>>THIS PROGRAM IS BROUGHT TO YOU IN PART BY THE PAUL B.

HUNTER AND CONSTANCE D. HUNTER CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, A PROUD PARTNER OF WUCF AND THE CENTRAL FLORIDA COMMUNITY.

>>ON THIS EDITION OF FLORIDA ROAD TRIP, WE'RE MAKING A STOP IN THE VERY NORTH-EAST CORNER OF THE STATE IN A CITY THAT IN 2022 IS CELEBRATING ITS 200TH BIRTHDAY.

JOIN US AS WE UNCOVER THE HISTORY AND THE INTERESTING STORIES ABOUT THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE.

FLORIDA ROAD TRIP IS ON THE ROAD.

♪ THEME MUSIC ♪ >>HELLO EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO ANOTHER EDITION OF FLORIDA ROAD TRIP.

I'M BUDDY PITMAN.

THANKS FOR BEING WITH US.

THE COMMUNITY THAT WAS LOCATED IN WHAT IS NOW DOWNTOWN JACKSONVILLE WAS FOUNDED IN 1791.

IT WAS CALLED COWFORD.

>>COWFORD REFERRED TO THIS VERY NARROW POINT IN THE ST. JOHN'S RIVER IN WHAT IS THE VERY CORE OF DOWNTOWN JACKSONVILLE.

THE NARROW SECTION OF THE RIVER IS WHERE CATTLE DRIVERS USED TO BRING THEIR CATTLE TO CROSS THE RIVER, AND ERGO THE NAME COWFORD STEMMING FROM THAT.

>>THE COWFORD WAS THE GENERAL NAME OF A PLACE.

THE NATIVE AMERICANS CALLED IT WAKAPALAKA, WHICH LOOSELY TRANSLATED THE PLACE OF THE COWS CROSSING, SO THE ENGLISH JUST CALLED IT COWFORD.

AND SO IT WAS NATURAL THAT EVENTUALLY A LITTLE TOWN WE'D BE BUILT AT THE COWFORD.

>>THIS FUTURE TOWN WAS NAMED AFTER ANDREW JACKSON, THE THEN TERRITORIAL GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA, AND ALSO FUTURE PRESIDENT.

>>AT THE TIME THAT THE LOCALS CHOSE TO ATTACH THE NAME JACKSONVILLE TO THE PLACE THAT THEY WERE SEEKING TO ELEVATE, THERE'S NO EVIDENCE THAT HE EVER VISITED THE TOWN THAT IS HIS NAME.

WHEN THE DOCUMENTS OF INCORPORATION WERE ESTABLISHED BY THE LEGISLATURE 10 YEARS LATER IN 1832, ANDREW JACKSON WAS INDEED BY THAT POINT, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, SO IT PROBABLY SEEMED AS THOUGH IT WAS WISE TO JUST LET WELL ENOUGH ALONE AND STICK WITH JACKSONVILLE.

>>IT WAS A CROSSROADS.

THE RIVER, THE OCEAN, THE RAILROADS ALL LED TO JACKSONVILLE, SO BY THE TIME THE END OF THE 1800S COMES AROUND, JACKSONVILLE IS THE LARGEST TOWN IN FLORIDA.

IT'S A HUBBUB OF BUSINESS AND ACTIVITY, SO JACKSONVILLE WAS SET TO BECOME A GREAT METROPOLIS UNTIL THAT FATEFUL DAY ON MAY THE THIRD, 1901, WHEN JACKSONVILLE CAUGHT FIRE.

>>PROBABLY THE SINGLE MOST SIGNIFICANT AND INFLUENTIAL EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE CITY WAS ITS GREAT FIRE OF MAY 1901.

THE FIRE DESTROYED WHAT WAS THEN ALMOST THE ENTIRE DOWNTOWN CORE.

>>THEY STARTED TO FIGHT THE FIRE, BUT IT WAS UNRELENTING AND UNSTOPPABLE.

THE WIND PICKED UP TO 15 MILES AN HOUR AND BLEW WAVES OF FIRE ACROSS THIS DRYING PLATFORM UNTIL THE WAREHOUSE CAUGHT ON FIRE AND EXPLODED, CASTING LITTLE SPECS OF MOSS UP INTO THE SKY AS A WIND WHIPPED UP BLOWING THE MOSS TOWARDS THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE.

>>THE FIRE STARTED AROUND NOON AND BY 2:00, THE GRAND HOTELS IN DOWNTOWN JACKSONVILLE WERE ABLAZE.

BY 5:00 IN THE AFTERNOON, THE SMOKE COULD BE SEEN IN THE SKY AS FAR AWAY AS RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA.

IN MIAMI, THERE WAS AN ENGINEER ON A SHIP.

LOOKED UP AND SAW TWO SUNSETS.

