Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

as of 2020. It is the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968. Consolidation gave Jacksonville its great size and placed most of its metropolitan population within the city limits. As of

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, Jacksonville's population is 949,611, making it the 12th most populous city in the U.S., the most populous city in the Southeast, and the most populous city in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

outside of the state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. With a population of 1,733,937, the Jacksonville metropolitan area ranks as Florida's fourth-largest metropolitan region. Jacksonville straddles the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders twelve counties. The drop in eleva ...

in the

First Coast Florida's First Coast, or simply the First Coast, is a region of the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida. The First Coast refers to the same general area as the directional region of Northeast Florida. It roughly ...

region of northeastern Florida, about south of the Georgia state line ( to the urban core/downtown) and north of

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. The Jacksonville Beaches communities are along the adjacent Atlantic coast. The area was originally inhabited by the

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The var ...

people, and in 1564 was the site of the French colony of Fort Caroline, one of the earliest European settlements in what is now the continental United States. Under British rule, a settlement grew at the narrow point in the river where cattle crossed, known as ''Wacca Pilatka'' to the Seminole and the Cow Ford to the British. A

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

ted town was established there in 1822, a year after the United States gained

from Spain; it was named after

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

, the first military governor of the Florida Territory and seventh President of the United States. Harbor improvements since the late 19th century have made Jacksonville a major military and civilian deep-water port. Its riverine location facilitates

Naval Station Mayport Naval Station Mayport is a major United States Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. It contains a protected harbor that can accommodate aircraft carrier-size vessels, ship's intermediate maintenance activity (SIMA) and a military airfield (Admi ...

Naval Air Station Jacksonville Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 Location NAS Jack ...

, the U.S. Marine Corps

Blount Island Command Blount Island Command (BICmd) is responsible for the United States Marine Corps' Maritime Prepositioning Ships (MPS) Maintenance Cycle operations and oversight of the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway (MCPP-N). It is located on the ea ...

, and the

Port of Jacksonville The Port of Jacksonville (Jaxport) is an international trade seaport on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. The 14th largest container port in the United States, it carries about 18 million short tons of cargo each year and has an annu ...

, Florida's third largest seaport."US Port Ranking by Cargo Volume 2008"
American Association of Port Authorities Jacksonville's military bases and the nearby Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay form the third largest military presence in the United States."Port of Jacksonville"
World Port Source, Port Detail Significant factors in the local economy include services such as banking, insurance, healthcare and logistics. As with much of Florida, tourism is important to the Jacksonville area, particularly tourism related to

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

. People from Jacksonville are sometimes called "Jacksonvillians" or "Jaxsons" (also spelled "Jaxons").

History

Early history

Jacksonville FL Fort Caroline Natl Mem Ribault mnmt detail01

The area of the modern city of Jacksonville has been inhabited for thousands of years. On Black Hammock Island in the national

Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve The Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve is a U.S. National Preserve in Jacksonville, Florida. It comprises of wetlands, waterways, and other habitats in northeastern Duval County. Managed by the National Park Service in cooperation with th ...

, a University of North Florida team discovered some of the oldest remnants of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

in the United States, dating to 2500 BCE. In the 16th century, the beginning of the historical era, the region was inhabited by the

Mocama The Mocama were a Native American people who lived in the coastal areas of what are now northern Florida and southeastern Georgia. A Timucua group, they spoke the dialect known as Mocama, the best-attested dialect of the Timucua language. Their t ...

, a coastal subgroup of the

people. At the time of contact with Europeans, all Mocama villages in present-day Jacksonville were part of the powerful chiefdom known as the

Saturiwa The Saturiwa were a Timucua chiefdom centered on the mouth of the St. Johns River in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. They were the largest and best attested chiefdom of the Timucua subgroup known as the Mocama, who spoke the Mocama dialect of ...

, centered around the mouth of the

. One early French map shows a village called ''Ossachite'' at the site of what is now downtown Jacksonville; this may be the earliest recorded name for that area. In 1562, French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

explorer

Jean Ribault Jean Ribault (also spelled ''Ribaut'') (1520 – October 12, 1565) was a French naval officer, navigator, and a colonizer of what would become the southeastern United States. He was a major figure in the French attempts to colonize Florida. A H ...

charted the

, calling it the River of May because that was the month of his discovery. Ribault erected a stone column at his landing site near the river's mouth, claiming the newly discovered land for France. In 1564,

René Goulaine de Laudonnière Rene Goulaine de Laudonnière (c. 1529–1574) was a French Huguenot explorer and the founder of the French colony of Fort Caroline in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, a Huguenot, sent Jean Ribault and Laudonnière ...

established the first European settlement on the St. Johns River, Fort Caroline, near the main village of the Saturiwa.

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

ordered

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (; ast, Pedro (Menéndez) d'Avilés; 15 February 1519 – 17 September 1574) was a Spanish admiral, explorer and conquistador from Avilés, in Asturias, Spain. He is notable for planning the first regular trans-oceani ...

to protect the interests of Spain by attacking the French at Fort Caroline. On September 20, 1565, a Spanish force from the nearby Spanish settlement of

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afri ...

attacked Fort Caroline, and killed nearly all the French soldiers defending it. The Spanish renamed the fort as ''San Mateo'' and, following the expulsion of the French, St. Augustine became the most important European settlement in Florida. The location of Fort Caroline is subject to debate, but a reconstruction of the fort was established in 1964 along the St. Johns River. NortheastFLRomans

Spain ceded Florida to the British in 1763 as part of the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

in the aftermath of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

(known as the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

on the North American front). The British soon constructed the King's Road connecting St. Augustine to Georgia. The road crossed the St. Johns River at a narrow point, which the Seminole called ''Wacca Pilatka'' and the British called the Cow Ford; these names reflected the use of the ford for moving cattle across the river there. The British introduced the cultivation of

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

, and fruits as

cash crop A cash crop or profit crop is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") ...

s on

plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

, in addition to exporting lumber. A large number of British colonists who were "energetic and of good character" were given land grants in the region and emigrated to the region, becoming the first English-speaking population in Florida. These colonists came from England, Georgia, South Carolina and Bermuda. British judges introduced the system of

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

to Florida, resulting in the Floridian legal system utilizing concepts such as trial-by-jury,

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

and county-based government. After their defeat in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Britain returned control of the territory to Spain in 1783 via the Peace of Paris. The settlement at the Cow Ford continued to grow.

