Cool Stuff in Other Cities

[spenser1058]

Another long-neglected historic building being saved. Of course its location is ANYWHERE but Orlando where all we think about is bulldozing them for cheap plywood apartments that will make one of Buddy’s buddies even richer:

https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/history/2020/09/04/historic-detroit-hotel-elevator-discovered-during-remodel-in-st-petersburg/?outputType=amp
 

From The Tampa Bay Times

[AmIReal]

54 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

Another long-neglected historic building being saved. Of course its location is ANYWHERE but Orlando where all we think about is bulldozing them for cheap plywood apartments that will make one of Buddy’s buddies even richer:

https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/history/2020/09/04/historic-detroit-hotel-elevator-discovered-during-remodel-in-st-petersburg/?outputType=amp
 

From The Tampa Bay Times

Interesting point that spenser fails to mention is this has absolutely nothing to do with the City of St Pete or their Mayor. These are private investors that have chosen to restore their property- which I applaud. Any owner of a downtown Orlando property can choose to do the same and in fact several have (the Exchange, Ace, OUC) and several more are currently in process (United Trophy, Triple Nipple). I've been her a long time and as I recall the previous City administrations were responsible for the sad loss of most of our historic buildings. But just for clarity can someone list all the historic buildings in Orlando that have been demolished by the Dyer administration so we can have a handy cheat sheet. I'll start, we have (or actually don't have) the highly regarded by a few dime store at Church and Orange, the American Fed/ Coral Gables  round building and of course Tinker Field... what else? I honesty know I'm missing something here, so fill in the list please. Has to be within City limits, demoed since 2003 and meet criteria for historic value.

[JFW657]

50 minutes ago, AmIReal said:

Interesting point that spenser fails to mention is this has absolutely nothing to do with the City of St Pete or their Mayor. These are private investors that have chosen to restore their property- which I applaud. Any owner of a downtown Orlando property can choose to do the same and in fact several have (the Exchange, Ace, OUC) and several more are currently in process (United Trophy, Triple Nipple). I've been her a long time and as I recall the previous City administrations were responsible for the sad loss of most of our historic buildings. But just for clarity can someone list all the historic buildings in Orlando that have been demolished by the Dyer administration so we can have a handy cheat sheet. I'll start, we have (or actually don't have) the highly regarded by a few dime store at Church and Orange, the American Fed/ Coral Gables  round building and of course Tinker Field... what else? I honesty know I'm missing something here, so fill in the list please. Has to be within City limits, demoed since 2003 and meet criteria for historic value.

I agree wholeheartedly, but I think you inadvertently included The Exchange which was only built around 1988 - 89.

The other stuff I just ignore anymore. Not worth getting annoyed over. 

[spenser1058]

Ever wonder what Florida’s largest cities were 100 years ago? Here ya go:

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/florida-largest-cities-100-years-ago
 

From The Jaxson

The biggest surprise to me was something called “West Tampa” was on the list. I’m guessing it must have merged with Tampa proper at some point. @dcluley98, ever heard of this one?

UPDATE: And, as always, Wiki gives us the answer!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Tampa

And now that’s one of the parts of town with hipster cred - who knew?

 

Edited September 8, 2020 by spenser1058

[dcluley98]

West Tampa was always anything west of the river but north of Hyde Park.   Pretty much from UT and up to RayJay.  It never was any hipster neighborhood though, more  poor neighborhood. The hipster stuff was always in Hyde Park /Bayshore/Howard Ave.

[spenser1058]

A tour of Prairie Style architecture in Jacksonville’s Riverside neighborhood:

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/the-prairie-school-residences-of-riverside-avenue
 

From The Jaxson

[spenser1058]

Remembering Downtown Daytona:

https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2020/09/13/downtown-daytona-beach-began-as-charming-place-in-late-1800-s/5696281002/
 

From the News-Journal 

Like downtown Orlando folks, longtime Daytona residents remember shopping at their Ivey’s on Beach St.

[spenser1058]

Places you want in your neighborhood and are glad are there even after 94 years:

https://stpetecatalyst.com/the-near-century-saga-of-peter-barlas-and-coney-island-2/
 

From St. Pete Catalyst

[spenser1058]

Dueling stogies - the battle between Jacksonville and Tampa for America’s  cigar business:

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/jacksonvilles-forgotten-cuban-cigar-industry
 

From The Jaxson

Some great pics of the cigar buildings, too!

[AmIReal]

San Antonio holds contest for ideas to bring more shade downtown. Winner gets $10k. City gets 14 degrees cooler. 

https://foxsanantonio.com/news/local/group-wants-to-bring-more-shade-to-downtown

[dcluley98]

I wish they would do this here. I have often said that Orlando DT needs as many old shade trees and arcades as  they can keep around to help reduce the urban heat effect.

