It's time to recapture a photo from 100 years ago – a shot of sharply dressed men and women gathered around the winged goddess and globe at Memorial Park in Riverside.
The crowd was there to remember the 1,200 Floridians who died in World War I and to dedicate the statue by local sculptor Charles Adrian Pillars.
Now photographer Mark Krancer plans to recreate the historic image, but he needs your help. All you have to do is gather around the sculpture at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
The photo shoot is part of a celebration of the park's 100th anniversary, scheduled from 3 to 6 p.m. It will also serve as a reminder of why people gathered there 100 years ago, said Patrick Emmet, president of the Memorial Park Association board.
“Not only was a memorial opened for the fallen soldiers of the state of Florida, but many mothers and fathers of these fallen soldiers were there for this picture,” he said. “It's important that we all remember that they were all there when this thing opened and that it was so important to them.”…It's going to be a big day and we look forward to recreating the image .”
History of Memorial Park
The 5.85-acre public park is the third oldest in the city and is located between the St. Johns River and Riverside Avenue. The Rotary Club of Jacksonville proposed building a park to honor those who died in World War I. After the city purchased the land, 31 community groups helped raise money and plan the park.
The Olmsted Brothers, whose family designed New York's Central Park and a garden behind what is now the Cummer Museum of Arts and Gardens, were commissioned to design the park. Local architect Roy Benjamin helped design when Pillars created the bronze sculpture “Life.”
The names of Floridians who died in World War I were written on parchment and placed in metal boxes at the bases of the sculpture. Then the park was dedicated on Christmas Day 1924.
The centennial celebration will feature live music, food trucks and local vendors, as well as presentations from city and state officials. In preparation, the oval in the center of the park has been replanted and a memorial garden will also be created there, Emmet said.
But the shapely concrete balustrades that once lined the riverfront are gone, succumbing to recent hurricanes that spared the winged bronze statue of Life.
Waves and wind from Hurricane Irma in 2017 damaged most of the balustrades and flooded the park and side streets. It took four years to replace the damaged sections along 600 feet of shoreline while the city waited for funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Then, on August 30 last year, waves kicked up by Hurricane Idalia destroyed the concrete balustrade again. By early afternoon, the rushing water tore up or washed away almost half of it.
Erosion has also created puddle-filled depressions in the riverside sidewalk, and some nearby park benches are sinking into the ground.
Emmet had said he hoped the city would have repaired and replaced the balustrades in time for Saturday's anniversary. Park officials obliged until they took a closer look at the entire waterfront. No repair work has been done yet, Emmet said.
“They realized the bulkhead was more damaged, so they're literally going to rebuild the bulkhead, and that changed the schedule for the balustrades,” Emmet said. “I know it is a big task for the city and we were disappointed. But I have great understanding and once the balustrade and partition are rebuilt, it will be done right this time and it will look great.”
Emmet said he doesn't know when city repairs will be completed, and city officials said they are still working on the schedule.