Founding and 19th century

After Spain ceded the Florida Territory to the United States in 1821, American settlers on the north side of the Cow Ford decided to plan a town, laying out the streets and plats. They named the town Jacksonville, after celebrated war hero and first Territorial Governor (later U.S. president)

. Led by

Isaiah D. Hart Isaiah David Hart (November 6, 1792 – September 4, 1861) was an American plantation owner, and the founder of Jacksonville, Florida. Originally from Georgia, Hart took up arms against Spain in the Patriot Rebellion of 1812. After moving to a loc ...

, residents wrote a charter for a town government, which the Florida Legislative Council approved on February 9, 1832. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Duval County produced several units that fought for the Confederacy. At least two were raised out of Jacksonville: the Jacksonville Light Infantry, a militia unit formed in 1859, and the Duval County Cow Boys, mustered in during the summer of 1861. Both units fought as part of the

3rd Florida Infantry The 3rd Florida Infantry Regiment was formed near Pensacola, Florida, in July, 1861. Its companies were recruited in the counties of St. Johns, Hernando, Jefferson, Duval, Wakulla, Madison, Columbia, and Suwannee. The unit served along the coast ...

. The St. John's Greys, the Milton Artillery, and Company H of

1st Florida Cavalry Regiment The 1st Florida Cavalry Regiment was a Confederate army unit during the U.S. Civil War, originally organized in July 1861 at Tallahassee. Members of the regiment came primarily from Alachua, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Leon, Levy, Nassau and Su ...

were also all formed by men from Jacksonville. Jacksonville was also a key supply point for hogs and cattle shipped from Florida to feed the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

forces. The city was blockaded by

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

forces, who gained control of nearby

Fort Clinch Fort Clinch is a 19th-century masonry Coastal defence and fortification, coastal fortification, built as part of the Seacoast Defense (US)#Third system, Third System of seacoast defense conceived by the United States. It is located on a peninsula n ...

. Though no battles were fought in Jacksonville proper, the city changed hands several times between Union and Confederate forces. In the

Skirmish of the Brick Church The Skirmish of the Brick Church was the first land engagement in Northeast Florida between the Union Army and Confederate Army of the American Civil War. It was fought on March 24, 1862 and resulted in the first Confederate victory in Florid ...

in 1862, Confederates won their first victory in the state. However, Union forces captured a Confederate position at the

Battle of St. Johns Bluff The Battle of St. John's Bluff was fought from October 1–3, 1862, between Union and Confederate forces in Duval County, Florida, during the American Civil War. The battle resulted in a significant Union victory, helping secure their control o ...

, and occupied Jacksonville in 1862. Slaves escaped to freedom in Union lines. In February 1864 Union forces left Jacksonville and confronted a

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

at the Battle of Olustee, going down to defeat. Union forces retreated to Jacksonville and held the city for the remainder of the war. In March 1864 a Confederate cavalry confronted a Union expedition in the Battle of Cedar Creek. Warfare and the long occupation left the city disrupted after the war. During

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

and the

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...

, Jacksonville and nearby St. Augustine became popular winter resorts for the rich and famous. Visitors arrived by

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

and later by railroad. President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

attended the Sub-Tropical Exposition in the city on February 22, 1888, during his trip to Florida. This highlighted the visibility of the state as a worthy place for tourism. The city's tourism, however, was dealt major blows in the late 19th century by

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

outbreaks. Extending the

Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a pr ...

further south drew visitors to other areas. From 1893 to 1938, Jacksonville was the site of the Florida Old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Home; it operated a nearby cemetery.

20th and 21st centuries

1900 to 1939

On May 3, 1901, downtown Jacksonville was ravaged by a fire that started as a kitchen fire. Spanish moss at a nearby mattress factory was quickly engulfed in flames and enabled the fire to spread rapidly. In a mere eight hours, it swept through 146 city blocks, destroyed over 2,000 buildings, left about 10,000 homeless and killed seven residents. The Confederate Monument in

Hemming Park James Weldon Johnson Park is a public park in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida. Originally a village green, it was the first and is the oldest park in the city. History Beginnings The area was established as a public square in 1857 by Isaiah H ...

was one of the few landmarks to survive the fire. Governor William Sherman Jennings declared martial law and sent the state militia to maintain order; on May 17, municipal authority resumed. It is said the glow from the flames could be seen in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, and the smoke plumes seen in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

. Known as the " Great Fire of 1901", it was one of the worst disasters in Florida history and the largest urban fire in the southeastern United States. Architect Henry John Klutho was a primary figure in the reconstruction of the city. The first multi-story structure built by Klutho was the Dyal-Upchurch Building in 1902. The

St. James Building The St. James Building is a historic building in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida, currently housing Jacksonville City Hall. It was designed by architect Henry John Klutho and opened in 1912. One of many structures in downtown Jacksonville designed ...

, built on the previous site of the St. James Hotel that burned down, was built in 1912 as Klutho's crowning achievement. In the 1910s, northern film studios headquartered in New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago were attracted to Jacksonville's warm climate, exotic landscapes, excellent rail access, and cheap labor. More than 30

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

studios were established over the decade, earning Jacksonville the title of "Winter Film Capital of the World". However, the emergence of

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

as a major film production center ended the city's film industry. One movie studio site,

Norman Studios Norman Studios, also known as Norman Film Manufacturing Company is a former American film studio in Jacksonville, Florida. Founded by Richard Edward Norman, the studio produced silent films featuring African-American casts from 1919 to 1928. The o ...