ONE WAS IN THE WEST AND ONE WAS IN THE NORTH, AND THE ONE IN THE NORTH WAS JACKSONVILLE ON FIRE.

ON SATURDAY MORNING WHEN THEY WOKE UP AND LOOKED AROUND, THERE WAS NO MORE JACKSONVILLE.

90% OF DOWNTOWN JACKSONVILLE WAS TOTALLY DESTROYED, ALMOST LIKE THE BOMB HAD BEEN DROPPED IN HIROSHIMA.

INSTEAD OF GETTING UP AND SAYING, "THIS IS THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN, " THEY SAID, "WE'RE GOING TO FIX THIS."

>>THE FIRE WAS BAD ENOUGH.

THE DESTRUCTION WAS BAD ENOUGH, BUT WHAT REALLY MADE IT A SIGNIFICANT EVENT IS BECAUSE THE DESTRUCTION OPENED UP AN OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT, NEW ARCHITECTURE, NEW IDEAS.

THE FACT THAT THERE WERE ALL THESE OPPORTUNITIES IN JACKSONVILLE, DREW AN INFLUX OF INNOVATIVE YOUNG ARCHITECTS LOOKING TO MAKE THEIR MARK AND MAKE A CAREER.

>>IN FACT, WITHIN TWO YEARS AFTER THE FIRE, MORE BUILDINGS HAD BEEN BUILT IN DOWNTOWN JACKSONVILLE THAN HAD EXISTED BEFORE THE FIRE.

A YOUNG ARCHITECT NAMED HENRY JOHN KLUTHO, WITHIN TWO MONTHS, HE HAD COME TO JACKSONVILLE WITH THE IDEA THAT HE WOULD PERSONALLY REBUILD THIS CITY IN HIS OWN TECHNIQUE.

>>KLUTHO'S MAGNUM OPUS IS THE ST JAMES BUILDING.

IT WAS A FULL CITY BLOCK DEPARTMENT STORE BUILT BY THE COHEN BROTHERS IN DOWNTOWN JACKSONVILLE.

WHEN THE DEPARTMENT STORE CLOSED, THE CITY BOUGHT IT AND MADE IT OUR CITY HALL.

JACKSONVILLE CITY HALL AND THE ST. JAMES BUILDING IS TRULY ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITY HALLS IN AMERICA, AND IT IS ALSO THE LARGEST PRAIRIE STYLE BUILDING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.

>>JACKSONVILLE IS ALSO CALLED NAVY TOWN, THANKS TO THREE MAJOR NAVAL BASES LOCATED IN THE JACKSONVILLE AREA.

>>DURING WORLD WAR I, SHIP BUILDING IN JACKSONVILLE BECAME THIS CITY'S LARGEST INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYER.

THE NAVY'S ROLE IN JACKSONVILLE HAS DONE NOTHING BUT GROW EVER SINCE.

THE NAVY COMBINES TO MAKE UP APPROXIMATELY ONE THIRD OF THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF JACKSONVILLE IN ITS REGION.

THIS IS INARGUABLY, A NAVY CITY.

>>THE NAVY IS REALLY A UNIFYING FORCE IN JACKSONVILLE.

>>JACKSONVILLE AND DUVAL COUNTY ARE UNIQUE IN THE FACT THAT THEY ARE ONE OF ONLY A FEW ENTITIES IN THE WORLD THAT ARE CONSOLIDATED INTO ONE GOVERNMENT.

>>MANY PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT JACKSONVILLE WAS ONCE THE LARGEST CITY IN THE WORLD.

FOR MANY YEARS, JACKSONVILLE'S GOVERNMENT WAS FILLED WITH CORRUPTION AND INEFFICIENCY TO SOLVE ALL THAT.

JACKSONVILLE BECAME ONE OF THE FIRST CITIES IN THE WORLD TO CONSOLIDATE ITS COUNTY AND CITY GOVERNMENT.

>>IT MAKES IT UNIQUE AND MANY ARGUE THAT IN ADDITION TO THE GREAT FIRE, THAT WAS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN JACKSONVILLE'S HISTORY.

>>WE'RE AT JESSE DUPONT PARK IN FRONT OF THE TREATY OAK.

NOW THIS MASSIVE OAK TREE STOOD ON THE PROPERTY OF WHAT WAS ONCE ONE OF FLORIDA'S EARLIEST TOURIST ATTRACTIONS, DIXIELAND PARK.

THE PARK IS NO LONGER AROUND, BUT THE MIGHTY OAK STILL IS.

>>ABOUT 1907, SOME ENTREPRENEURS BUILT THE FIRST AMUSEMENT PARK OF ANY SIZE IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, LONG BEFORE MICKEY MOUSE LANDED IN ORLANDO, AND THIS WAS CALLED DIXIELAND PARK, AND IT WAS INSPIRED BY MOORISH ARCHITECTURE WITH SPIRES AND TURRETS.

