{"id":92679,"date":"2025-07-26T00:06:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T00:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/92679\/"},"modified":"2025-07-26T00:06:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T00:06:13","slug":"murray-hill-man-brings-back-blockbuster-with-free-tiny-library-of-dvds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/92679\/","title":{"rendered":"Murray Hill man brings back \u2018Blockbuster\u2019 with free tiny library of DVDs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><strong>JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 A Murray Hill resident is bringing back the nostalgia of video rentals through a community exchange box painted in the iconic blue and yellow colors of Blockbuster Video, offering neighbors a free way to share and discover movies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Aaron Bobby created the free Blockbuster box after noticing the popularity of Little Free Libraries in his neighborhood. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cThat was a big inspiration, seeing all these different little libraries around town,\u201d Bobby said. \u201cI got to think about how I can contribute to the area, and this is right up my alley with the DVDs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The response has been immediate and enthusiastic, with people coming and going.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><b>RELATED: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/news\/local\/2025\/06\/28\/jacksonville-man-builds-little-free-library-in-woodland-acres-neighborhood\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/news\/local\/2025\/06\/28\/jacksonville-man-builds-little-free-library-in-woodland-acres-neighborhood\/\"><b>Jacksonville man builds \u2018Little Free Library\u2019 in Woodland Acres neighborhood<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWe got our first visitor within like 15 minutes of putting this thing up,\u201d Bobby said. \u201cIt was as if people were just waiting for it in this neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The collection features a diverse range of entertainment options, including recent releases and classic films. Visitors can find everything from family favorites like \u201cEnchanted\u201d to action hits such as \u201cRush Hour 2\u201d and \u201cStar Wars.\u201d The box even features VHS tapes, adding to its retro appeal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Bobby introduced an innovative feature to enhance the experience: mystery movies. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cI made these little cases that say \u2018Do not open till you get home,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cIf you just don\u2019t want to choose, you grab whatever movie is here, go home, pop the popcorn, and just pop whatever is in and watch it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Rick Shafer, a neighbor who discovered the box, appreciates its community-minded spirit. \u201cNobody\u2019s making any money out of it. They\u2019re just putting it out there,\u201d Shafer said. \u201cHey, y\u2019all looking for a video to watch tonight? There\u2019s a whole bunch of them, borrow one and bring it back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The project has already inspired generous contributions from the community, with one person donating a trash bag full of movies to help stock the box.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Bobby plans to expand the concept beyond Murray Hill, with a second location planned for the St. Nicholas area outside his workplace. The initiative joins a growing network of free blockbuster boxes appearing across the country, reimagining movie rentals for the streaming era.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">For updates on the Free Blockbuster box and its expansion, community members can follow their Instagram page at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/freeblockbusterjacksonville\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/freeblockbusterjacksonville\/\">Free Blockbuster Jacksonville<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 A Murray Hill resident is bringing back the nostalgia of video rentals through a community&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":92680,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,718,8314,3188,723,7310,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-92679","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-community","10":"tag-duval-county","11":"tag-fl","12":"tag-florida","13":"tag-jacksonville","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114916621368690726","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}