Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center is a

convention center A convention center (American and British English spelling differences, American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a Convention (meeting), convention, where individuals and groups ...

located in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. 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 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. The Convention Center was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1976.

History

, at that time a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

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 Wester ...

(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 ...

) in 1883. The

Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway The Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway was a railroad and steamboat network in Florida 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 remains ...

(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 Jackso ...

(later part of the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

), the

Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a p ...

, 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 Valdo ...

. The company was incorporated in 1894 by

Henry Flagler Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder ...

, who owned the

. 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, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

moved to a new smaller station on the

Northside Northside or North Side may refer to: Music * Northside (band), a musical group from Manchester, EngIand * NorthSide, an American record label * NorthSide Festival (Denmark), a music festival in Aarhus, Denmark * "Norf Norf", a 2015 song by Vince ...

. In 1982, a public-private partnership was started, led by former

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

chairman Prime F. Osborn III. The new

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 the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

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. Green Cove Springs is a part of the Jacksonville metropolitan area, Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,786 at the ...

, and southeast to

St. Augustine, FL St. Augustine ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville, the city is on the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic c ...

Brightline Brightline (reporting mark BLFX) is an intercity rail route in the United States that runs between Miami and Orlando, Florida. Part of the route runs on track owned and shared by the Florida East Coast Railway. Brightline is the only privat ...

is an inter-city passenger rail system between

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

. Jacksonville is a likely expansion point for the near future, as the FEC Railway already owns the tracks running there.

References

JTA Commuter Rail PlanFEC Passenger Railway Plan

External links

*
Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center
{{Jacksonville attractions Former Amtrak stations in Florida Former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad stations Former Florida East Coast Railway stations

Former Southern Railway (U.S.) 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 in the United States opened in 1894 Railway stations in the United States opened in 1919 Railway stations in the United States closed in 1974

History

Future and proposed projects

See also

References

External links