AND IT HAD A MERRY-GO-ROUND, A ROLLERCOASTER, HOUSE OF MIRRORS, AND ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU WOULD EXPECT OUT OF THE EARLY 1900S AMUSEMENT PARK.

AND IT WAS BUILT ON THE SITE JUST ABOUT TWO BLOCKS FROM THE LARGEST OAK TREE IN FLORIDA, AND THAT WAS IN 1907.

THAT TREE STILL EXISTS.

WE CALL IT THE TREATY OAK.

IT WAS ABOUT TO BE TORN DOWN IN THE 1960S FOR DEVELOPMENT AND A NEWSPAPER MAN NAMED PAT MORAN HAD THE IDEA OF WRITING A STORY ABOUT THE HISTORY WHEN OSCEOLA SIGNED THE TREATY WITH A WHITE MAN UNDER THIS TREE.

TOTALLY APOCRYPHAL AND UNTRUE, BUT THAT NAME STUCK, AND SO THE TREE GOT SAVED AND IT STANDS TODAY AS THE LARGEST CROWN SPREAD OF ANY LIVE OAK TREE, I THINK IN THE WHOLE UNITED STATES.

IT'S NOT THE TALLEST OR THE OLDEST, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY ONE OF THE BIGGEST.

IT HAS A SPAN OF LIMBS OVER 300 FEET, AND IT IS ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE LIFE FORMS IN FLORIDA.

>>ON APRIL 8TH, 1927, TWO VERY IMPORTANT THINGS HAPPENED.

FIRST, THE CONCEPT OF TELEVISION BECAME REALITY.

YES, THE TV WAS INVENTED, BUT ALSO ON THAT VERY SAME DAY IN JACKSONVILLE, THE FLORIDA THEATER OPENED ITS DOORS FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME AS WHAT WAS THEN, THE LARGEST THEATER IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA.

>>WE'RE SITTING IN THE LOBBY OF THE FLORIDA THEATER, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1927.

THEY BROKE GROUND IN JUNE 1926, OPENED IN APRIL 1927.

SUPER SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME TO CONSTRUCT A BUILDING OF THIS SIZE.

>>ONE OF THE REASONS THEY WERE ABLE TO BUILD AND OPENED THE BUILDING SO FAST IS BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST BUILDING IN THE SOUTH-EAST TO USE READY MIX CONCRETE.

WHEN THIS BUILDING WAS OPEN IN 1927, WITHIN FOUR BLOCKS OF THIS BUILDING WERE FIVE OTHER THEATERS ALREADY.

THIS WAS THE SIXTH THEATER ON FORSYTH STREET IN A FOUR BLOCK STRETCH, AND IT'S THE ONLY BUILDING THAT SURVIVED.

THE OTHER INTERESTING THING IS THAT BECAUSE WE WERE BUILT AT THE END OF THE SILENT FILM ERA, THE STAGE HAD TO ACCOMMODATE MUCH MORE THAN A SCREEN.

SO WE HAVE A FULL SIZE STAGE THAT WE STILL USE TODAY.

AND I THINK WHAT FORESIGHT DID THE ARCHITECTS HAVE THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO CONSTRUCT A BUILDING, WHICH ALMOST 100 YEARS LATER, IS STILL A COMPLETELY VIABLE BUILDING AND IS ONE OF THE MOST ATTENDED THEATERS IN THE COUNTRY.

>>ELVIS PRESLEY PERFORMED SEVERAL SHOWS AT THE FLORIDA THEATER BACK IN 1956.

MORE ON THAT A LITTLE LATER.

>>IN 1987, AFTER A MAJOR RENOVATION TO THE FLORIDA THEATER, THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE PURCHASED THE BUILDING AND ESTABLISHED A NONPROFIT TO MANAGE THE HISTORIC SITE.

>>IT IS A SHOWPLACE.

SOMEONE WENT TO THE TROUBLE OF THINKING, "LET'S DO IT IN THE MEDITERRANEAN STYLE.

LET'S MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A SPANISH COURTYARD AT NIGHT.

LET'S HAVE ALL SORTS OF LITTLE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN MOTIFS REPEATED THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING."

>>THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THESE THEATERS WERE BUILDING AN EXPERIENCE.

THIS IS TRULY AN AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE BECAUSE THEY DON'T MAKE THEM LIKE THIS ANYMORE.

THAT'S A CLICHE, BUT IT'S A CLICHE BECAUSE IT'S TRUE.

NOBODY BUILDS BUILDINGS LIKE THIS ANYMORE.

>>SPEAKING OF THEATERS, MANY MAY NOT BE AWARE THAT JACKSONVILLE HAS A RICH FILM HISTORY THAT SPANS BACK OVER 100 YEARS.