, remains in Arlington; it has been converted to the Jacksonville Silent Film Museum at Norman Studios. JacksonvilleFL1914

During this time, Jacksonville also became a banking and insurance center, with companies such as Barnett Bank,

Atlantic National Bank The Atlantic National Bank was an American bank based in Jacksonville, Florida. It existed from 1903 until 1985, when it was acquired by First Union. Subsequently, First Union changed its name to Wachovia Corporation when it also acquired Wachovi ...

, Florida National Bank, Prudential, Gulf Life, Afro-American Insurance, Independent Life and American Heritage Life thriving in the business district. The

Walker Business College Walker Business College, also known as Walker Business College for Colored, and Walker's Commercial and Vocational College, was a former business school and vocational school specifically for African Americans which was founded c. 1916 and closed ...

was opened c. 1916 in Jacksonville and advertised that it was the largest African American business school in the United States.

1940 to 1979

Vice President Nixon delivering campaign speech in Hemming Park - Jacksonville, Florida

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, The U.S. Navy became a major employer and economic force, constructing three Navy bases in the city, while the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...

established Blount Island Command. Jacksonville, like most large cities in the United States, suffered from many negative effects of rapid

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

after

. The construction of federal highways essentially subsidized development of suburban housing, and wealthier, better established residents moved to newer housing in the suburbs. After World War II, the government of the city of Jacksonville began to increase spending to fund new public building projects in the postwar economic boom. Mayor

W. Haydon Burns William Haydon Burns (March 17, 1912 – November 22, 1987) was an American politician. He was Mayor of Jacksonville, Florida from 1949 to 1965, and served as the 35th Governor of Florida from 1965 to 1967. Early life Born in Chicago, Illinois ...

' ''Jacksonville Story'' resulted in the construction of a new city hall, civic auditorium, public library and other projects that created a dynamic sense of civic pride. Development of suburbs led to a growing middle class who lived outside the urban core. An increasing proportion of residents in Jacksonville's urban core had a higher than average rate of poverty, especially as businesses and jobs also migrated to the suburbs. Given the postwar migration of residents, businesses, and jobs, the city's tax base declined. It had difficulty funding education, sanitation, and traffic control within the city limits. In addition, residents in unincorporated suburbs had difficulty obtaining municipal services, such as sewage and building code enforcement. In 1958, a study recommended the city of Jacksonville begin annexing outlying communities to create the needed larger geographic tax base to improve services throughout the county. Voters outside the city limits rejected annexation plans in six referendums between 1960 and 1965. On August 27, 1960, a white mob attacked civil rights demonstrators in

with clubs. The police largely stood by. In 1962, a federal court ordered the city to prepare a plan for integration of public schools, in accordance with the ruling of the Supreme Court in '' Brown v. Board of Education'' (1954). A study found schools were in poor condition and poorly equipped. On December 29, 1963, the Hotel Roosevelt fire killed 22 people, the highest one-day death toll in Jacksonville. On September 10, 1964,

Hurricane Dora Hurricane Dora was the first tropical cyclone on record to make landfall over the Atlantic coast of North Florida at hurricane intensity. The sixth tropical storm and second hurricane of the 1964 season, Dora developed from a tropical wave nea ...

made landfall near

, causing major damage to buildings in North Florida. Hurricane Dora was the first recorded hurricane to make a direct hit to North Florida. In the mid-1960s, corruption scandals arose among city and some county officials, who were mainly part of a traditional white Democratic network that had dominated politics for the decades since the disenfranchisement of most African Americans at the turn of the 20th century which effectively hollowed out the Republican Party. After a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

was convened to investigate, 11 officials were indicted and more were forced to resign. In 1963 the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...

threatened to withdraw accreditation of area schools in a year because of "instructional deficiencies." But voters refused to approve new taxes to improve school conditions. In late 1963, Duval County was spending $299 per student compared to the state average spending of $372 per student. In 1964 all 15 of Duval County's public high schools lost their accreditation. This added momentum to proposals for government reform. Jacksonville Consolidation, led by

J. J. Daniel Jaquelin James Daniel (September 22, 1916 – August 7, 1990) was an American lawyer, businessman, civic leader, and newspaper publisher. He was born and lived most of his life in Jacksonville, Florida, where he led the effort that resulted in the ...

and

Claude Yates Claude J. Yates (December 26, 1899 - October 25, 1988), was a Jacksonville business executive in the 1960s who is known as the ''Father of Jacksonville's consolidation.'' Early years Claude was born in Gibson County, Tennessee, the second of five ...

, began to win more support during this period, from both inner-city blacks, who wanted more involvement in government after passage of the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement ...

, that provided federal oversight and enforcement of their right to vote, and whites in the suburbs, who wanted more services and more control over the central city. Lower taxes, increased economic development, unification of the community, better public spending, and effective administration by a more central authority were all cited as reasons for a new consolidated government. When a consolidation referendum was held in 1967, voters approved the plan with a 65 percent approval. On October 1, 1968, the city and county governments merged to create the Consolidated City of Jacksonville. Fire, police, health & welfare, recreation, public works, and housing & urban development were all combined under the new government. In honor of the occasion, then-Mayor Hans Tanzler posed with actress

Lee Meredith Lee Meredith (born Judith Lee Sauls, October 22, 1947) is an American actress. Biography On October 22, 1947, Meredith was born Judith Lee Sauls in River Edge, New Jersey, and grew up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. When she was 15, she joined the Manh ...

behind a sign marking the new border of the "Bold New City of the

" at Florida 13 and Julington Creek. The consolidation created a 900-square-mile entity.

1980 to present

Tommy Hazouri supported passage of environmental regulations and reduced pollution odor during his single term as mayor, which began in 1987.

