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Neighborhoods of Jacksonville, Florida (view source)
Revision as of 22:29, May 4, 2007
, 22:29, May 4, 2007no edit summary
====San Mateo ====
====San Mateo ====
The San Mateo neighborhood has been one of the more unchanging area within Jacksonville for over 30 years. Relatively isolated, with no heavy-use roads passing through and a limited number of access streets, San Mateans take great pride in their neighborhood and its school, San Mateo Elementary, which is an Academic and Academically Gifted magnet school. Almost homes were built in the late 1960s.
The San Mateo neighborhood has been one of the more unchanging area within Jacksonville for over 30 years. Relatively isolated, with no heavy-use roads passing through and a limited number of access streets, San Mateans take great pride in their neighborhood and its school, San Mateo Elementary, which is an Academic and Academically Gifted magnet school. Almost homes were built in the late 1960s.
==Southside==
Neighborhoods include Arlington, Baymeadows, Beachwood, Brookview, Deerwood, East Arlington, Fort Caroline, Glynlea, Grove Park, Lakewood, Mandarin, Sandalwood, San Jose, San Marco, St. Nicholas, Southside Estates, and Windy Hill.
====Arlington====
Arlington is home to the first European settlement in North America, Fort Caroline, now a State Park, founded by French Huguenots in 1562. Another historical fact about Arlington is that, at one time, it included a home for newly freed slaves from Kingsley Plantation. In 1955, a controversial bridge, known to locals as the "Bridge to Nowhere", was built across the St. Johns River heading east of Downtown Jacksonville. Yet within ten years of the completion of the Mathews Bridge, Arlington became the most populous portion of Southside, and by consolidation, over 50% of Jacksonville residents who called the Southside "home" were denizens of Arlington. Much of Arlington's initial growth was attributed to people moving from the older Paxon area on the Westside, which was becoming industrialized. For thirty years, Arlington was roughly bounded by Southside Blvd. on the east, the Arlington Expressway on the south, and the St. Johns River on the west and north. To the east of this area lay little but woods and wetlands, all the way to the intracoastal waterway. However, in the 1980s, two trends began to change this defintion. First of all, growth exploded along Atlantic Blvd., with the wooded areas falling to development. Secondly, Arlington, which had been a moderately prestigious area to live during the 1960s, began to acquire a reputation as a neighborhood in slow decline. Realators, wishing to best market these new areas of the Southside, coined the rather logical term, "East Arlington", or "Greater Arlington". However, those terms failed to become universally recognized. Residential neighborhoods included within the Arlington/East Arlington/Greater Arlington area include Lake Lucina, University Club, Fort Caroline, Floral Bluff, Chaseville, Newcastle, Arlingwood, Cobblestone, Hidden Hills, Mill Cove, Regency and Kendall Town.
====Baymeadows====
Baymeadows is a relatively affluent neighborhood centered around Florida State Road 152|Baymeadows Road. It is situated south of Arlington (specifially, south of Florida State Road 202|J. Turner Butler Boulevard) and east of Mandarin. A center for White-collar worker employment, it is home to many corporate office parks, upscale apartment complexes and residential developments, two private golf courses, several shopping centers and a large shopping mall.
====Lakewood====
Lakewood, which lies in the area where San Jose Blvd. and University Blvd intersect, is a residential area with houses built in the 1950s. It has several churches, two shopping centers, and a plethora of streets named after major private colleges, such as Clemson, Cornell, Fordham, and Emory.
====Mandarin====
Mandarin has a rich history that antedates its inclusion in the municipality of Jacksonville. For more information, see Mandarin, Florida|Mandarin.
====Sandalwood====
The Sandalwood neighborhood began developing in the spring of 1960, midway between downtown Jacksonville and the beaches, or about 6 miles from each, was advertised in 1960-61 as "On the Southside - halfway between business and pleasure!" The builder-developer, Pearce-Uible, was located at 3850 Beach Blvd.
The original neighborhood was bordered by the then two-lane Atlantic Boulevard on the north, a mile of palmetto and scrub on the south before reaching Beachwood neighborhood and Beach Boulevard, the western part of the neighborhood was bordered by the less than two-lane dirt road named St. John's Bluff, and the eastern border of the neighborhood was defined by a storm drainage ditch called the Sandalwood Canal. The original streets are named after South Pacific islands and most of the streets are, from north to south, in alphabetical order.
The were eight original home styles named as follows: Aloha; Bahama; Bikini; Caledonia; Del ray; Java; Polynesian; and Waikiki. Free airplane rides over Sandalwood were offered during the grand opening. The entrance and sales office located on Sandalwood Boulevard boasted a winding, palm lined street, and adjacent play area for the children. Homes were priced from $11,400 to $16,000, with monthly payments as low as $67. The original Sandalwood consisted of approximately 500 homes. The first families purchased homes in May and June of 1960. Many of the first families were U.S. Navy families who were stationed at the Mayport base and others were employed by CSX railroad.
In the late 1970s, additional construction began at the southern border by the Sofranko Homes company, nearly doubling the size of the neighborhood. Most of the original early 1960's families have moved away over the years, but a handful of the original families are still left from the early 1960s.
====San Marco====
The area known as San Marco has a rich history, and, arguably, is one of the more cosmopolitan neighborhoods in Jacksonville. Originally a farm on the banks of the St. Johns River, the area now known as San Marco was called Oklahoma. One of the most prominent citizens of Oklahoma was Harrison Reed, who was elected Florida’s governor in 1868 and 1873. Reed’s sister, Margaret Reed Mitchell and her husband, Wisconsin railroad tycoon Alexander Mitchell, fell in love with Oklahoma and built their winter home, Villa Alexandria, on 140 acres on the river. By 1872, the palatial estate included a mansion (near the present corner of River Road and Arbor Lane), barns, tennis courts, a swimming pool, polo field, more than 2000 orange trees, bridle paths and formal gardens. By 1873, Mrs. Mitchell was one of Jacksonville’s most influential women and was active in many charitable causes.
The development of the “South Bank” began in earnest with the opening of the St. Johns River Bridge (renamed the Acosta) in 1921. Telfair Stockton bought 80 acres of land north of the Mitchell estate for the new “San Marco” subdivision. The business district was based on the Piazza di San Marco in Venice, Italy, which had impressed Mr. Stockton on a European trek. The clay pit of Gamble & Stockton Brick Company was transformed into Lake Marco. San Marco was an immediate success. In 1929, an additional subdivision, Villa Alexandria, was platted on the overgrown Villa Alexandria estate. The first two homes in the development were built on adjoining lots by Carl and John Swisher, who had just moved their King Edward Cigar Company from Chicago to Jacksonville.
Today San Marco, despite its tiny size, possesses a thriving commercial center, which includes restaurants, retail, and two theaters—one for movies and the other staging plays.