Prime Osborn Center

I originally blogged about this post card on June 12th, 2009 but when Tom and I were working the Jacksonville Home Show a few weeks back, I took some interior photos of the Prime Osborn Center.  I thought I'd include the original information and then add in the new photos. 

This is the Terminal Station in Jacksonville, FL. It was turned into a convention center with nearly all of this original building being a part of the updated center. I actually had not realized that fact until just a few minutes ago. The interior of the Prime Osborn Convention Center still has some details of the old train station, but there are no more train tracks nor people waiting for mass transit. This card was mailed October 11th, 1941.

Dear Beverly,
How are you I am in Fla. at Mr. Rouse Mothers and it is very hot here.
I don't like it. Do you like your work.
Will see you when I get back.
Mrs. Rouse

Here are the new photos I took in March of 2010.

I was wandering around near the end of the final day of the Jacksonville Home and Patio show when an administrator asked me why I was taking photos.  I told him it was for my blog and also because I enjoyed old signage.  He then asked me if I'd like to see some stained glass.  Sure!  So he leads me into a conference room. 

He said that hardly anyone from the outside gets to see this room, but since I was in the right place at the right time, he thought it might be nice to show it off. 

I like the table that mimics the shape and size of the window.

It is beautiful stained glass.  From what I could gather, this is original to the former terminal building.

As I was walking by this room on the way to the conference room, I gasp.  Oh, this was cool, too!  The man who showed me the conference room didn't have any more time to go get the lights turned on for me, so I shot this in the dark.    It's OK, I get the visual.  This too, is original. 

There are a lot of these signs hanging and even though they no longer apply to the current building, I'm so happy that they have been kept.

I'm not sure if the waiting room and passenger agent signs are original to the 1897 terminal station or if they were replaced after the 1979 terminal fire.  You can see photos of the fire here at the Old Fire Photo Gallery.  The back portion of the building was completely destroyed, but from the photos and from what I've seen of the front portion of the building, the front section was not damaged. 

Photo credit - Jacksonville Convention and Visitors Bureau

As you can see, the front is still exactly the same.  It was so much fun when I first realized that it was the same building.  I had the postcard in my hand and I was sitting in front of that building.  It's so modern on the inside and I had entered from the back parking lot, in through the vendor doors, that I didn't see the outside of the original portion.  I know it's not as old as the buildings I saw in Rome, but hey, I'm not in Rome! haha

Enjoy!
Kristin