JACKSONVILLE, Fla -- The iconic symbol of downtown Jacksonville has a new name, giving the city's skyline a new look.

The Wells Fargo name went up on the top of the 37-story building at Independent Square Sunday morning. A helicopter took one 14-foot high letter at a time up more than 500 feet.

The operation took less than four hours as they moved letters from a field on the Northbank to the top of the building.

It drew a number of spectators on the Southbank and Northbank to watch what was going on. " Never seen it before, it might be a once in a lifetime shot," said Richie Urbanowski.

"It's amazing to me, and it's also exciting," said Joe Miller, who saw what was going on when he dropped his wife off at work downtown. "I like to watch big things happen like this, I like big machinery, that's a neat helicopter they are using for this."

Bob Quinn and Jeff Hicks had a front row seat. "We timed it and it took 6 minutes from leaving the building, picking up another letter and then coming back and setting the letter," said Bob Quinn.

All the letters were up on both sides of the building by 10:30 a.m. It was a a proficient operation. There was just one delay when the "A" began wobbling due to the helicopter's downdraft, so they had to bolt the letter to the building. "What is really neat is watching these guys come down and climb on top of those letters," said Jeff Hicks.

Wells Fargo becomes the fourth name on the building since it was built in 1976. Independent Life built the building and had their name on it unti 1997, then Accustaff was added, followed a short time later by Modis. They were there for 13 years, now it is Wells Fargo.

" Hopefully it will be there for a long time," said Henry Pratt, who is  a minority owner and works with Parkway Properties which manages the building. He says Wells Fargo is leasing 6 1/2 floors of the 37-story building, for a total of 120,000 square feet.

The company will have 375 workers in the building and they will be moving in through the end of the year.

"I think it is great, exciting to see a large business be willing to invest this kind of money into the city and into the skyline," said Michelle Barnett who works downtown and was watching with her husband and young son from the Southbank. "We're excited about it, a positive change."

 

First Coast News