Gone but not forgotten in Jacksonville! (Atlantic Beach, Seminole: 2014, phone number, places)

[madcapmagishion]

Le Chateua was an oceanfront French restaurant, but not seaside themed, though they did have an aquarium in the lobby filled with lobsters.
Both Little Talbot and Big Talbot Islands, are now state park's. Big Talbot Island is semi-famous for the driftwood that collects on it beaches.

[missesthebeaches]

Originally Posted by LeeMT

Yep I remember those stores too. I have not been home since I left in 1977 and I am sure Jacksonville would be uN-recognizeable to me. I've been looking at the beaches with google maps street view. Totally different. I remember a lime green colored walkway that spanned the street right where the beach entry was. I can't remember if it was Atlantic beach or Jacksonville beach. I wonder when they tore it down. Those were the days when you could take your car onto the sand but I'm sure you can't do that anymore. I couldn't see any evidence of the beach boardwalk, there must not be one anymore. I remember 90 by the Sea restaurant and Tico Taco restaurant at the beaches. I would be surprised if anyone remembers those from the 1960's.
Near Beach Blvd and Southside Blvd was a department store called Kings. On friday nights they would have crazy sales where they would announce on the PA system these crazy 60 second specials and everyone would run to them. It was funny.

You are correct, things are totally different now. If I remember correctly, the lime green walkway was Jax Beach. It is gone but I'm not sure when they tore it down. The boardwalk is also a thing of the past and has been gone for years. I remember 90 by the Sea, though we never went there but I don't remember Tico Taco or Kings. Sounds like Kings would've been fun. Do you remember the Sea Turtle Inn? The hotel is still there but the name has changed to One Ocean Resort now. Next time you are on Google Maps and you really want to see a change look at Fletcher High. I believe it's now Fletcher Middle. I love to take these trips down Nostalgia Lane but sure makes me more and more homesick each time I do!!

[LeeMT]

Wow, yeah I remember the Sea Turtle Inn. I am long gone from Jacksonville, but when I was a kid we would go to the drive-in movies almost every weekend. I remember the mosquito incense coils we would get at the snack bar for the car. We mainly went to Atlantic, Midway, and Southside drive-in theaters.
But I have read postings about a University Drive-in somewhere north of J.U. I have no memory of it. We didn't move from the Southside to Arlington until around 1971, maybe it was gone by then? When did it come down, anyone know? I have read it was replaced by a Kmart, then a library. But I'm sure that was after I moved away. Can someone orient me to where the drive-in stood? Like was it between Merrill and Ft. Caroline? North of Ft. Caroline? Left side of University Blvd or the right? Also I heard that long ago there was a drive-in on North Rogero Road somewhere. Anyone know of that one?

[madcapmagishion]

The University Drive-In
3425 University Blvd. N.
Jacksonville, FL. 32277
It was located about 1/4 mile south of the University Blvd N/Ft Caroline Rd intersection on the eastern side of University Blvd and was closed in 1975.

[yw00369]

I remember Karl Hellenthals restaurant on Normandy. His son David and I were childhood friends (we lived on the same street in Riverside). This was 1955 to 1960. David and I used to ride our bikes out to the restaurant, which was outside the city limits in those days. There was a Loew's Normandy drive-in theater directly across Normandy blvd. from the restaurant. Do you remember it? It was later torn down for Normandy Mall.

[LeeMT]

Originally Posted by madcapmagishion

The University Drive-In
3425 University Blvd. N.
Jacksonville, FL. 32277
It was located about 1/4 mile south of the University Blvd N/Ft Caroline Rd intersection on the eastern side of University Blvd and was closed in 1975.

Thanks. I Googled it on street view maps and I see the library there now. I was still there in 1975, probably passed by that theater once or twice a week. And still I have no memory of it. Strange. But in my mind, I can still not only picture the location of the Midway, but where the ticket booth was, the kiddie park, and the concession stand. In 1973 I worked at a Pizza Hut and an Army Navy store, both on the western end of Merrill road. I'm sure both are long gone. JU looks about the same. The last place I lived was on Ft. Caroline Road near Rogero, and it all looks un-recognizeable.

[LeeMT]

Originally Posted by yw00369

I remember Karl Hellenthals restaurant on Normandy. His son David and I were childhood friends (we lived on the same street in Riverside). This was 1955 to 1960. David and I used to ride our bikes out to the restaurant, which was outside the city limits in those days. There was a Loew's Normandy drive-in theater directly across Normandy blvd. from the restaurant. Do you remember it? It was later torn down for Normandy Mall.

My first 22 years were in Jax until I moved away in 1977 and have never had a chance to visit. Unfortunately, I never knew southwest Jacksonville at all before I moved away. I think the only time I was ever there was when we would go to Kingsley lake and stop at a McDonald's on Normandy or maybe Blanding. Even back in the seventies Jacksonville was such a huge city I never got to see much of it outside of a few miles radius from where I lived at the time. Do Normandy or Roosevelt malls still exist?

[madcapmagishion]

Jacksonville became the largest city in the continental USA on October 1, 1968 when consolidation took effect. Where I grew up in Ortega was also outside the pre-consolidated city limits. I remember inside the city limits you had Jacksonville Police Dept.(JPD) and where we lived you had the Duval County Sheriff's Office. Now because almost all of Duval County is city limits (all but the beaches)all we have is the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.(JSO)

More than likely you stopped at a McDonalds on Blanding Blvd, as going to Kingsly Lake via Normandy Blvd. would be a very covoluted way of getting there.

Normandy Mall is still there, kind of .. but has very few retail outlets and no movie theater anymore. It has a Winn-Dixie and a couple of small mom-n-pop busineses and eating establishments and one very large church with its own soul food restaurant.(quite good actually)
Roosevelt Mall is still there, redesigned and very retail oriented.

Hellenthals was a really nice eating establishment, on par with the Green Derby down on Riverside Ave.

[LeeMT]

Yeah I remember the merger of the city with Duval county, not that it changed my life in any way. I heard Oklahoma City consolidated a while back and claims to be larger than Jax Metro. Ha-ha. Juneau, AK is actually the largest in area if you include all 50 states. Wow the Green Derby! I still remember chicken fried steak from the Green Derby. You're right, I just saw on Google maps Normandy goes out more due west than southwest where the lake is. Must have been Blanding. I knew nothing much of Jacksonville west of the river when I did live there. Such a huge city. Bozeman, Montana where I live now, is the fourth largest city in the state. It is 2 miles across from one end to the other. I measured Jax from the beaches to it's western limits and it came to almost 40 miles. Holy crap.

[missesthebeaches]

Originally Posted by LeeMT

Yeah I remember the merger of the city with Duval county, not that it changed my life in any way. I heard Oklahoma City consolidated a while back and claims to be larger than Jax Metro. Ha-ha. Juneau, AK is actually the largest in area if you include all 50 states. Wow the Green Derby! I still remember chicken fried steak from the Green Derby. You're right, I just saw on Google maps Normandy goes out more due west than southwest where the lake is. Must have been Blanding. I knew nothing much of Jacksonville west of the river when I did live there. Such a huge city. Bozeman, Montana where I live now, is the fourth largest city in the state. It is 2 miles across from one end to the other. I measured Jax from the beaches to it's western limits and it came to almost 40 miles. Holy crap.

Love your description of the size of Jax (Holy Crap)! How much time did you spend in the Mayport area before you moved away?