Nov 5 - 19 and Dec 3, 2010 Updates... Finally ;)

First my apologies for not posting recently. While i did get the opportunity to visit the Fountain on Nov 5 and 19 I only took a few pictures as while much work was going on the photo evidence was lacking ;)

The pictures from the Nov 5 and 19th visits are located here and primarily show dirt (for grading) and some forms for walkways.
Nov 5 - 19 Pictures

My most recent visit on Dec 3, 2010 pictures are located here and you can see some of the results from the work in the earlier pictures, more grading and poured walkways.





As you can see above the main walkways from the center portion of the Fountain have been poured (the open spaces between sections will be filled with pavers and hopefully on the next visit that will be completed).

Also the hope is to have the final transition area from Friendship Fountain Park to the Southbank walkway completed in the next few weeks which should be the last interruption to the Southbank walkway during these renovations.

Once again my Thanks to the Men from AC General for taking their time to explain some aspects to me as well as providing details on the next steps and allowing us unfettered access. :)

Till next time,
Bob

Southbank River Walk Open again!

The Friendship Fountain Bi-weekly update ;)

The portion of the Southbank River Walk immediately in front of Friendship Fountain has been restored and is open for foot traffic again.





It also appears that all underground drainage has been put into place, all the open pipes seen two weeks ago have been covered and there are a number of new drain boxes clearly marked and in place. Today was the quietest I have seen the construction site since the renovations began.

Look for another update in two weeks...

Bob

Belated Oct 8, 2010 Update

Well folks a few days late on the biweekly update but as soon as I got back from The Fountain on Friday I was put into Halloween mode setting up our annual display which can be seen by clicking on the below image...





As far as The Renovations, grounds demo appears to be pretty well done with some actual infrastructure being put into place. As always pictures are posted and the direct link is:
http://jaxfountain.com/Gallery/oct82010





Another update in a couple of weeks and don't forget to Support Our JAGS on Monday Night Football Oct 18, 2010, just think next season they will be able to feature Friendship Fountain during our Home games again!

-Bob

Sep 24, 2010 Renovation Update

I got down to the Fountain area this afternoon to see what progress had been made and well, WOW ;)

First thing that jumped out at me was the Commemorable Plaque in the concrete near
the entrance of Friendship Fountain park...


Yep as you can see it has been removed, mostly intact, but some damage is evident. I contacted Eric Lindstrom with the JEDC as after reviewing the plans I have available to me it wasn't clear what the plans were for the plaque.

Eric replied promptly with the following:

"The plan is to place a new plaque back within 50 feet of the original location. Due to the condition of the plaque, our plans call for the plaque to be replicated exactly the same as the original. We wanted to keep the plaque at the site until the contractor can properly document the exact layout, materials used, letter types and sizes, etc. Originally, we wanted to use the original, however, the age and condition of the plaque will make this difficult. We are doing everything we can to replicate the plaque exactly as it was, but also making sure it lasts another 40-50 years with all new materials."

Sounds good to me :)

Also got some rare shots of inside the pumphouse where the pumps themselves have been removed leaving only the pipe connections...


Oh and I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the Jacksonville Maritime Museum is OPEN during the Fountain renovations and would urge anyone that has a chance to visit the Southbank to make sure you stop by and get exposed to another rich part of Jacksonville's History.


As the rest of the pictures attest to there has been lots of work, this isn't the Courthouse ;) project, and we will continue to try and keep things updated.

Once again my our thanks to the Folks of AC General who just have been great about access and Eric who has been extremely supportive with information.

-Bob

Construction Pictures taken Sep 10, 2010 Added..

Took a trip down to Friendship Fountain this afternoon, accompanied by my very Pretty Daughter, Samantha, who is in a couple of the pictures.



Even late on a Friday afternoon the contractors were hard at work still in demo mode removing the concrete and park areas around the Fountain base. It appears to be about a 4 to 5 foot deep dig around the fountain circle.

Took a few minutes to walk up the Main St. Bridge to get some shots as well. I noticed that the water curtains running around the Maritime Museum were not running and I am not sure if they are in need of repair or not?



Anyway no questioning progress is being made and I once again want to thank AC General for their allowing us full access.

-Bob

Interesting Historical Tibit...

I received an email the other day from Patricia Lellouche who was secretary to Frank W. Sherman, President and Chairman of the Board of the American National Banks. back in the day...

The fountain was originally the idea of Frank W. Sherman,
President and Chairman of the Bd. of the American National
Banks at the time. He got the idea at a bankers' convention
in St. Louis. He wanted Jacksonville to have something
similar to their arch. It was named after Dallas Thomas so
that the fountain could be built.

How do I know this? I was
Frank Sherman's secretary at the time. This information was
also included in an article in the Times Union about Sherman's
death.

Thanks for the information Patricia...

For those saying who is Dallas Thomas, he was a City Commissioner back in the 60's who was later involved in a scandal...

From wikipedia.org...

The Fountain was originally called the “Fountain of Friendship in Dallas Thomas Park”; friendship at the suggestion of a Rotary Club member and Dallas Thomas after the city's parks and finance commissioner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendship_Fountain

Hope everyone is enjoying their Labor day Holiday and just think next year on Labor Day we should be looking at a completely restored Fountain and renovated Park...

-Bob

More coverage of the Fountain Renovation

In Thursday's Times Union two additional stories...

Times Union Sep 2, 2010 Front page With renovation, Jacksonville's Friendship Fountain will fly high again By Dan Scanlan

Times Union Sep 2, 2010 Ron Littlepage Welcome improvements coming on the Southbank

It will be exciting to continue tracking the renovation work and see the progression of the changes to the Park and see the Fountain back in full operation when this is all done :)

I also would like to take this opportunity to remind folks that they can submit their own pictures of Friendship Fountain at anytime at the following link:
http://JaxFountain.com/upload.shtm

-Bob