Jacksonville really likes to blow things up

City has history of imploding, exploding old buildings, towers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The landscape of Jacksonville can change in the blink of eye, or more accurately, the push of a button.

When it comes to change, tearing down the old to make way for the new usually involves explosions or implosions in Jacksonville.

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It was last June when we saw iconic JEA cooling towers imploded on the Northside. It took only a matter of seconds to erase a part of the city's landscape.

A few months later, Florida Power & Light also imploded a tower on the Northside.

That blast startled nearby residents, who thought a bomb went off because FPL did not let them know about its plans to take down the old tower. The fallout brought about changes in rules on how  Jacksonville informs the public about implosion events.

In 2003, The old coliseum came down. The dynamite blast circled all around the domed roof, sending it plummeting onto itself. In its place, the new arena and ballpark were built.

The Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum was dedicated on Nov. 24, 1960, and came down on June 26, 2003.

In 2002, JEA imploded the Southside Generating Station on the Southbank.  We are still waiting on construction to begin there.  Developers are expected to break ground soon for a new housing and business complex.

In 1992, the old Acosta Bridge was blown up to make way for a new bridge.

There have been other implosions in the city, but all of them were done to make way for new development. 

The same holds true for the site of the old Jacksonville City Hall building, but, so far, there's no word on what it will be built in its place.


About the Authors:

Jim Piggott is the reporter to count on when it comes to city government and how it will affect the community.