>>BEFORE THERE EVER WAS A HOLLYWOOD, JACKSONVILLE WAS THE WINTER FILM CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.

>>THE AMERICAN FILM INDUSTRY IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIES OF THE 20TH CENTURY IN THE UNITED STATES.

>>JACKSONVILLE, BECAUSE OF ITS LOCATION AND ITS CLIMATE, WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PLACES THAT PEOPLE BEGAN TO GO TO, TO FIND A BETTER PLACE TO FILM DURING THE WINTER.

>>JACKSONVILLE WAS A VACATION SPOT.

AFTER A WHILE, THE MONEY PEOPLE WHO WERE IN THE FILM INDUSTRY TOOK A LOOK AT IT AND THEY SAID, "WHY CAN'T WE SET UP SHOP DOWN IN JACKSONVILLE AND MAKE FILMS THROUGH THE WINTER?"

>>EVENTUALLY, WERE ABOUT 30 FILM STUDIOS THAT MADE MOVIES IN JACKSONVILLE, ABOUT 300 MOVIES.

>>NOW, ADMITTEDLY, THESE ARE SHORTER MOVIES THAT WERE MADE IN JACKSONVILLE FROM APPROXIMATELY 1908 TO 1918.

>>ONE ACTOR WHO GOT HIS START IN JACKSONVILLE WAS A GUY NAMED OLIVER HARDY.

>>OLIVER HARDY SAID THAT THE YEARS HE SPENT IN JACKSONVILLE WERE SOME OF THE BEST, THE MOST ENJOYABLE HE EVER HAD IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE, ESSENTIALLY LIKE HIM GOING TO COLLEGE.

AND THIS WAS HIS COLLEGE TOWN WHERE HE LEARNED HOW TO BE A FILM COMEDIAN.

BUT JACKSONVILLE, BASICALLY WITHOUT THIS FILM INDUSTRY BEING HERE, WHO KNOWS IF THERE WOULD EVER HAVE BEEN THE COMEDY TEAM OF LAUREL AND HARDY?

>>ONE OF THE MOST TRANSFORMATIVE MOVIE COMPANIES TO COME TO JACKSONVILLE WAS NORMAN STUDIOS.

>>RICHARD NORMAN, WHO WAS A WHITE FILMMAKER, WAS MAKING WHAT THEY CALLED RACE FILMS.

I THINK HE REALIZED THAT THE TYPES OF MOVIES THAT WERE BEING MADE THAT HAD AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THEM WERE SO EGREGIOUSLY RACIST.

>>BUT THAT WAS THE TREND FOR FILMS ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICANS AT THAT TIME, WAS THAT THEY DID NOT NECESSARILY PORTRAY THE REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE SO MUCH AS A STEREOTYPE THAT WAS BASED ON MINSTREL SHOWS AND SUCH.

SO RICHARD NORMAN CHANGED THAT.

HE MADE FILMS THAT ALLOWED THEM TO BE THE HEROES OF THEIR OWN STORIES.

>>HE USED LOCAL PEOPLE WITHIN HIS FILMS, BUT HE ALSO USED MAJOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STARS OF THE DAY.

>>RICHARD NOT ONLY HAD ALL BLACK CASTS.

HE ALSO USED BLACK CREW.

>>NORMAN'S STUDIOS' MOVIE, THE FLYING ACE IS LISTED AS A NATIONAL CINEMATIC TREASURE.

>>RICHARD NORMAN DID AMAZING WORK HERE.

THE NORMAN STUDIOS, EAGLE FILM CITY IS THE ONLY STANDING SILENT FILM STUDIO IN THE ENTIRE NATION.

>>OUR ONGOING PLAN FOR THE NORMAN STUDIOS IS REALLY TO BE A WORLD CLASS, NOT JUST A MUSEUM, BUT A FILM LEARNING CENTER.

WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH PROGRESS WE'VE MADE AND HOW MUCH PROGRESS WE STILL NEED TO MAKE.

>>THE NORMAN STORY HAS NOT ENDED.

THE NORMAN STORY IS ONGOING, AND WE WANT TO BE A PART OF CONTINUING THAT STORY INTO THE NEXT GENERATIONS.

>>JACKSONVILLE HAS A RICH MUSIC HISTORY, AND I'M DELIGHTED TO HAVE JOURNALIST, AUTHOR, AND HISTORIAN, BOB KEALING JOIN US NOW TO UNCOVER A LOT OF THOSE MUSIC ROOTS.

BOB.

>>THAT'S RIGHT, BUDDY.

FROM RAY CHARLES TO TODAY'S HIP HOP STARS, THE ROAD TO FAME AND FORTUNE STARTED RIGHT HERE IN THE RIVER CITY.

