Ever wonder what stories made headlines in Jacksonville 50 years ago? It may have been a different era of history, culture and politics, but there are often parallels between the kind of stories that made the news in 1958 and today. As interesting as the similarities may be, so are the vast differences. The following are some of the top stories published in the Florida Times-Union 50 years ago this week. These items were compiled from the Jacksonville Public Library’s periodical archives.
• The 1957 figures for Florida port volume and revenue were released by the U.S. Customs Agency. Miami moved 73,150 tons of cargo valued at $32 million. Jacksonville moved 283,681 tons but it was valued at only $26.3 million. The quantity of bulk shipments in and out of the Port of Jacksonville of such things as petroleum (remember this was 50 years ago) accounted for the city’s lower place on the revenue scale. Green coffee was Jacksonville’s most valuable import in 1956 when 110 million pounds valued at $57 million were unloaded at the docks.
• It was announced by Finance Commissioner Dallas Thomas that Jacksonville would have a new City Hall on Bay Street between Newnan and Market streets in operation by late 1960 or early 1961. Specifications were approved and bids were requested for the estimated $6 million project which was designed by Reynolds Smith & Hills.
• County Commission plans for bulkheading the waterfront property in front of the new $8 million County Courthouse were put on hold until bids for the new City Hall were to be opened in September.
• Food Fair Properties of New York paid $600,000 for 41 acres of property at the corner of Phillips Highway and Emerson Street to develop what was called “the largest shopping center in Jacksonville.” When complete, the center would be similar in size to Miami’s 163rd Street Shopping Center which was at that time the largest in the state. “Jacksonville is the true center of Florida,” said Ralph Biernbaum, vice president of Food Fair Properties. “In many ways it is closely akin to great cities like San Francisco and New York, especially in its rail, highway, air and port facilities.”
• Increasing population without a corresponding increase in revenue to support the schools was cited as the reason for a “downhill trend” in education in Duval County. Following the approval of the 1958-59 school budget of $24.9 million, School Board member Raymond A. David said, “While everyone else is raising their levels of education we are trying to cut back to hold on to what we have.”
• Mayor Haydon Burns called on the Jacksonville Insurers Association to “concern itself with the necessity for the immediate extension of the city limits and call on all candidates for the Legislature to take a stand on this issue.” Burns said one reason to extend the city limits was to maintain a population of more than 200,000 people in the 1960 U.S. Census. He said the city had “lost population to the suburbs due to the development of the expressway system and Downtown business construction.”
• The Duval County Courthouse was a busy place with 2,064 people waiting until the last minute to register to vote. The final figure for the upcoming election was 132,182 qualified voters in the county, 12,102 less than in 1957. (By comparison, last week there were 494,705 voters registered for the Aug. 26 primary election in Duval County.)