Brooklyn is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, considered part of the downtown area. Originally a residential suburb, commercial uses became prominent during the 20th century, particularly along the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River () is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and is the most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders 12 counties. The drop in elevation from River s ...

and Riverside Avenue, and the area became included in Jacksonville's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

. In the 21st century, it has become the site of

mixed-use development Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions ...

Location

Brooklyn is located along the

, south of Lavilla and the Downtown Core, and immediately north of Riverside. It is roughly bounded by McCoy's Creek and the CSX Railroad lines to the north, the river to the east, and

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

to the south and west. Brooklyn has come to be considered part of Jacksonville's greater downtown.

History

The area was first settled in 1801, when Phillip Dell started a large 800-acre

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

there known as Dell's Bluff. Dell's Bluff changed hands several times before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. After the war it was acquired by Miles Price, who sold the southern half of the property to be developed as the suburb of Riverside. The northern section he retained and developed himself as Brooklyn.Wood, pp. 105–107. It appears that Price gave Brooklyn its name, but it is not known why a former staunch

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

would have chosen a name so associated with the New York borough of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. Price's Brooklyn was initially a residential suburb, growing quickly with the establishment of a

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

line. The area held a population of 1,000 and a few hundred homes and mansions. African-American former soldiers (known as Buffalo Soldiers) lived in the neighborhood, and one of their houses still stands, though in disrepair. In 1887 Brooklyn and several other suburbs were annexed by Jacksonville. It remained primarily residential into the 20th century, but it eventually developed into a commercial and industrial area with the increasing use of the railway. In the 1950s,

over the Fuller Warren Bridge cut off the historically black neighborhood. In the late 20th century, a number of commercial

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

s and other building were constructed along the river and Riverside Avenue. Subsequently, a rift emerged between the office-centered part of the neighborhood on the river and the traditional neighborhood further inland. As such, the city developed plans in the late 20th and early 21st century to reintroduce residential zoning and mixed-use development. Gentrification is affecting the long-term residents of Brooklyn.

Notes

References

* * {{Neighborhoods of Jacksonville, Florida History of Jacksonville, Florida Neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Florida Downtown Jacksonville