Lately I’ve been wandering around town on my bike, armed with a lot of old photos and postcards of old GNV and capturing new images of what we look like now.
You’re not gonna believe this, but things have changed. A lot.
NE 1st Street between University Avenue and the old post office (now the Hippodrome.)
Hey! What happened to the horses? And is that guy riding without a helmet?
NE 1st Street between Courthouse Square and the old post office.
GNV used to have a beautiful courthouse in the classic Southern Gothic style, but it got torn down in the name of progress. Now we have a county administrative building in the Bureaucratic Bland style that really ought to be torn down, If only in the name of aesthetics.
Main Street looking south from University Avenue
Yes, it’s true, locomotives used to barrel right down the middle of Main Street USA…I mean GNV. These days you are more likely to see a demonstration protesting The Man than an iron horse chugging along.
SW 1st Street
GNV cowboys once drove their herds to a downtown holding pen, there to await loading into the aforementioned locomotives. The holding pen was located more or less where Looseys is today.
East University Avenue
In the 1880s, wooden businesses lined the north side of University (course it wasn’t called that then) between NE Main and NE 1st streets. They have since been replaced by somewhat, um, sturdier establishments. Alas, as if to prove that GNV remains a work in progress, the building at the far right end is empty, no doubt awaiting its next tenant.
SE 1st Street downtown
Mike’s Bookstore is long gone, as is Mike himself. But Lillians is still alive and well! They did seem to have cooler cars back then.
West University Avenue
Time and traffic wait for no man to cross the street.
West University Avenue
The Segal Building used to stick out like a sore thumb no matter where you were on West University. These days the new downtown Santa Fe College building pretty much hides it from pedestrians on NW 6th St.
West University Avenue
Some things never change. The old Florida Theater is still awaiting its long anticipated renewal.
NE 1st Street
Back in the day, the White House Hotel took up an entire block, between NE Main and NE 1st. Thanks to mature trees, you can barely make out the Trust Bank that now occupies the block.
The University of Florida’s east entrance
Used to be the first thing you saw when entering campus was the historical quad consisting of old red brick Southern Gothic buildings. Now the first thing you see are all the newer red brick buildings that pretty much hide the old quad.
NW 6th Street
The Old Bailey House is the Dorian Gray of GNV real estate. Not only is the old 1854 home looking better than ever, but it’s still in active use as the Persimmon Early Learning Academy.
I’d hate to see what’s tucked away in the basement, though.
Glen Springs
We all know the story. GNV’s beloved spring-fed swimming pool where Tom Petty spent much of his boyhood…and even wrote a song about. Alas, the pool’s long gone, a crumbling shell half filled remains, and no Glenn Springs restoration in sight.
North 13th Street
The Oaks Mall may have accelerated the mass downtown business exodus, but the Gainesville Mall started it. These days there are a lot more trees than there used to be. You can hardly see the parking lots anymore.
Roll on into the future GNV! I love this town.
FreeGNV 