Ed Austin T. Edward "Ed" Austin Jr. (July 15, 1926 – April 23, 2011) was an American politician and attorney. He served as mayor of Jacksonville, Florida from 1991 to 1995. He also served as the first Public Defender for Florida's Fourth Judicial Circ ...

was elected as mayor in 1991. His most lasting contribution is the River City Renaissance program, a $235 million bond issued in 1993 by the city of Jacksonville which funded

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

and revamped the city's historic downtown neighborhoods. Austin oversaw the city's purchase and refurbishing of the

, which is now used as Jacksonville's

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. He was mayor in 1993 when Jacksonville was awarded its

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

franchise, the Jacksonville Jaguars.Patton, Charlie
"Former Mayor Ed Austin remembered for 'uncanny moral compass'
Florida Times-Union, April 28, 2011 The Better Jacksonville Plan, promoted as a "blueprint for Jacksonville's future" and approved by Jacksonville voters in 2000, authorized a half-penny sales tax. This generated most of the revenue required for the $2.25 billion package of major projects, which have included road & infrastructure improvements, environmental preservation, targeted economic development, and new or improved public facilities. In 2005, Jacksonville hosted

Super Bowl XXXIX Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League ( ...

, which was seen by an estimated 86 million viewers. The city has suffered damage in natural disasters. In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew caused major flooding and damage to Jacksonville,

Jacksonville Beach Jacksonville Beach is a coastal resort city in Duval County, Florida, United States. It was incorporated on May 22, 1907, as Pablo Beach, and would later change its name to Jacksonville Beach in 1925. The city is part of group of communities coll ...

Atlantic Beach Atlantic Beach is the name of some places in the United States: *Atlantic Beach, Florida, a city *Atlantic Beach, New York, a village *Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, a town *Atlantic Beach, South Carolina Atlantic Beach is a town in Horry County, ...

and

Neptune Beach Neptune Beach is a beachfront city east of Jacksonville in Duval County, Florida, United States. When the majority of Duval County communities consolidated with Jacksonville in 1968, Neptune Beach, along with Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach ...

, the first such damage in the area since 2004. In September 2017, Hurricane Irma caused record-breaking floods in Jacksonville, with a severity not seen since 1846. As has been typical of other metropolitan areas across the country, suburban growth has continued around Jacksonville, where large areas of land were available for development, drawing more residents, businesses and jobs from the city. This has resulted in further demographic changes. The city's largest ethnic group, non-Hispanic white, declined from 75.8% of the population in 1970 to 55.1% by 2010.

Geography

Cityscape

Topography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , making Jacksonville the largest city in land area in the

; of this, 86.66% () is land and 13.34% () is water. Jacksonville completely surrounds the town of Baldwin. Nassau County lies to the north, Baker County lies to the west, and

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

and St. Johns counties lie to the south. Jacksonville has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean with the Jacksonville Beaches. The city developed along both sides of the

. The Trout River, a major tributary of the St. Johns River, is entirely within Jacksonville. Just south of Jacksonville and north of Saint Augustine is the boundary of where the Floridian Peninsula ends and Continental North America begins; Jacksonville is north of that line. While still in the North American Coastal plain, the topography begins to take on slight Piedmont characteristics. Like the Central Florida ridge and the Piedmont, the area begins sloping several miles inland. On the west side of Jacksonville, a series of low ridges predominate. The high point of Jacksonville rises to 190 feet above sea level on Trail Ridge, along the boundary with Baker County. This high point was developed into a landfill and leveled in the 1990s. Prior to that the ridge reached over 200 feet. Strip mining in the west side of Jacksonville has leveled the area. Soil composition is primarily sand and clay rather than limestone, so few

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

s develop; however, deep, large diameter sinkholes do occur.

Architecture

The architecture of Jacksonville varies in style. Few structures in the city center predate the Great Fire of 1901. The city is home to one of the largest collections of

Prairie School Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in ...

style buildings outside the Midwest. Following the Great Fire of 1901, Henry John Klutho came to influence generations of local designers with his works by both the Chicago School, championed by Louis Sullivan, and the

of architecture, popularized by

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

. Jacksonville is also home to a notable collection of Mid-Century modern architecture. Local architects Robert C. Broward, Taylor Hardwick, and William Morgan adapted a range of design principles, including

International style International style may refer to: * International Style (architecture), the early 20th century modern movement in architecture *International style (art), the International Gothic style in medieval art *International Style (dancing), a term used in ...

, Brutalism, Futurism and Organicism, all applied with an American interpretation generally referred to today as Mid-century modern design. The architecture firms of

Reynolds, Smith & Hills RS&H, Inc. (RS&H) is an American facilities and infrastructure consulting firm in the United States. The privately held architectural, engineering, planning, and environmental services corporation is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, where ...

(RS&H) and

Kemp, Bunch & Jackson KBJ Architects, Inc. (KBJ) is an American architectural firm based in Jacksonville, Florida. The firm designed 17 of the city's 30 tallest buildings and "created Jacksonville's modern skyline", according to ''The Florida Times-Union'' newspaper.Ker ...

(KBJ) have also contributed a number of important works to the city's modern architectural movement. Jacksonville's early predominant position as a regional center of business left an indelible mark on the city's skyline. Many of the earliest skyscrapers in the state were constructed in Jacksonville, dating to 1902. The city last held the state height record from 1974 to 1981. The tallest building in Downtown Jacksonville's

skyline A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land. City skylines ...

is the Bank of America Tower, constructed in 1990 as the Barnett Center. It has a height of and includes 42 floors. Other notable structures include the 37-story

Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center may refer to: *Wells Fargo Center (Los Angeles), California *Wells Fargo Center (Sacramento), California * Wells Fargo Center (San Francisco), California * Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, California * Wells Fargo Cen ...

(with its distinctive flared base making it the defining building in the Jacksonville skyline), originally built in 1972–1974 by the Independent Life and Accident Insurance Company, and the 28-floor

Riverplace Tower The Riverplace Tower is a 28-floor office building on the south bank of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. At the time of its construction, it was the tallest building in the state of Florida and was the defining landmark in Jacksonvi ...

