Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center

Description

Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center is a 265000sqft convention center located in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. Opened in 1986, it was built incorporating Jacksonville's Union Station as well as several thousand square feet of newly built structure.Located in the Jacksonville neighborhood of LaVilla, the Prime Osborn contains two exhibition halls totaling 78500sqft, several ballrooms and meetings rooms. The City of Jacksonville is looking to replace the Prime Osborn within the next decade, with a larger 500,000+ square foot convention center in downtown Jacksonville. The Convention Center station of the JTA Skyway is located across the street.HistoryLaVilla, at that time a suburb of Jacksonville, was for many years an important railroad hub. The first union station in the area was built by the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway (later part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad) in 1883. The Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway (also later part of the ACL) began to use it in 1884. Other terminals served the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad (later part of the Seaboard Air Line Railway), the Florida East Coast Railway, and the Georgia Southern and Florida Railway.