GOING, GOING, GONE:

                   BRICK STREETS

(Source of picture: Online Florida State Archives Photographic Collection)

FOR MORE PICTURES, PLEASE SEE BELOW.

WIPE OUT! -- This is the intersection of Main and Forsyth in downtown Jax during a drizzly day, January 3, 1938.  It wasn't so long ago, really, that brick pavement and trolley car tracks could be seen in the heart of the River City.  And this wasn't such a good thing when the rain came down, according to longtime resident Jack McGiffin in his wonderful book It Ain't Like It Was in the Good Old Days... No, and It Never Was. 

Main & Forsyth proved a slick and risky intersection when wet, Mr. McGiffin recalled.  Here are the reasons why:  Trolley companies often placed bricks between and around the rails that were in streets.  When tracks had to be repaired, the bricks could be removed and later replaced.  The companies used vitrified bricks, which show few, if any, visible pores.  Impervious to water, vitrified bricks are heated to a near-liquid substance, which then slowly hardens over a seven- to ten-day period.  They feel quite smooth as a result.  But there's more... 

Until the 1930s, Main & Forsyth lay at the core of the city's streetcar system, with two busy tracks crossing there.  Consequently, it received an extra large number of bricks.  According to Mr. McGiffin, however, workmen proved too efficient when laying them, keeping the bricks at just the right height and fit.  During rainy days, therefore, the junction seemed almost as slick as a newly polished kitchen floor.  Cars spun out when starting and skidded when braking.  Pedestrians slipped and slid, and horses fell down, their iron horseshoes giving no grip on the surface.  The bricks even had a greenish, glass-like look, said Mr. McGiffin. 

How did the city government respond to this soggy mess?  They sent men with chisels to Main & Forsyth, where they chipped the bricks to make a rougher pavement.  This allowed animals, pedestrians, and vehicles to pass more safely. 

In the picture above, the tall building on the left still looks much the same today.  It's the seventeen-story Lynch Building, an office building from 1926 that has been converted into a handsome apartment facility called "11 East Forsyth."  The three-story structure to the right of the Lynch Building was the Windle Hotel.  To the right of the Windle, just out of view, was Jacksonville's city hall for the first half of the 20th century.  The old city hall and the Windle were on the site of present Main Library, which will be replaced by a marvelous new Hemming Plaza building in December 2004. 

CLICK HERE for track removal at Main & Forsyth

CLICK HERE for pipe work

CLICK HERE for a brickless Main & Forsyth, early Forties

CLICK HERE for a brick Main Street in about 1920

CLICK HERE for a brick street next to the downtown post office, 1941

   CLICK HERE for a South Jax street, 1949

   CLICK HERE for a brick Springfield street, 1949

CLICK HERE for a brick Davis Street in LaVilla or Springfield