JUNE 15 TO JUNE 21, 2023 | JAXDAILYRECORD.COM
BUSINESS & LEGAL NEWS IN BAKER, CLAY, DUVAL, NASSAU AND ST. JOHNS COUNTIES
ONE LAST LOOK AT THE THUNDERBIRD
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
THIS IS NOW: The pool at the former Thunderbird Motor Hotel at 5865 Arlington Expressway in Arlington is filled with rainwater and algae June 6. The hotel, which opened around 1959, was sold several times and then condemned by the city.
Abandoned for decades, the crumbling remains of the former Arlington hot spot are being demolished. BY KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
A
splintered DJ booth deck is perched next to the pool at the once-happening Thunderbird Motor Hotel and Dinner Theatre along the Arlington Expressway. The pool is green, filled with rainwater, fuzzy algae and floating junk. A hole is filled with debris where the stage rose in the ballroom, and only the slab remains of that building. Furniture remnants and at least one bathtub are discarded in stacks of trash. Concrete is piled around the site awaiting crushing for recycling. Graffiti decorates some of the walls still standing. There’s even a tire dump from trespassers, along with curtains and more
THAT WAS THEN: An undated postcard from the Thunderbird Motor Hotel said its features include a restaurant, cocktail lounge, swimming pool, televisions, air conditioning and room phones. MORE ONLINE: For a photo gallery of images of the hotel as it is demolished, visit JaxDailyRecord.com
SEE HOTEL, PAGE 6
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THE MATHIS REPORT
GOVERNMENT
RD International Market coming to Jacksonville
Deegan names leadership team
Steven Yuan, founder and owner of the Asian and international supermarket chain, plans to open the store with 60 fish tanks for live seafood, including lobster, shrimp and crab. PAGE 8
Jacksonville Mayor-elect Donna Deegan announces 11 key positions on her team that will lead her administration. PAGE 3
VOLUME 110, NO. 31 | TWO SECTIONS | PUBLISHED SINCE 1912