>>IN 1946, RAY CHARLES, AN AMBITIOUS TEENAGER, BLIND SINCE EARLY CHILDHOOD, NEEDED A NEW START.

>>BESSIE SMITH WAS HERE, AS WELL AS JELLY ROLL MORTON, OF COURSE, JOHN ROSAMAND JOHNSON.

>>AT THE CENTER OF IT ALL WAS AND STILL IS THE CLARA WHITE MISSION.

THERE WAS A PIANO IN THE LOBBY THAT RAY LIKED TO PLAY.

>>WE ALWAYS HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE AND IT'LL BE GREAT TO KNOW THAT JACKSONVILLE LAVILLA, THIS CLARA WHITE MISSION STRUCTURE WAS PART OF THAT STORY.

>>IN THE 1950S, JACKSONVILLE HELPED IGNITE ANOTHER ICON'S CAREER.

ELVIS PRESLEY.

THOUGH THERE'S NO HISTORIC MARKER HERE, IN THE FALL OF 1955 IN THIS HOME ON DELWOOD AVENUE, MAE AXTON AND TOMMY DURDEN WROTE PRESLEY'S FIRST MILLION-SELLER, HEARTBREAK HOTEL.

EVEN THE CURRENT OWNER IS UNAWARE.

>>OH, THAT'S AMAZING.

I HAVE NO IDEA.

WHAT YEAR WAS THAT?

>>IN 1955, ARTIST CLAWSON SAW THE FIRST CONCERT WHERE A GROUP OF GIRLS MOBBED PRESLEY TEARING HIS SHIRT OFF.

MINUTES LATER, SHE ENCOUNTERED HIM AFTER HE'D ESCAPED EATING ICE FROM A COOLER UNDER THE STANDS AT THE OLD JACKSONVILLE BASEBALL STADIUM.

>>AND I ASKED HIM IF WE COULD TAKE HIS PICTURE AND HE COULDN'T HAVE CARED LESS.

HE WAS WORN OUT, BUT THAT'S HOW WE GOT THE FIRST PICTURE.

>>COLONEL TOM PARKER WAS HERE SEEING THE SHOW AND HE SAW THE MONEY THAT HE COULD MAKE OFF ELVIS BECAUSE OF THE REACTION OF THE GIRLS HERE AT A BALLPARK THAT HE WAS PLAYING AT.

>>WHEN PRESLEY BECAME A SUPERSTAR, IN AUGUST 1956, A JACKSONVILLE JUDGE THREATENED TO THROW HIM IN JAIL IF HIS SHOWS AT THE FLORIDA THEATER INCLUDED ANY SUGGESTIVE BODY MOVEMENT.

SO ANOTHER PRESLEY FIRST WAS BORN.

>>SCOTTY MOORE, ONE OF HIS BAND LEADERS SAYS THAT'S THE NIGHT HE STARTED SNEERING THAT.

THE FAMOUS ELVIS SNEER STARTED THAT NIGHT BECAUSE HE WAS ANGRY THAT HE COULDN'T DO HIS SHOW THE WAY HE WANTED IT TO.

>>MARCH 1969, A GROUP OF HIPPIE MUSICIANS CONVERGED ON THIS 1905 VICTORIAN HOME ON RIVERSIDE AVENUE.

GUITAR ICON, DUANE ALLMAN FORMED THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND HERE.

TO MARK THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BAND'S FORMATION, THE GRAY HOUSE WAS DEDICATED A FLORIDA HERITAGE SITE.

THEIR FORMER GUITARIST, DEREK TRUCKS, WAS THERE.

>>DUANE AND GREG GREW UP IN DAYTONA.

PEOPLE THINK THEY WERE FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE, BUT THEY WERE BORN IN NASHVILLE, BUT THEY MOVED AT A YOUNG AGE DOWN TO DAYTONA BEACH WITH THEIR MOM AFTER THEIR FATHER PASSED AWAY, AND SO THEY'RE NORTH FLORIDA GUYS.

>>SO TOO ARE THE FOUNDERS OF THE ICONIC SOUTHERN ROCK BAND, LYNYRD SKYNYRD.

TO PRACTICE AND WRITE, HOWEVER, THESE HARD ROCKING HELL RAZORS RETREATED TO A CABIN IN A REMOTE AREA OF GREEN COVE SPRINGS.

WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONING, THEY NAMED IT HELL HOUSE.

WHEN DEVELOPERS STARTED A GATED SUBDIVISION ALL AROUND THIS PROPERTY, LOCAL RESIDENT, ADAM HARDELL, BOUGHT THE SKYNYRD LAND TO PRESERVE IT.