Another thing I have proposed is a covered loop of multi-use path, maybe even with solar powered fans or misters along the way similar to what you see in outdoor theme-park queues.    This would greatly improve the adoption of transit and alternative commuting such as bicycles, buses, and SunRail, IMO if there was a way to get around DT protected from the heat/rain from places like Central Station,The OUT,    Eola Park, and the CBD. 

[spenser1058]

Now, here’s a self-storage facility I’m happy to see. Props to U-Haul for undertaking the restoration.

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/u-haul-to-restore-historic-rail-yard-district-warehouse
 

From The Jaxson

Most of the LaVilla neighborhood fell victim to the “urban renewal” of Interstate 95 being built through the center of Jacksonville in the ‘60’s (I bet you can guess what the neighborhood’s demographics were). 

By the time we first moved to Jax in 1974, much of the area was barren wasteland not even used for construction of the road. It’s great to see restoration of the few buildings left standing and a commitment to revitalizing an area that was once a thriving African-American community.

 

Edited September 18, 2020 by spenser1058

[jgardnerucf]

3 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Props to U-Haul for undertaking the restoration.

They been done did the same down in a cigar factory in Ybor.

[spenser1058]

Tampa’s Riverwalk is about to expand westward thanks in part to a DOT grant:
https://www.fox13news.com/video/852973

From FOX 13

[spenser1058]

Auto Train from Lorton (VA - a DC ‘burb) to Sanford:

All Aboard America... All Aboard Amtrak

(Auto Train was a privately owned company that went belly up like just about every passenger rail company in America has.)

[spenser1058]

110 year old Ybor City clock tower being restored as part of building restoration:

https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/history/2020/09/24/century-old-ybor-city-clock-tower-will-ring-again-soon/
 

From The Tampa Bay Times

(Of course, if it were in downtown Orlando we’d declare it too old to fix and tear it down for replacement with four stories of overpriced stucco-on-plywood apartments you could hear a pin drop in next door. It’s the Orlando way - make sure the developers walk away with all the cash!)

 

that’s the Orlando way

[spenser1058]

Restoring the 132-year old Detroit Hotel in St. Pete for the enjoyment of natives and visitors instead of demolishing it like we would in Orlando (because only profits for developers matter here, you know):

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/article/developers-renovating-historic-florida-hotel-make-amazing-finds/ss-BB19rJBI?li=BBnbklE
 

From MSN

Edited September 27, 2020 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

FDOT is proposing a road diet for an up and coming Jacksonville neighborhood with roots going back to the ‘20’s:

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/edgewood-avenue-lane-repurposing-renderings
 

From The Jaxson

So, yes, I’m jealous. The racetrack nature of the road held this neighborhood back at least to the ‘70’s when I lived nearby. I’m glad to see FDOT is helping bring back Murray Hill after all these years.

 

Edited September 29, 2020 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

The first of the 28 trains to serve as the next gen Acela is headed for Boston:

https://www.universalhub.com/2020/acela-replacement-makes-first-trip-boston
 

From the Universal Hub

All Aboard America.. All Aboooooard Amtrak

[AmIReal]

Lakeland has an abundance of homeless, so the are selling them... swans, that is.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/30/us/swan-sale-in-florida-trnd/index.html

 

[spenser1058]

Clearwater tries a downtown street closure to invigorate its downtown:

https://www.tampabay.com/news/clearwater/2020/09/30/coronavirus-shows-how-a-street-closure-could-open-up-downtown-clearwater/

From the Tampa Bay Times

[spenser1058]

Rent prices in SFO for 1-br have dropped 20% year over year:

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/01/san-francisco-one-bedroom-rent-dropped-20percent-from-sept-2019-to-2020.html

From CNBC

[spenser1058]

11 Best Bike Paths in US Cities:

https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/bike-tours/best-urban-bike-paths-in-the-us
 

From Travel & Leisure 

[spenser1058]

Tampa City Council advances Ritz-Carlton Residences on Bayshore Blvd:

https://www.tampabay.com/news/real-estate/2020/10/02/tampa-city-council-advances-proposed-ritz-carlton-residential-towers-on-bayshore/
 

From The Tampa Bay Times

[Uncommon]

21 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Tampa City Council advances Ritz-Carlton Residences on Bayshore Blvd:

https://www.tampabay.com/news/real-estate/2020/10/02/tampa-city-council-advances-proposed-ritz-carlton-residential-towers-on-bayshore/
 

From The Tampa Bay Times

It’s official. Tampa has surpassed Orlando.