures are built temporarily, depending on the permanence of the service provided. Yet, over time, they progressively gain permanence because of the varied functions assigned according to the present need. They contain an inherent "palimpsest-ual" quality that begins to influence the immediate context. The old shipyard piers were specifically used for the municipal docks and numerous private naval freight companies. They functioned both in terms of large-scale freight traffic and smaller-scale regional ferry transportation. These structures have undergone major transformations because of the drastic changes of use. But the sole characteristic of interrupting the bounds of the urban fabric with respect to the river has always been retained. The public spaces to be developed within this zone should share this characteristic with the old piers. The public spaces should break the bounds of the immediate context and create a dialogue between all the zones of central downtown and the St. Johns River.

The construction of the pier structures has become a permanent imprint of Jacksonville's historic founding. Their erasure (what has happened along the north-western edge of the central district) deprives Jacksonville of its identity as the “First Coast.” Not preserving these structures begins to detrimentally transfigure the city and distances the city from its historic identity. A historical wharf²⁰ could be established on these structures, temporary in nature given the proposed high density residential developments to take place in the area.

The St. Johns River has created an opportunity for Jacksonville, but the nature of the river presents much more opportunity than merely creating a reactive urban center. It becomes an instrument with which the urban center of Jacksonville can finally realize a stronger relationship to contextual natural settings. The St. Johns River has immutable characteristics and represents an opportunity for creating a relationship to nature.²¹ This dialogue has been the underlying driving force for the massive growth in riverside residential constructions. This connection should also be established for the old shipyards site.

The present Jacksonville would be considered a dispersed city. The centric downtown district (and the old Jacksonville shipyards site) is at a great distance from any dense residential area. The Mathews Bridge allowed for unregulated urban sprawl into the Arlington area, dangerously distancing the residential sectors from the primary urban hub (central district of downtown). If residential zones are to be inserted into the downtown district, proper levels of economic and social activities should be fostered in the immediate context.²² Therefore, the planning commission must consider the opportunities that could result from converting the old Jacksonville piers into historical wharfs. Social activities and events could programmed at this site, subsequently attracting light commercial retail. Charging the old shipyards site with these activities could open a concatenation of commercial services that would progressively establish themselves around this site as the residential density grows.

While the old shipyards site has been dormant, it has become a peripheral zone, regardless of its proximity to the central downtown district. The site became a void in the urban fabric, a condition indicated by the disconnects within the immediate context. Gates, fences, and small barriers visually block the connection between the streetscape of the Bay Street area and the St. Johns River. This site contributes to a degree of estrangement that exists throughout the entire zone.²³ Jacksonville becomes estranged from the very element that boosted growth: the river's edge industrial sector. Ignasi de Solà-Morales has classified similar sites as Terrain Vague. This term is used to describe any residual space that becomes uninhabited, unsafe, unproductive, and undefined. The old Jacksonville shipyards site encompasses all of these characteristics and demonstrates the fluctuating nature of modern industrial zones. Yet, the imprecise nature of the site harbors a sense of vagueness that can affect the Jacksonville citizen in a more meaningful way than by completely revamping the site. The site, by retaining its contoured edge as the interweaving limit between the central urban fabric and the river, now becomes a relic of Jacksonville history. The simplest way of intervening into these vacant sites, may be to “dissolve the uncontaminated magic of the obsolete in the realism of efficacy.”²⁴ However, total erasure and striving for an efficient urban space does nothing more than contaminate the urban fabric with another nameless place to dwell. The urban development of public spaces along the old shipyards site should strive to retain the historic relief already present within its limits.

The characteristic of the old shipyards site presents an opportunity to converge the qualities of the river's edge with the rest of the urban fabric. This peripheral site underwent many periods of reconstruction that has left a rich stratification of historic precedents. This site truly became a reflection of its region.²⁵ Although the piers defied the natural territorial edge of the northern shoreline, they also engaged the natural settings by extending into the river.²⁶ The contoured edge of the piers not only reflects the historic way the site was occupied but also how the site reacted to its natural context. Therefore, this site could effectively reflect nature into the central district at an urban scale. The St. Johns River has stood as witness to the growth of the Jacksonville water frontage developments from the very founding of the city. It is now appropriate to retain the dialogue with the river at an urban scale, and revitalize the old shipyards by not adversely affecting the river's edge. The river's edge is the singular patrimony of the city; a historic relic that transcends time.