>>SWEET HOME ALABAMA WAS WRITTEN ON THIS DOCK AND ABOUT 15, 20 OTHER GREAT SONGS AS WELL.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT HERE IS THE SAME THING RONNIE VAN ZANT WOULD'VE LOOKED AT, JUST NOTHING BUT OAK AND PINE TREES, PETER'S CREEK, THE DOCK.

>>THESE SPACES AND PLACES BARELY BEGIN TO COVER JACKSONVILLE'S RICH CONTRIBUTIONS TO POPULAR MUSIC.

>>FOR FLORIDA ROAD TRIP, I'M BOB KEALING.

>>MEMORIAL PARK IS ONE OF JACKSONVILLE'S MOST TREASURED LANDMARKS AND IT DATES ALL THE WAY BACK TO POST WORLD WAR I.

>>ON NOVEMBER 11TH, 1918, WORLD WAR I ENDED AND LITERALLY THE NEXT DAY, MR. HARDY, WHO WAS THE PRESIDENT OF THE JACKSONVILLE ROTARY, WHICH IS THE OLDEST ROTARY IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, WENT ON A MISSION TO CREATE A MEMORIAL FOR THE FALLEN SOLDIERS FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA.

>>ON DECEMBER 25TH, 1924, THE PARK WAS OPENED WITH THE SCULPTURE IN PLACE.

>>JACKSONVILLE'S MOST NOTABLE SCULPTOR, CHARLES ADRIAN PILLARS CAME UP WITH AN IDEA TO CELEBRATE NOT JUST A STATUE OF SOLDIERS THAT YOU MIGHT EXPECT, BUT A HUGE GLOBE REPRESENTING THE WORLD.

AND THE BASE OF THIS GLOBE IS FILLED WITH THE TORRENTS OF WAR, THE CHAOS, AND RISING ABOVE THIS GLOBE IS THIS MAGNIFICENT WINGED YOUTH SAYING THAT THERE'S HOPE AND PEACE IN THE WORLD.

>>WE TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN THIS PARK.

IT'S I THINK ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PARKS IN JACKSONVILLE.

IT REALLY IS A PARK MEANT FOR THE PEOPLE, AND IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY, AND IT WILL ALWAYS STAY THAT WAY.

>>THIS IS JAMES P. SMALL BASEBALL STADIUM HERE IN JACKSONVILLE.

THE SIDE OF WHAT USED TO BE DURKEY FIELD, AND THERE WAS A FUTURE MAJOR LEAGUE HALL-OF-FAMER WHO GOT HIS START RIGHT HERE IN JACKSONVILLE.

>>HANK AARON ACTUALLY GOT HIS BIG BREAK PLAYING FOR THE JACKSONVILLE BRAVES BACK IN 1953.

DURING HIS ONE SEASON IN JACKSONVILLE, THE BRAVES WON THE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP WITH AARON BEING NAMED THE LEAGUE'S MOST VALUABLE PLAYER.

>>AARON WAS CALLED UP TO THE MAJORS THE NEXT SEASON BY THE MILWAUKEE BRAVES WHO HAD BECOME THE ATLANTA BRAVES IN 1966.

>>IN 2021, BUBBA WALLACE BECAME ONLY THE SECOND AFRICAN AMERICAN DRIVER TO EVER WIN A NASCAR CUP RACE AT THE SPORT'S TOP LEVEL.

>>IN THE PREVIOUS SEVEN PLUS DECADES OF RACING, IT HAD ONLY HAPPENED ONCE BEFORE, AND IT HAPPENED IN JACKSONVILLE.

>>BACK IN 1963, JACKSONVILLE WAS A HALF MILE DIRT TRACK AND I BELIEVE IT RAN AT JACKSONVILLE SINCE THE 1930S.

>>IN THE EARLY '60S, WENDELL SCOTT WAS A BLACK MAN TRYING TO MAKE HIS MARK IN WHAT WAS THEN A WHITE MAN'S SPORT.

>>VERY INTERESTING TIMES.

DEEP SOUTH BLACK MAN, BUT HE LEARNED TO GET AROUND IT.

HIS SPORTSMANSHIP, HIS CHARACTER, HIS WORK ETHIC REALLY ENDEARED HIM TO AN AWFUL LOT OF PEOPLE.

>>DRIVER, JOHNNY ALLEN RACED AGAINST WENDELL SCOTT.

>>HE WAS A GREAT GUY.

EVERYBODY LOVED WENDELL.

HE WAS JUST ONE OF US, AND LITTLE GUYS FIGHTING TO STAY ALIVE WHILE THE BIG GUYS TOOK ALL THE MONEY HOME.

>>THE RACE WAS A 100-MILER.

22 CARS STARTED THE RACE.

WENDELL STARTED AT 15TH AND HE GRADUALLY WORKED HIS WAY UP THROUGH THE PACK.

>>YOU NEVER REALLY KNEW WHERE YOU WERE ON THE SHORT TRACKS, BECAUSE THERE WASN'T A BIG BILLBOARD LIT UP, AND WASN'T AS HARD.

