Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center is a
convention center located in
downtown Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
. Opened in 1986, it was built incorporating Jacksonville Terminal Complex / Union Station as well as several thousand square feet of newly built structure.
Located in the Jacksonville neighborhood of
LaVilla
LaVilla is a historic African American neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida and a was formerly an independent city. It developed after the American Civil War and was eventually annexed to the city of Jacksonville in 1887 and is now considered pa ...
, the Prime Osborn contains two exhibition halls totaling , several ballrooms and meetings rooms. The City of Jacksonville is looking to replace the Prime Osborn within the next decade, with a larger 500,000+ square foot convention center in downtown Jacksonville. The
JTA Skyway's
LaVilla station is located across the street.
History
LaVilla
LaVilla is a historic African American neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida and a was formerly an independent city. It developed after the American Civil War and was eventually annexed to the city of Jacksonville in 1887 and is now considered pa ...
, at that time a
suburb of Jacksonville, was for many years an important railroad hub. The first union station in the area was built by the
Savannah, Florida and Western Railway
The Plant System named after its owner, Henry B. Plant, was a system of railroads and steamboats in the U.S. South, taken over by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The original line of the system was the Savannah, Florida and Western R ...
(later part of the
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...
) in 1883. The
Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway
The Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway was a railroad and steamboat network in Florida, USA at the end of the 19th century. Most of its lines became part of the Plant System in 1899 and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The line r ...
(also later part of the ACL) began to use it in 1884. Other terminals served the
Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad
The Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad was the final name of a system of railroads throughout Florida, becoming part of the Seaboard Air Line Railway in 1900. The system, including some of the first railroads in Florida, stretched from Jacks ...
(later part of the
Seaboard Air Line Railroad
The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...
), the
Florida East Coast Railway, and the
Georgia Southern and Florida Railway
The Georgia Southern and Florida Railway , also known as the ''Suwanee River Route'' from its crossing of the Suwanee River, was founded in 1885 as the Georgia Southern and Florida ''Railroad'' and began operations between Macon, GA and Valdosta ...
.
The company was incorporated in 1894 by
Henry Flagler, who owned the
Florida East Coast Railway. Its first Union Depot opened on February 4, 1895, and was completed on January 15, 1897. It came to be known as the Flagler Depot. Ownership was split between five railroad companies, Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, Florida East Coast Railway, and Seaboard Air Line Railroad each with 25% ownership,
Southern Railway and Georgia Southern and Florida Railway each with 12.5% ownership.
When the second Union Station opened in 1919 (on the site of the original one), it was the largest railroad station in the South. At its peak, the terminal handled as many as 142 trains and 20,000 passengers a day. Some of the passenger trains handled in Jacksonville were 18 to 22 railcars long. Within the terminal, there was a restaurant, snack bars, news stands, a barber shop, florist, a drug store, and gift shops. The Jacksonville terminal had 32 tracks. 29 of those tracks were passenger tracks with platforms. Of those, 1-15 were stub or "head" tracks, which ended at the bumper posts. (Some of these massive decorative concrete posts still stand within the Convention Center Concourse).
The station was last used on January 3, 1974;
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
moved to a new
smaller station on the
Northside. In 1982, a
public-private partnership was started, led by former
CSX
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
chairman
Prime F. Osborn III. The new
convention center opened on October 17, 1986.
Future and proposed projects
First Coast Commuter Rail
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is the independent agency responsible for public transit in the city of Jacksonville, Florida, and roadway infrastructure that connects northeast Florida. However, they do not maintain any roadways. ...
is a proposed passenger rail system serving
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
and the Northeast Florida region. It is currently in the early planning stages. Three routes were analyzed in depth: north to
Yulee, southwest to
Green Cove Springs, FL
Green Cove Springs is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,908.
The city is named after the porti ...
, and southeast to
St. Augustine, FL.
Brightline
Brightline (reporting mark BLFX) is an inter-city rail route between Miami and West Palm Beach, Florida that runs on track owned by Florida East Coast Railway.
Brightline is the only privately owned and operated intercity passenger railroad ...
is a inter-city passenger rail system between
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
and
West Palm Beach
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...
with an under-construction extension to
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
. Jacksonville is a likely expansion point for the near future, as the FEC Railway already owns the tracks running there.
[http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2015-dec-high-speed-rail-project-has-its-eye-jacksonville]
See also
*
Architecture of Jacksonville
The architecture of Jacksonville is a combination of historic and modern styles reflecting the city's early position as a regional center of business. According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, there are more buildings built before ...
*
List of convention centers in the United States
This is a list of convention centers in the United States by state or insular area.
By state Alabama
*Bald Rock Lodge (Cheaha State Park)
* Bessemer Civic Center
*Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex
*Bryant Convention Center (Tuscaloos ...
*
Northeast Florida Commuter Rail
References
Railroad History DatabaseJTA Commuter Rail PlanFEC Passenger Railway Plan
External links
*
Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center
{{Jacksonville attractions
Former Florida East Coast Railway stations
Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida
Buildings and structures in Jacksonville, Florida
Economy of Jacksonville, Florida
Convention centers in Florida
Tourist attractions in Jacksonville, Florida
Beaux-Arts architecture in Florida
Downtown Jacksonville
LaVilla, Jacksonville
National Register of Historic Places in Jacksonville, Florida
Architecture in Jacksonville, Florida
Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida
1986 establishments in Florida
Railway stations closed in 1974
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1894
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1919