FOOTNOTES

Translates to “Cows Crossing Over.”
William Bartram, The Travels of William Bartram. (New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, 1958).
Thomas Davis, History of Jacksonville, Florida and Vicinity Areas. (Florida Heritage Collection, University of North Florida. 13 Aug., 2005).
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Palmetto-Leaves. (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1968)
Garfield Rhodes, Guide to Florida for tourists, sportsmen and settlers. (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. 1912)
University of Florida Digital Library Center 2004, Jacksonville 1972: out of Cowford... Jacksonville. 1822. Accessed : 16 Aug., 2005. <http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=fhp&idno=NF00000145&format=pdf>
Sam Bass Warner, The Private City.(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1968)
University of Florida Digital Library Center 2004, Jacksonville 1972: out of Cowford... Jacksonville. 13.
Thomas Davis, History of Jacksonville, Florida and vicinity areas. 7.
George Buker, Jacksonville riverport-seaport. (University of Florida Digital Library Center). <http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=fhp&idno=NF00000148&format=pdf>
George Buker, Jacksonville riverport-seaport. 120.
Thomas Davis, History of Jacksonville, Florida and vicinity areas. 8.
George Buker, Jacksonville riverport-seaport. 48.
George Buker, Jacksonville riverport-seaport. 50.
Henry H. Read, The waterways of Florida illustrated: a review of the development of the waterways of Florida since the Spanish possession. (Florida Heritage Collection, University of North Florida. 1921). <http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=fhp&idno=NF00000064&format=jpg>
Jacksonville Area Planning Board, St. John's River environmental and urban design study. Florida Heritage Collection, University of North Florida. 1977. <http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=fhp&idno=NF00000133&format=pdf>
Jacksonville Area Planning Board, St. John's River environmental and urban design study. 118.
Debra Wood, Jacksonville Construction Report. McGraw Hill Construction. 2004. <http://southeast.construction.com/features/archive/0401_Feature1.asp>
Debra Wood, Jacksonville Construction Report. McGraw Hill Construction. 2003. <http://southeast.construction.com/features/archive/0401_Feature1.asp>
Mentioned in: Jacksonville Area Planning Board, St. John's River environmental and urban design study
Edward Casey, Getting back into place: toward a renewed understanding of the place-world. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 1993).
Edward Casey, Getting back into place: toward a renewed understanding of the place-world . 54.
Ignasi de Sola-Morales,“Terrain Vague”, Anyplace. (Cambridge: Massuchusetts, MIT Press. 1995).
Ignasi de Sola-Morales, “Terrain Vague”, Anyplace. 123.
Title of Wallace Steven's “A Mythology Reflects its region”.
Edward Casey, Getting back into place: toward a renewed understanding of the place-world . 150.

REFERENCES

Bartram, William. Travels of William Bartram. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1958.
Buker, George E. Jacksonville, riverport-seaport. University of Florida Digital Library Center. Accessed: 17 Aug., 2005. <http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=fhp&idno=NF00000148&format=pdf>
Casey, Edward. Getting back into place: toward a renewed understanding of the place-world. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 1993.
Davis, Thomas Frederick. History of Jacksonville, Florida, and vicinity. Florida Heritage Collection, University of North Florida. 1925. Accessed: 13 Aug., 2005. <http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=fhp&idno=NF00000013&format=pdf>
Jacksonville Area Planning Board (Fla.). St. John's River environmental and urban design study.. Florida Heritage Collection, University of North Florida. 1977 Accessed: 17 Aug., 2005. <http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=fhp&idno=NF00000133&format=pdf>
Rhodes, Harrison Garfield. Guide to Florida for tourists, sportsmen and settlers. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. 1912.
Read, Henry H. The waterways of Florida illustrated: a review of the development of the waterways of Florida since the Spanish possession. Florida Heritage Collection, University of North Florida. 1921. Accessed: 13 Aug., 2. <http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=fhp&idno=NF00000064&format=jpg>
Solà-Morales, Ignasi. “Terrain Vague”, Anyplace. Cambridge: Massachusetts, MIT Press. 1995.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Palmetto-Leaves. Gainesville, University of Florida Press, 1968.
University of Florida Digital Library Center 2004. Jacksonville 1972: out of Cowford... Jacksonville. Florida Heritage Collection,
University of Florida Digital Library Center.1822. Accessed : 16 Aug., 2005. <http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=fhp&idno=NF00000145&format=pdf>
Warner, Sam Bass. The Private City. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1968.
Wood, Debra. Jacksonville Construction Report. McGraw Hill Construction. 2003. Accessed: 23 Sept., 2005. <http://southeast.construction.com/features/archive/0306_Jacksonville.asp>
Wood, Debra. Jacksonville Construction Report. McGraw Hill Construction. 2004. Accessed: 23 Sept., 2005. <http://southeast.construction.com/features/archive/0401_Feature1.asp>

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