#Lynyrd skynyrd memorial driver

Lacy was a truck driver before an injury retired him in the late 1960s. Also living here were two Zan Zant girls, along with the parents, Lacy and Marion 'Sister' Van Zant. Ronnie of the original Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny of the current Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Donnie of. Ground Zero: The Van Zant House, at the corner Woodcrest and Mull streets on Jacksonville's 'West Side,' which Ronnie Van Zant unaffectionately called 'shanty town.' This house was the boyhood home of not one, not two, but THREE rock stars, the Van Zant brothers. It was on the original dock that Ronnie Van Zant would sit and fish, swat at alligators, and come up with the lyrics to the bandвЂ™s most famous songs. This is the tiny dock behind the former вЂњHell House.вЂќ The original, older dock is underneath this oneвЂ“you can see it from the edge of the creek.

Also, over the years, a few fans have 'excavated' the land there to some extent, and found very old cigarette packs and Budweiser beer cans several inches below the ground. All that's left of the 'Hell House' now are a few water pipe ends sticking up out of the ground (see photos). He named some of the streets after Lynyrd Skynyrd songs. Fortunately, the real estate developer was a Lynyrd Skynyrd fan. The tract where 'Hell House' stood, including the dock, has not been built on. Since then, the land has been partially cleared and a gated residential community, Edgewater Landing, occupies the area. The band wrote their first three albums at 'Hell House.' Fan favorites such as 'Gimme Three Steps,' 'Swamp Music,' 'Comin' Home,' 'Saturday Night Special,' 'Sweet Home Alabama,' 'Freebird,' and many more were conceived, written, and worked up at the 'Hell House.' The house burned down many years ago. A small boat dock behind the cabin gave the band a place to fish when taking breaks, and Ronnie Van Zant a place to sit and write song lyrics while the band was practicing inside the cabin. They would drive there together every morning, set up their equipment, practice, and leave in the evening.

Because of the constantly loud music from dawn to dusk, as well as the sweltering Florida heat, the band nicknamed the cabin, 'Hell House.' They used the cabin as their rehearsal space for several years, not relocating until late 1975. Although the cabin had electricity and running water, in had NO air conditioning. The band couldn't rehearse in Jacksonville because the police would get called about 'noise disturbances.' The guys in the band pooled their money and rented a tiny wooden cabin out in the woods and next to a creek, some 20+ miles away from Jacksonville. The former site of 'Hell House,' is the holy grail among Lynyrd Skynyrd fans. Funding for the park and its ongoing operations is provided by The Freebird Foundation. At 90 acres, the park first opened in 1990 and has been continually been added onto. The Ronnie Van Zant Memorial Park is on Highway 17 near Green Cove Springs, Florida.

Lynyrd skynyrd memorial