WE FELT LIKE WE COULD STAND IT AND THE CAR COULD.

WHEN THE RACE WAS OVER, THEN THAT'S WHEN YOU FIND OUT WHERE YOU FINISHED.

>>AND COMING INTO THE RACE, THEY FLAGGED BUCK BAKER, THE WINNER, AND WENDELL IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED A PROTEST.

HE SAID, "I KNOW THAT I PASSED BUCK..." MR. BUCK AS HE CALLED HIM, "PASSED HIM AT LEAST TWICE WHEN HE WAS IN THE PITS."

>>AND THEN AFTER HOURS OF GOING OVER THE SCORE SHEETS, THEY FOUND OUT THAT WENDELL WAS RIGHT.

HE HAD ACTUALLY RUN 202 LAPS INSTEAD OF 200 LAPS.

SO THEY GAVE WENDELL SOME NOT TOO NICE TROPHY, AND ALL THAT.

AND THAT'S THE THING THAT UPSET HIM THE MOST, THAT HE WAS DECLARED THE WINNER, HE GOT THE MONEY, BUT THERE WASN'T ANYBODY AROUND TO REALLY SHARE IT.

>>WENDELL SCOTT WAS INDUCTED INTO THE NASCAR HALL OF FAME IN 2015.

>>HE IS DEFINITELY AN UNSUNG HERO.

I DON'T THINK FOLKS REALIZED HOW ENORMOUS HIS IMPACT WAS AT THE TIME.

IT'S AMAZING WHAT HE DID, AND WHEN HE DID IT.

>>IN ANOTHER FOUR WHEEL SPORT, JACKSONVILLE HAS SOME HALLOWED GROUND AT THE KONA SKATE PARK, A CONCRETE MECCA THAT HAS HELPED SHAPE SKATEBOARDING INTO WHAT IT IS TODAY.

>>KONA SKATE PARK WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1977.

IT HAD OPERATED FOR ABOUT A YEAR, HELD TWO NATIONAL COMPETITIONS, ONE IN '77 AND ONE IN '78, AND THEN IT WENT BANKRUPT, PART OF THE RECESSION AT THE END OF THE '70S, WHEN ALL THE OTHER SKATE PARKS WENT OUT OF BUSINESS.

SAT HERE DORMANT FOR ABOUT A YEAR, AND THEN MY FAMILY PICKED IT UP.

I WAS ABOUT 12 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME AND REOPENED IT IN JUNE 1979, AND WE'VE BEEN OPERATING HERE EVER SINCE.

>>IT'S AMAZING THAT PEOPLE FEEL THAT KONA HAS HELPED DEVELOP SKATEBOARDING.

JUST BEING HERE, I THINK YOU GET KIND OF NUMB TO THE HISTORY AND THE THINGS THAT HAVE TRANSPIRED, BUT IT'S AWESOME TO SEE HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO SO MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE.

AND SO A LOT OF THINGS THAT HAVE JUST TRANSPIRED OVER THE YEARS, BECAUSE AS SKATEBOARDING HAS BECOME MORE ADVANCED, AND THE BOARDS HAVE GOTTEN BETTER, AND THE EQUIPMENT, AND THE SHOES, AND THE SKILL SETS OF THE RIDERS HAVE IMPROVED, THEY KEEP LOOKING AT THE CONFIGURATION OF THE SKATE PARK IN A DIFFERENT WAY.

AND SO I THINK A LOT OF THAT OVER THE YEARS HAS HELPED BOOST THE POPULARITY OF THE SKATE PARK.

>>IT'S AWESOME BEING A PART OF SUCH A PROGRESSIVE INDUSTRY THAT'S GONE THROUGH SO MUCH AND BEING SO UNIQUE, AND THERE'S JUST SUPPORT OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, AND THE INDUSTRY HAS REALLY MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE OF US KEEPING AROUND.

IT KEEPS US RELEVANT.

AS SKATEBOARDING HAS CHANGED, SO HAS KONA.

>>THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE HAS A VERY UNUSUAL SPOT WHERE YOU CAN DISCOVER 6,000 YEARS OF HUMAN HISTORY AS WELL AS THE BEAUTY OF NATURE.

>>THIS IS THE TIMUCUAN ECOLOGICAL AND HISTORIC PRESERVE.

IT IS A UNIT OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.

WE'VE ABOUT 46,000 ACRES OF COASTAL MARSH ESTUARY HERE IN NORTH-EAST FLORIDA.

>>THIS PARK CAME INTO EXISTENCE IN 1988, SO IT'S A RELATIVELY NEW PARK.