. When this tower was completed in 1967, it was the tallest precast,

post-tensioned concrete Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially "prestressed" ( compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-tensioned concreted i ...

structure in the world. File:Jacksonville FL Marble Bank and Bisbee Bldg01.jpg,

Laura Street Trio The Laura Street Trio is a group of three historic buildings located on and near Laura Street in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. The Trio consists of two perpendicularly arranged skyscrapers, the Florida Life Building and the Bisbee Building, plu ...

(1902-1912) File:CarlingHotelJacksonville-2010-07-b.JPG, The Carling (1925) File:11eforsyth.JPG,

11 East Forsyth 11 East Forsyth, formerly known as the Lynch Building and the American Heritage Life Building, is a historic structure in Jacksonville, Florida. Originally developed by Stephen Andrew Lynch, as its current name suggests, it is located at 11 East Fo ...

(1926) File:OnePrudentialPlazaJacksonville-2010-07a.JPG, Eight Forty One (1955) File:Riverplace Tower, Jacksonville, FL, US.jpg,

(1967) File:WellsFargoJaxFL.JPG,

(1974) File:EverBank Center 2.JPG,

TIAA Bank Center TIAA Bank Center is a skyscraper in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. Standing 447 feet (136 m) tall, it is the city's third-tallest building, as well as the largest in terms of class "A" rentable area with .Bank of America Tower (1990)

Neighborhoods

There are more than 500 neighborhoods within Jacksonville's vast area. These include Downtown Jacksonville and its surrounding neighborhoods, including LaVilla,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Riverside and Avondale Riverside and Avondale are two adjacent and closely associated neighborhoods, alternatively considered one continuous neighborhood, of Jacksonville, Florida. The area is primarily residential, but includes some commercial districts, including Fi ...

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, Eastside,

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, and San Marco. Additionally, greater Jacksonville is traditionally divided into several amorphous areas, comprising large parts of Duval County. These are

Northside Northside or North Side may refer to: Music * Northside (band), a musical group from Manchester, England * NorthSide, an American record label * NorthSide Festival (Denmark), a music festival in Aarhus, Denmark * "Norf Norf", a 2015 song by Vinc ...

, Westside, Southside, and Arlington, as well as the Jacksonville Beaches.McEwen, John W. 2007. "The Vernacular Neighborhoods of Jacksonville, Florida: Can GIS Help Determine their Boundaries?" ''The Florida Geographer'', Vol. 38: 54–71. Four municipalities have retained their own governments since consolidation; these are Baldwin and the three Jacksonville Beaches towns of

, and

. Four of Jacksonville's neighborhoods, Avondale, Ortega,

, and

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

, have been identified as U.S.

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

s and are in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. File:Jax FL Terminal POC04.jpg, LaVilla File:FidelityNational2Jacksonville-Jul2009.JPG,

File:Lauraforsyth.JPG, Northbank File:JaxFLSouthbank2014.jpg, Southbank File:Sphdqa.JPG,

File:Jacksonville San Marco Square.JPG, San Marco File:StJohnsTCJax.jpg, Southside File:Public_School_No_13_-_3.jpg,

File:The Mathews Bridge1.jpg, Eastside and Arlington File:Jax FL Old Ortega HD01.jpg, Ortega File:Jax FL Avondale HD01.jpg,

File:Northshorehomejax.jpg, Tallulah-North Shore

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, Jacksonville has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

, with hot humid summers, and warm to mild and drier winters. Seasonal rainfall is concentrated in the warmest months from May through September, when brief but intense downpours with thunder and lightning are common, while the driest months are from November through April. Rainfall averages around a year. Normal monthly mean temperatures range from in January to in July; high temperatures average throughout the year. The city of Jacksonville usually averages only about 10 to 15 nights at or below freezing. Such cold weather is usually short-lived. The coldest temperature recorded at

Jacksonville International Airport Jacksonville International Airport is a civil-military public airport 13 miles (21 km) north of Downtown Jacksonville, in Duval County, Florida. It is owned and operated by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. History Construction star ...

was on January 21, 1985. Jacksonville has recorded three days with measurable snow since 1911, most recently a one-inch (2.5 cm) snowfall in December 1989 and flurries in December 2010. Jacksonville has only received one direct hit from a hurricane since 1871. The rarity of direct strikes is attributed to chance. However, the city has experienced hurricane or near-hurricane conditions more than a dozen times due to storms crossing the state from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, or passing to the north or south in the Atlantic and brushing past the area. The strongest effect on Jacksonville was from

in 1964, the only recorded storm to hit the First Coast with sustained hurricane-force winds. The eye crossed St. Augustine with winds that had just barely diminished to , making it a strong Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. In 1979,

Hurricane David Hurricane David was an extremely deadly hurricane which caused massive loss of life in the Dominican Republic in August 1979, and was the most intense hurricane to make landfall in the country in recorded history. A Cape Verde hurricane that rea ...

passed offshore by , bringing winds around . Hurricane Floyd in 1999 caused damage mainly to Jacksonville Beach; the Jacksonville Beach pier was severely damaged and later demolished. In 2004, Jacksonville was inundated by

Hurricane Frances Hurricane Frances was the second most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic during 2004 and proved to be very destructive in Florida. It was the sixth named storm, the fourth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hu ...

and

Hurricane Jeanne Hurricane Jeanne was a Saffir–Simpson scale, Category 3 hurricane that struck the Caribbean and the Eastern United States in September 2004. It was the deadliest hurricane in the Atlantic basin since Hurricane Mitch, Mitch in 1998 Atlantic hur ...

, which made landfall south of the area, and suffered minor damage from

Tropical Storm Bonnie The name Bonnie has been used for ten tropical cyclones worldwide, eight in the Atlantic Ocean (one of which crossed over into the eastern Pacific Ocean) and one each in the Western Pacific and the Australian region of the Southern Hemisphere. In t ...

