The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-12-21
GATEWAY OF FLORIDA
A New and Beautiful City
of Jacksonville.
BUILT UPON The Old ASHES.
Disaster Soon Converted Into
More Than Victory.

II Has Always Been 50 With the Florida
Metropolis-Her Greatest Prosperity
Has Followed the Fever. the Great
Freeze and the Fre--Orangcs No
Longer the Only Crop-A Haven OF
Rest and Genial warmth for the
south.going Tourist--Thc superb Rail.
road and Steamship Accommodations.
JACKSONVILLE. Fla, Dec. 1.-THE story
Of Jacksonvile's recreation after the fire
which only eighteen months ago virtually
wiped out of existence everything in the
place except the splendid spirit of the
people, reads more like a romance than
dry record OF fact.
Relatively the blow which fell upon
Jacksonville in 1901 was heavier than
that which tho great fire inflicted upon
Chicago in 1871. In proportion to the size
Of the place and the amount of property
destroyed, as compared with what was left
Jacksonville's disaster was more dishearten-
ing and far-reaching than that from which
Chicago suffered. There was good
sized Chicago left after the fire thirty-two
years ago
OF Jacksonville a year ago last May there
was nothing left save a fringe. with here
and there a substantial building-such as
the fine new post office, for instance
spared. When the sun rose on the day
following that fatal 81 Of May thousands
Of homeless people here looked on waste
Of ass acres Of ceoris and ashes whereon
kol LAAn he l,Fz L.. a..
and largest city in all Florida Churches
great winter resort hotels. banks, the City
Hall the court house, fine business blocks
and beautiful homes - all swept away
Two thousand and four hundred build
ings in all were destroyed. Ten thousand
people we're homeless. Fifteen million
dollars worth Of property went up in smoke.
THIS PICTURE AND THAT.
From the roof Of the Federal Building
. photograph was taken Of the blackened
desert Immediately after the disaster.
Never did a camera reproduce more
melancholy scene Of fires destruction.
Another photograph from the same
point Of view was taken few months ago.
To say that you would not know you were
looking over the sa me tract does not salts
factorily convey the idea. You would not
know there had ever been a fire.
To be sure. here and there you see an
open space, but the view, as a whole is
that Of completely built-up city and an
uncommonly handsome city at that.
But the photograph is as nothing COM
pared to the actual fact as presented TO
the eye Of the stranger visiting the place
for the first time. He may be told and
told again that the hundreds of acres Of
fine business blocks and residences stand
upon ground that eighteen months ago
was waste Of cinders. and he will find
difficulty in bringing his imagination to
grasp all the marvellous fact. All that is
in sight to tell the story is the brightness
and newness Of everything and the scores
Of churches. residences, clubs. public build
ings and business blocks on which work.
men are swarming.
1t is one of the dramatic spectacles of
this astonishing era Of American pros
perity. this magic transformation of Jack
sOnville a ruined waste into Jacksonville
the brightest, handsomest and best built
of any OF the smaller cities in the New
South. It was always an attractive city.
1t Is now tenfold more attractive. more
substantial. more prosperous looking than
over DciOIc III US history,
just as Jacksonville's disaster was pro-
pOrtionately heavier than that Of Chicago,
20 was her recovery even more remarkable
Up to the present moment the resurrection
OF Jacksonville stands unchallenged at the
head Of all similar feats of recuperaton
in the history Of the country.
NO BoAsTIN0.
And yet II has been done with a singular
lack Of trumpet blowing on the part of her
people. II is not beyond the power of
imagination to conceive some commune
ties where the fact of such an achievement
would be dinned and footed into the public
ear until the world would almost wish for
another and more searching catastrophe
It were only to stop the clatter Of Boosting.
In the case of Jacksonville tie country
Mt large knows next to nothing OF what has
been done here. 1t is only the strangers
who come and see with their own ewes
who have grasped the fact in all its mean
ing.
The truth OF the matter Is that the people
here have been too busy to think about
blowing their own horn. When you have
matter Of 45S acres to cover with buildings
Of the best modern type, and only a few
months to do 1t in, there is not much spare
. time to devote to telling the world what a
deuce Of fellow you are.
Jacksonville has not stopped at rebuild
Ing structures as many a. and far bel ter
than she hao before the fire She passed that
mark long ago. The fire DESTROYED lust q
little less than 2,4OO buildings. There have
now been erected or are in process Of erec-
ton 2,59s-l93 more than were burned
And plans for scores more viii lie filed be-
Tore the hrst month Of the new year is over.
THRIvEs ON MISFORTUNE.
In TACT, strangers It may a. pear the fire
seems to have given Jacksonville a new
impetus Of growth greater than the city
ever before had in its history. Another
curious fact is that the two other grea,
calamties in Jacksonville's career had the
same effect as did the fire in actually SHOW
ing her ahead and putting her development
on q solder foundation.
The first Of these disasters was the yellow
fever epidemic Of 1888. The second was
the great freeze Of the winter Of ise4-o5.
Jacksonville at the time OF the yellow
fever did not have population of much
over 5000. The place had only just begun
to grow. Prior to the war 1t was almost
unheard Of. In 1880 il only had n ponule :