PRIOR TO THAT, THE FORT CAROLINE NATIONAL MEMORIAL WAS ESTABLISHED HERE IN THE EARLY 1950S, AND THAT IS WHAT BEGAN THE NATIONAL PARK EXPERIENCE IN JACKSONVILLE.

WE OFFER SO MUCH HERE AND IT IS ALL WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, WITH A VERY SMALL PORTION OUTSIDE OF THE CITY LIMITS.

I THINK FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE ARE A PRESERVE THAT PROTECTS ONE OF THE LAST AND LARGEST REMAINING COASTAL MARSH ESTUARIES LEFT IN THE UNITED STATES.

SO THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT WE DO HERE.

BUT AS FAR AS WHAT A VISITOR COULD EXPECT, WE HAVE SITES THAT RANGE FROM FORT CAROLINA NATIONAL MEMORIAL, WHICH IS THE SITE OF ONE OF THE FIRST ATTEMPTS AT EUROPEAN COLONIZATION IN WHAT'S NOW THE UNITED STATES.

WE HAVE KINGSLEY PLANTATION, WHICH IS A SLAVE PLANTATION THAT TELLS A VERY POWERFUL AND MOVING STORY.

WE HAVE THE THEODORE ROOSEVELT AREA WHICH IS GREAT FOR HIKING.

THERE'S LOTS OF HIKING TRAILS THROUGH THERE.

WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO GET OUT ONTO THE WATER.

WE HAVE LOTS OF DIFFERENT CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES HERE.

WE REPRESENT AT LEAST 6,000 YEARS OF HUMAN HISTORY HERE.

SO THIS PRESERVE REPRESENTS, I THINK A LOT OF THINGS.

THESE OPEN SPACES, THESE PLACES WHERE YOU CAN GO OUT AND SEE JUST A NATURAL VISTA THAT ISN'T INTERRUPTED BY HUMAN ACTIVITY, THEY'RE GETTING HARDER TO FIND AND THIS IS ONE OF THOSE PLACES.

>>WE TALKED ABOUT THE HISTORY OF MUSIC AND MOVIES IN JACKSONVILLE, BUT WHAT ABOUT FOOD?

YES.

EVERYTHING FROM BEER TO BURGERS TO FRIES.

>>DID YOU KNOW THAT THE SIX PACK WAS MOST LIKELY INVENTED IN JACKSONVILLE DURING WORLD WAR II, THE NOW DEFUNCT JACKS BREWING COMPANY COULDN'T AFFORD TO KEEP SELLING BEER IN THE EXPENSIVE ALUMINUM CANS BECAUSE STEEL HAD BEEN REQUISITIONED FOR THE WAR EFFORT.

SO THE JACKS BREWING COMPANY BEGAN BOTTLING ITS BREWS IN GLASS LONG NECKS AND SELLING THEM IN PACKS OF SIX.

>>GOING FROM BEER TO BURGERS IN 1953, A RESTAURANT CALLED INSTABURGER OPENED ON BEACH BOULEVARD.

INSIDE WAS A SPECIAL OVEN CALLED THE INSTABROILER, WHICH COULD COOK 400 PATTIES AN HOUR.

DESPITE ITS SUPERCHARGED OUTPUT, BUSINESS DWINDLED UNTIL NEW OWNERS BOUGHT THE RESTAURANT AND RENAMED IT BURGER KING.

YES, THE VERY FIRST HAVE IT YOUR WAY BURGER KING WAS LOCATED IN JACKSONVILLE.

AND WHAT GOES BETTER WITH BURGERS THAN SOME GOOD FRIES, PARTICULARLY CURLY FRIES?

AND LEGEND HAS IT THE CURLY FRY WAS INVENTED RIGHT HERE AT HOLLY'S BARBECUE.

>>MY UNCLE WAS CUTTING THE CURLY FRIES BY HAND, AND AFTER MY DAD CAME IN AFTER HIM, HE MADE A MACHINE THAT YOU COULD ACTUALLY PUT THE POTATO IN AND MAKE IT GO THROUGH, SO IT'LL MAKE THE JOB QUITE EASIER.

AND THIS WAS IN THE 40'S, I WOULD SAY.

AND I DON'T THINK ANYBODY ELSE EVER HAD A MACHINE LIKE THAT.

>>THAT WRAPS UP THIS JACKSONVILLE EDITION OF FLORIDA ROAD TRIP.

I'M BUDDY PITMAN.

THANKS FOR BEING WITH US.

>>JOIN US AGAIN NEXT TIME AS WE CONTINUE TO EXPLORE THE RICH HISTORY THAT SURROUNDS US ALL EVERY DAY.

>>THIS PROGRAM IS BROUGHT TO YOU IN PART BY THE PAUL B.

HUNTER AND CONSTANCE D. HUNTER CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, A PROUD PARTNER OF WUCF AND THE CENTRAL FLORIDA COMMUNITY.