, which spawned a minor tornado. Jacksonville also suffered damage from 2008's Tropical Storm Fay, which crisscrossed the state, bringing parts of Jacksonville under darkness for four days. Fay damaged, but did not destroy, the Jacksonville Beach pier that was rebuilt after Floyd. On May 28, 2012, Jacksonville was hit by Tropical Storm Beryl, packing winds up to , which made landfall near

. Hurricane Matthew passed to the east with winds of 110 miles per hour. It caused storm surge, extensive flooding of the Atlantic Ocean and St. Johns River, and wind damage; the storm knocked out power for 250,000 people. In 2017, Hurricane Irma passed to the west with winds. It caused severe storm surge and flooding, passing the flood record of Hurricane Dora in 1964.

Parks

The City of Jacksonville has a unique park system, with various lands operated by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

Florida State Parks There are 175 state parks and 9 state trails in the U.S. state of Florida which encompass more than , providing recreational opportunities for both residents and tourists. Almost half of the state parks have an associated local 501(c)(3) non-pr ...

and the City of Jacksonville Department of Parks and Recreation. Jacksonville operates the largest urban park system in the United States, providing facilities and services at more than 337 locations on more than throughout the city. A number of parks provide access for people to boat, swim, fish, sail, jetski, surf and waterski.

National parks

The

Timucuan Preserve The Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve is a U.S. National Preserve in Jacksonville, Florida. It comprises of wetlands, waterways, and other habitats in northeastern Duval County. Managed by the National Park Service in cooperation with th ...

is a U.S. National Preserve comprising over of

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s and waterways. It includes natural and historic areas such as the

Fort Caroline National Memorial Fort Caroline was an attempted French colonization of the Americas, French colonial settlement in French Florida, Florida, located on the banks of the St. Johns River in present-day Duval County, Florida, Duval County. It was established under t ...

and the Kingsley Plantation, the oldest standing plantation in the state.

State parks

There are several state parks within the city limits of Jacksonville, these include

Amelia Island State Park Amelia Island State Recreation Area is a state park in Florida, United States. Its location is north of Little Talbot Island State Park on SR A1A, and south of Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island along the Atlantic coastal plain The Atlan ...

Big Talbot Island State Park Big Talbot Island State Park is a state park in Florida, United States. It is located on Big Talbot Island, a coastal barrier island 20 miles east of downtown Jacksonville on A1A North and immediately north of Little Talbot Island State Park al ...

Fort George Island Cultural State Park ''For the island in James Bay, Canada, see Chisasibi.'' Fort George Island State Cultural Site is a Florida State Park located on Fort George Island, about three miles (5 km) south of Little Talbot Island State Park on SR A1A. It is home ...

George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier State Park The George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier is a Florida State Park, located on the Duval/Nassau county border of Amelia Island State Park, off A1A. The park is named for George Crady George Abraham Crady (born June 14, 1931) is an American politic ...

Little Talbot Island State Park Little Talbot Island State Park is a Florida State Park located on Little Talbot Island, northeast of Jacksonville on State Road A1A. The park covers the entire island. Big Talbot Island State Park lies to the immediate north. The park contai ...

, Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park and

Yellow Bluff Fort Historic State Park Yellow Bluff Fort Historic State Park is a Florida State Park in Jacksonville, Florida. It is located near the mouth of the St. Johns River, a mile south of State Road 105 on New Berlin Road, in the cities Northside area. On September 29, 1970, ...

City parks

* Springfield Park is a public park on the southern bounds of the historic neighborhood of

(for which it is named), and is part of a network of parks that parallel Hogans Creek. The park opened in 1907 as Dignan Park, named for a former chairman of the city's Board of Public Works. In 1914, the park hosted the annual reunion of the

United Confederate Veterans The United Confederate Veterans (UCV, or simply Confederate Veterans) was an American Civil War veterans' organization headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was organized on June 10, 1889, by ex-soldiers and sailors of the Confederate Sta ...

, a gathering of former

soldiers. Five months after the reunion, the city renamed the park "Confederate Park". A

Confederate monument In the United States, the public display of Confederate monuments, memorials and symbols has been and continues to be controversial. The following is a list of Confederate monuments and memorials that were established as public displays and symb ...

was erected in 1915 honoring the Women of the Southland. On August 11, 2020, the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

voted to change the name of the park to "Springfield Park". *

Friendship Fountain Friendship Fountain is a large fountain in Jacksonville, Florida. It is in St. Johns River Park (also known as Friendship Fountain Park) at the west end of Downtown Jacksonville's Southbank Riverwalk attraction. The world's largest and tallest fou ...

is a large fountain in St. Johns River Park at the west end of Downtown Jacksonville's

Southbank Riverwalk The Jacksonville Riverwalks are a network of multi-use trails and open space developments along both the north and south banks of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. The roughly Downtown Northbank portion travels alongside the Hyatt Reg ...

. It opened in 1965 as the world's largest and tallest fountain, and has been one of Jacksonville's most recognizable and popular attractions. The fountain's three pumps could push of water per minute up to in height. Designed by Jacksonville architect Taylor Hardwick in 1963 and, in 2011 the city completed a $3.2 million renovation to the fountain and the surrounding park. It features a light show and music each evening. * Hanna Park is a public beach and city park near Mayport in the Jacksonville Beaches area. It consists of of mature

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

al hammock, and was known as Manhattan Beach, Florida's first beach community for African Americans during the period of segregation in the United States. Hannah Park also has a campground with both RV and tent sites. HannaParkBoardwalk

is a public park in the heart of the government center in downtown. Originally a village green, it was the first and is the oldest park in the city. The area was established as a public square in 1857 by

Isaiah Hart Isaiah David Hart (November 6, 1792 – September 4, 1861) was an American plantation owner, and the founder of Jacksonville, Florida. Originally from Georgia, Hart took up arms against Spain in the Patriot Rebellion of 1812. After moving to a lo ...

