GOING, GOING, GONE: OSTRICHES, PART THREE

(Source of picture: Private collection of Website Manager)

Here's a antiquarian Disney World:  the mall at Dixieland Park in Jacksonville.  It stood in the area of the present Hilton Hotel on the Southbank.  This postcard was postdated in Jacksonville on March 11, 1909.  A note on the back reads, "Dear Friends: We arrived safely after a fairly good trip.  Have not found a house as yet, so are boarding... There is lots of business here.  J.K. has gone up the river today."  The last reference was probably either to a business or pleasure trip up the St. Johns.  -- FOR INFO ABOUT DIXIELAND PARK, SEE BELOW.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SAME PICTURE AT NIGHT

CLICK HERE FOR A PIC OF DIXIELAND'S ENTRANCE

CLICK HERE FOR A PIC OF THE "PALACE OF INDUSTRY"

CLICK HERE FOR A PIC OF CAFE & DANCE PAVILION

CLICK HERE FOR A PIC OF A RACING OSTRICH 

CLICK HERE FOR A PIC OF DIXIELAND'S TREATY OAK

YESTERYEAR'S  FUN SPOTS -- Billing itself as "The Coney Island of the South," Dixieland Park drew hordes of tourists & locals.  The ostrich farm sprawled over 30 acres of riverfront property on the Southbank, in the vicinity of today's Hilton Hotel.  

The attraction featured a 160-foot roller coaster, a Figure Eight ride, a toboggan, a "laughing gallery," a "House of Troubles," and a large merry-go-round called "The Flying Jenny," which boasted 56 wooden animals.  Babe Ruth once played baseball at Dixieland, and the famous bandleader John Phillips Sousa gave a concert.  Many movie companies filmed their silent flicks there.  These included jungle pictures, which brought elephants, tigers, camels, and horses to the ostrich park. 

Indeed, more than just big birds entertained guests at Dixieland & other local attractions.  Do any of these appeal to you? -- Alligators, dog & pony shows, lion wrestling, hot air balloons, parachute jumps, comedy acrobats, high-wire performers, & vaudeville acts.  On muggy days at Jax ostrich parks, visitors could refresh themselves at a swimming pool and bathing beaches.  Dixieland also featured an electric water fountain.

For all of this, the ostrich farms initially charged an admission of 10 cents, or about $1.90 in today's money -- Still a bargain!  Some attractions later raised their prices to a quarter, but at about $4.50 in current values, this couldn't have made too huge a difference.

Speaking of money, what would an amusement park be without its souvenir shops?  The ostrich farms offered hundreds of trinkets & whatnots to help their patrons relive their action-packed visits.  The curios from the big-plumed, big-rumped ostriches included eggs, feathers, & boas (a long fluffy scarf made from feathers). 

Dixieland & other ostrich parks faded around the time of World War I.  Their exuberant spirit still lives on, though, in such places as Disney World, Sea World, and Busch Gardens.

GO BACK TO "JAX CURIOSITY SHOP"