Sunday, November 26, 2023

Jacksonville, FL: 1919 Union Terminal, ACL Freighthouse and Headquarters

Depot: (Satellite, the headhouse remains as the eastern part of the convention center. 2,866 photos)
Freight House: (Satellite, see topo map and aerials below)
Beaver Street Tower: (Satellite)
Roundhouse: (Satellite)
"MA" Tower: (Satellite)
Headquarters and Tech Center: (3D Satellite)

In 1960, the headquarters was moved from Wilmington to Jacksonville.

The Jacksonville Terminal was owned by the Jacksonville Terminal Company, and that company was owned by the railroads that the company served: Atlantic Coast Line (ACL), Seaboard Air Line (SAL), Southern (SR) and Florida East Coast (FEC).

Street View, Oct 2019

safe_image for Jacksonville Terminal in the 1940s (source)

3D Satellite

C. Mark Sublette posted
Colorized linen post card of Jacksonville Terminal. Opened 1919, closed 1974, the final Amtrak operations on 3 January 1974. Fortunately, Jacksonville Terminal was NOT torn down, being converted into the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, which opened on 17 October 1986.

The Union Terminal is out-of-frame to the right. I selected this photo because it has a good view of the ACL freighthouse and the terminal railroad roundhouse.
RailfanGuides, Photo by John C. Henderson
Because Amtrak had to back their trains into the station and because ridership was way down from the 100,000 during WWII, Amtrak built their own station and left this one in 1974. "The headhouse became part of the Prime F. Osborn III convention center in 1986."
[This webpage also has photos and a track diagram of the MA Tower.]

Michael Stamey posted
Jacksonville Terminal 1920's.

Three photos from TheClio. They are also on MetroJacksonville.
1, "The Black waiting room in 1921"

2, "The main waiting room in 1921"

3, "The concourse in 1921"

The concourse is now a lobby.
FlemingsBond

In 2023, there are plans to spend $72m to renovate the 1913 Union Terminal Warehouse. "In less than a year, the Union Terminal Warehouse will begin a new renaissance as a home, business and entertainment cornerstone for the growing bold city." [news4jax]
Street View, Jan 2022

C. Mark Sublette posted two photos with the comment: "Beaver Street tower on the former ACL A line, Jacksonville, Florida, Sunday 8 February 1998. The tower was razed the following year for a widened W. Beaver Street (U.S. 90) overpass with Beaver Street Interlocking now CTC controlled."
Michael James Young: Wouldn't Beaver St have been technically located on tracks of the Jacksonville Terminal Co?
Walter Green: Michael James Young I would say yes. It was at the SAL crossing, Everett Subdivision to Savannah via East Port.
1

2

I had accessed a topo map to understand how the tracks got to Union Terminal. I expanded the excerpt to the east to see how the tracks got to the warehouse. The track across the top of this excerpt is the St Johns River Terminal Railroad.
1950 Jacksonville Quad @ 24,000

EarthExplorer: Jan 1, 1963 @ 24,000; AR1VAOM00010104

I zoomed in to help locate the towers and the roundhouse. Beaver Tower is near the upper-left corner and "MA" Tower is near the lower-right cornder. The roundhouse is west of the freighthouse.
Digitally Zoomed

Bonus: the ACL Docks.
Michael Stamey posted
ACL Docks Jacksonville, FL June 1953.
Mike Smith: Do any of those still exist?

Dennis DeBruler commented on Mike's comment
They filled in the slips and used some of the land for the headquarters. This 1963 aerial catches the transition. [AR1VAOM00010104]

Speaking of headquarters:
John Sullivan posted
Postcard of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad headquarters building at Jacksonville.

Michael Stamey posted
Purple Palace 1961
So nicknamed and known by ACL crews on the system as the "Purple Palace."
Marshall Ellis: I'm a charter member of the new building. The ACL headquarters moved from Wilmington to Jacksonville in July 1960. It was quite a change from the old buildings. I worked on 3rd floor for a while, then to 8th floor (Traffic) and then to Miami Sales in 63.

Note the reflection of the bridge in the headquarters.
Street View, Nov 2016

Purple was the ACL's color back then.
Warren Calloway posted

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