, founder of Jacksonville. The first Wednesday of every month, Hemming Park is converted into the centerpiece of Jacksonville's Downtown Art Walk. The third Thursday of every month Hemming Park hosts a night market called Jaxsons Night Market. * Klutho Park is an public park, between downtownand the historic neighborhood of

. It is part of a network of parks that parallel Hogans Creek, Klutho Park being the largest. Created between 1899 and 1901 on land donated by the Springfield Company. The park also housed the city's first zoo, opening at the park in 1914. The Hogans Creek Improvement Project of 1929–1930, designed by architect

Henry J. Klutho Henry John Klutho (1873–1964) was an American architect known for his work in the "Prairie School" style. He helped in the reconstruction of Jacksonville, Florida after the Great Fire of 1901—the largest-ever urban fire in the Southeast—by ...

, turned much of the park grounds into a Venetian-style promenade. *

Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail Trail The Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail Trail is a rail trail that extends from northwest Jacksonville to Baldwin, Florida. While it is technically a city park, it includes three separate paths: a multi-use asphalt trail for hiking, jogging, in-line skatin ...

is a

Rail Trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

that extends northwest to Baldwin, Florida. It includes three separate paths; a multi-use asphalt trail for hiking, jogging, in-line skating or cycling; an off-road bike trail; and a horseback riding trail. * Jessie Ball DuPont Park is a park, home to Treaty Oak, a massive 250-year-old tree in the Southbank. *

Metropolitan Park Metropolitan Park is a urban waterfront park and concert venue located on the north bank of the St. Johns River in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida. It is projected to be the eastern terminus of the northbank Jacksonville Riverwalk. Facility The ...

is a waterfront park on the

, in the Sports Complex area of downtown. The multi-purpose facility contains an exhibition area, picnic and playground area, and a performance pavilion which has a capacity of 10,000 persons. Jax FL Memorial Park statue1-05

* Memorial Park is a public park, on the

in the historic neighborhoods

. Completed in 1924, it is the third oldest park in the city. Built to honor of the 1,200 Floridians who died serving during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the notable Olmsted Brothers were commissioned to design the park, along with local architect Roy A. Benjamin. Charles Adrian Pillars designed the bronze sculpture, 'Life', prominently showcased in the park. * Riverside Park is an public park, in the historic neighborhood of

. It is the second oldest park in the city. * Riverwalk along the St. Johns from Berkman Plaza to I-95 at the Fuller Warren Bridge while the Southbank Riverwalk stretches from the Radisson Hotel to Museum Circle. Adjacent to Museum Circle is St. Johns River Park, also known as Friendship Park. It is the location of

, one of the most recognizable and popular attractions in Jacksonville. This landmark was built in 1965 and promoted as the "World's Tallest and Largest" fountain at the time. *

Veterans Memorial Wall The Veterans Memorial Wall is located at 1145 East Adams Street, adjacent to TIAA Bank Field in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. The quarter-million dollar monument was dedicated in November, 1995 and serves as a tribute to more than 1,500 Jackson ...

is a tribute to local servicemen and women killed while serving in US armed forces. A ceremony is held each Memorial Day recognizing any service woman or man from Jacksonville who died in the previous year.

Other

* Evergreen Cemetery is a large historic cemetery added to the

on April 8, 2011. * Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens broke ground on a new center in April 2007 and held their grand opening on November 15, 2008. * Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens * Jacksonville National Cemetery * Old City Cemetery *

Tree Hill Nature Center The Tree Hill Nature Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and wilderness preserve in Jacksonville, Florida, organized for the purpose of providing an educational experience for visitors to appreciate and learn about the natural environme ...

is a nature preserve and environmental education center five minutes from Downtown Jacksonville.

Demographics

Jacksonville is the most populous city in Florida, and the twelfth most populous city in the United States. , there were 821,784 people and 366,273 households in the city. Jacksonville has the country's tenth-largest

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

population, with a total population of 5,751 according to the 2000 United States Census. Jacksonville has Florida's largest Filipino American community, with 25,033 in the metropolitan area as of the 2010 Census. Much of Jacksonville's Filipino community served in or has ties to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Race and ethnicity 2010- Jacksonville (5559898547)

, those of Hispanic or Latino ancestry accounted for 7.7% of Jacksonville's population. Of these, 2.6% identified as Puerto Rican, 1.7% as

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

, and 0.9% as

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

. , those of African ancestry accounted for 30.7% of Jacksonville's population, which includes African Americans. Out of the 30.7%, 1.8% identified as

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

n, 1.4% as West Indian or

Afro-Caribbean American Caribbean Americans or West Indian Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Caribbean. Caribbean Americans are a multi-ethnic and multi-racial group that trace their ancestry further in time mostly to Africa, as well as Asia, the ...

(0.5% Haitian, 0.4% Jamaican, 0.1% Other or Unspecified West Indian, 0.1% Bahamian, 0.1% Barbadian), and 0.6% as

Black Hispanic Black Hispanic and Latino Americans, also called Afro-Hispanics ( es, Afrohispano, links=no), Afro-Latinos or Black Hispanics, or Black Latinos are classified by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget, and other U.S. ...

s. , those of (non-Hispanic white) European ancestry accounted for 55.1% of Jacksonville's population. Of these, 10.4% identified as ethnic

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, 10.2% as Irish, 8.8% as

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, 3.9% as Italian, 2.2% as

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, 2.0% as

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

, 2.0% as Scotch-Irish, 1.7%

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

, 1.1% Dutch, 0.6% Russian, 0.5% Norwegian, 0.5%

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, 0.5%

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

, and 0.5% as

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

. , those of Asian ancestry accounted for 4.3% of Jacksonville's population. Out of the 4.3%, 1.8% were

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

, 0.9% were

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, 0.6%

Other Asian Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, 0.5% Vietnamese, 0.3%

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

, 0.2% Korean, and 0.1% were Japanese. In 2010, 6.7% of the population identified as of American ancestry (regardless of race or ethnicity.) Some 0.9% were of

ancestry, . , there were 366,273 households, out of which 11.8% were vacant. 23.9% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.21. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males. In 2010, the median income for a household in the county was $48,829, and the median income for a family was $59,272. Males had a median income of $42,485 versus $34,209 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,227. About 10.5% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.4% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those aged 65 or over. In 2010, 9.2% of the county's population was

foreign born Foreign-born (also non-native) people are those born outside of their country of residence. Foreign born are often non-citizens, but many are naturalized citizens of the country in which they live, and others are citizens by descent, typically ...

