The Southbank location will make way for additional parking in the short term and a new development in the long term.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With a new building going up, an old one is coming down.
The Downtown Investment Authority (DIA) approved a plan to demolish the old Museum of Science and History (MOSH) building.
MOSH packed up its operation in the fall to prepare for a new building on the Northbank, but it wasn’t immediately clear what would happen with the old building that housed the museum since the late 1960s.
After a unanimous vote by the DIA, that future is clearer, leaving some feeling nostalgic.
“This was the first field trip that my class took,” John Hughes said while looking up at the old MOSH building. “All the buses lined up to come see MOSH. It’s a big deal when you’re six, seven years old.”
Hughes pointed out that while the MOSH building never changed sizes in its six decades or so on the Southbank, it seemed a whole lot bigger when he was in first grade.
“On the side of the wall, there was an ear that had a big enough opening for small kids to climb in,” said Hughes. “It described the inside of the ear, it had plaques on the wall.”
Hughes went from making memories like that at MOSH that stayed with him through the years to his own kids making memories here.
There won’t be any more memories made inside, as MOSH or anything else, after the DIA determined the building is beyond saving.
“Eight individual sections of the roof had words like poor condition, poor condition, poor condition,” said Guy Parola during a DIA meeting Wednesday. “Since this is a redevelopment parcel, it doesn’t seem like a great idea to put a Band-Aid on a building like you wouldn’t feed a dying animal.”
The board unanimously agreed to put about $900,000 toward the demolition, with the goal of having the property ready to put on the market by the end of the year.
“We feel the best interim use is going to be for replacement parking while we do some other work around there,” Parola said.
The DIA reported 450,000 people visited the Friendship Fountain in the 2025 fiscal year, more than quadruple the number from before the fountain’s completion, so several board members are hoping the next use of the MOSH building will complement the fountain.
A DIA report says the City of Jacksonville considers an “upper-scale hotel” as a strong candidate to eventually fill the space.
“Whatever we can do, staff-wise, to really push that parcel, I think it would be a quick winner,” said DIA Board Member Cameron Hooper.
Hughes says he looks forward to the day he can bring grandkids to the new MOSH.
“I know there’s a lapse between the time this one gets taken down and the next one is ready,” said Hughes. “It’ll be sad not to have the museum for a couple of years, but I’m sure the new one is going to be pretty nice.”
The DIA staff told First Coast News the demolition proposal doesn’t need city council approval, and its next step will be with the building department for permit consideration.
Meanwhile, Parola mentioned during the meeting that fundraising is nearly complete for the new MOSH on Bay Street.
He said construction has to start by Sept. 1 there, and it should be open by 2028.