Downtown Jax

Last week I went to the arts market, and decided to take the trolley to the Jazz Festival that was going on a couple miles away. I would have walked the riverwalk, but not in the heat. The air conditioned trolley ride was well worth the dollar! Here are a few pictures of the Jazz Festival and the downtown area in general.

This first one is from The Arts Market and a church jazz band that played there. Being under the bridge is great, even in the summer. There is always a nice breeze coming off the river to cool us off.

Downtown isn't usually where I venture, as the parking situation is pretty horrible. The garages are expensive, especially during special events, so the trolley was perfect for this. I got a few shots of this sculpture in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art, or MOCA, as most cities are calling them. I definitely should make it a point to go in there sometime! There is a good mix of old and new buildings, plus a few that are empty and in dire need of demolishing. The new main library is beautiful, 4 floors of pretty much everything, including a neat little courtyard with a fountain and shaded tables and benches to sit and relax. It had a very open feel to it, with desks set up in several different areas for people to work on a library computer or your own with the free wifi.

This is a large sculpture on the outside of the library set on a shelf into a corner. In my walking around downtown I found the building that housed the previous main library, and an even older one, where you could just read "jacksonville Public Library over the door, along with the slogan they continue to use "open to all". Hopefully this new library is big enough to last a few years more than the previous 2!

I found a goldmine in Chamblin's Uptown. Bookstore and cafe, I could have spent all day in there. I picked out a few books, and purchased a large coffee. They brew Green Mountain there, so that was a nice taste of home! In addition to this location, there is another one a bit further away, so I'm sure I'll make my way to that one eventually!