A Few Minutes with the Mayor – July 2015
A while ago I wrote a column in which I rhapsodized over the construction of the historic Courthouse soon to become Jacksonville’s City Hall. Built in 1883, it is an example of superb hand-craftsmanship. Using only natural materials of the day, it was built without computer design renderings, power tools, or anything electrical for that matter. Electricity was brand new and just then being installed in larger cosmopolitan areas such as New Jersey, where the first DC generating plant went in earlier that year.
Presently, seismic retro-fitting required by today’s building codes is being completed and I thought you might like to see what some of the work looks like. After all, it’s your building. But first it might be helpful to take a look at the year this building was finished—1883—for surely there were some interesting events happening.
On a global scale, the biggest event was the explosion of Krakatoa, west of Java, which was 10,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Killing over 40,000 people, it created the loudest noise ever recorded, the sound being heard almost 4,000 miles away. The explosion is classified as the greatest natural disaster of the 19th century, so large it created a tidal wave that circled the globe seven times.
1883 also marks the opening of the original Metropolitan Opera House in New York City when the opera “Faust” was performed on October 22nd. The building’s interior was opulent 19th century in style and decor, but nonetheless, in January of 1967 the landmark building was destroyed at the insistence of the Metropolitan Opera Board which feared another opera company might use it after they moved to Lincoln Center. The home of Enrico Caruso could not be saved even by the Historic Landmark Commission. Thus, a priceless historical building was lost. Our Courthouse has lasted 48 years longer and will stand for another century after the seismic work is finished.
1883 also saw the opening of the famed Brooklyn Bridge on May 24th, though not without some tragedy. Opening day was marked by the closing of schools, processions of thousands of people across the bridge, politicians making speeches (Yes… even then!), and fireworks in the night sky. All was gala until Sunday, six days later, when with thousands strolling on the bridge, a rumor was started in the crowd that the bridge was about to collapse. Panic ensued and people began to push and shove their way to the Manhattan side where, in the end, 12 people were trampled-to-death.
On a happier note, the very first vaudeville theater opened in Boston in 1883. Soon there were theaters in every town and hamlet across the country. Forgotten now, vaudeville was the prime entertainment form for the next four decades. It gave birth to Ginger Rogers, Dick Powell, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Jack Benny, Will Rogers, Buster Keaton, and even the great Charlie Chaplin.
Finally, on November 18th, in a development that affected every living person in the United States, the U.S. Naval Observatory changed its telegraphic signals to match the newly-created four time zones across the nation. The need for time zones had induced the railroads to force their implementation and we have been using that system ever since.
Truly, our Courthouse was born in an interesting year. Now it will see a new birth with the completion of the seismic work, one that will hopefully see it survive the 21st century and beyond. And there is no building like it in this Valley— a priceless heritage.
Pattern for C Channel Steel Thru Wall
Courthouse Roof Saddle
Paul Becker is the current Mayor of Historic Jacksonville, Oregon.