, with 49.6% being naturalized American citizens. Of foreign born residents, 38.0% were born in Latin America, 35.7% born in Asia, 17.9% were born in Europe, 5.9% born in Africa, 1.9% in North America, and 0.5% were born in Oceania. , 87.1% of Jacksonville's population age five and over spoke only English at home while 5.8% of the population spoke Spanish at home. About 3.3% spoke other

Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...

at home. About 2.9% spoke

Asian language A wide variety of languages are spoken throughout Asia, comprising different language families and some unrelated isolates. The major language families include Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Caucasian, Dravidian, Indo-European, Afroasiatic, Turk ...

s or Pacific Islander languages/

Oceanic languages The approximately 450 Oceanic languages are a branch of the Austronesian languages. The area occupied by speakers of these languages includes Polynesia, as well as much of Melanesia and Micronesia. Though covering a vast area, Oceanic languages ...

at home. The remaining 0.9% of the population spoke other languages at home. In total, 12.9% spoke another language other than English. As of 2000, speakers of English as a

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

accounted for 90.60% of all residents, while those who spoke Spanish made up 4.13%, Tagalog 1.00%, French 0.47%, Arabic 0.44%, German 0.43%, Vietnamese at 0.31%, Russian was 0.21% and Italian made up 0.17% of the population.

Religion

Jacksonville has a diverse religious population. The largest religious group is

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. According to the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA), in 2010 the Jacksonville metropolitan area had an estimated 365,267 Evangelical Protestants, 76,100

Mainline Protestants The mainline Protestant churches (also called mainstream Protestant and sometimes oldline Protestant) are a group of Protestant denominations in the United States that contrast in history and practice with evangelical, fundamentalist, and charis ...

, and 56,769 Black Protestants, though figures for the latter were incomplete. There were around 1200 Protestant congregations in various denominations. Notable Protestant churches include Bethel Baptist Institutional Church and First Baptist Church, whose congregations separated after the Civil War and which are the city's oldest Baptist churches. Each has become very large. The Episcopal Diocese of Florida has its

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

at St. John's Cathedral; the current building was completed in 1906. Jacksonville is part of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Diocese of St. Augustine, which covers seventeen counties in North Florida. ARDA estimated 133,155 Catholics attending 25 parishes in the Jacksonville metropolitan area in 2010. The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Jacksonville, defined as a

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

in 2013, was added to the

in 1992. There are also two Eastern Catholic parishes, one of the

Syriac Catholic Church The Syriac Catholic Church ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ, ʿĪṯo Suryayṯo Qaṯolīqayṯo, ar, الكنيسة السريانية الكاثوليكية) is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Christianity ...

and one of the Maronite Church. In 2010 there were 2520

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

Christians, representing four churches in the Eastern Orthodox communion, as well as congregations of

Syriac Orthodox , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascu ...

Armenian Apostolic , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Coptic Orthodox Christians. ARDA estimated 14,886 members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) and 511

Unitarian Universalists Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a liberal religion characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth, guided by a ...

in 2010. There were an estimated 8,581

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

attending seven mosques, the largest being the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida. The Jewish community, which numbered 6,028 in 2010, is largely centered in the neighborhood of

. There are five

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

, two Reform, two Conservative, and one Reconstructionist synagogues. The

Rohr Jewish Learning Institute The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) is a division of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. It offers adult Jewish courses on Jewish history, law, ethics, philosophy and rabb ...

teaches courses for the community. ARDA also estimated 4,595

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, 3,530

Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

and 650 Baháʼís in the Jacksonville area in 2010.

Economy

Jacksonville's location on the

and the Atlantic Ocean proved instrumental to the growth of the city and its industry. Jacksonville has a sizable deepwater port, which helps make it a leading port in the U.S. for

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

imports, as well as the leading transportation and

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations * Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...

hub in the state. The strength of the city's economy lies in its broad diversification. While the area once had many thriving dairies, such as Gustafson's Farm and

Skinner Dairy Skinners' Dairy was a family-run dairy that existed in and around Jacksonville, Florida from 1922 until 1995. Origin The family of Samuel Benjamin "Ben" Skinner operated a dairy farm on a portion of their vast land holdings in northeast Florida ...

, this aspect of the economy has declined over time. The area's economy is balanced among

financial services Financial services are the Service (economics), economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, acco ...

, biomedical technology,

consumer goods A final good or consumer good is a final product ready for sale that is used by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs, unlike a intermediate good, which is used to produce other goods. A microwave oven or a bicycle is a final good, but ...

, information services, manufacturing, insurance, and other industries. Jacksonville is home to the headquarters of four

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

companies:

CSX Corporation CSX Corporation is an American holding company focused on rail transportation and real estate in North America, among other industries. The company was established in 1980 as part of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries merger. T ...

Fidelity National Financial Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF), a Fortune 500 company, is a provider of title insurance and settlement services to the real estate and mortgage industries. FNF generated approximately $8.469 billion in annual revenue in 2019 fro ...

, Fidelity National Information Services and Southeastern Grocers.

Interline Brands The Home Depot Pro, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, is one wholesale distributor and direct marketer of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products for non-industrial businesses in the United States. The Home Depot Pro distributes p ...

is based in Jacksonville and is owned by

The Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the largest home improvement re ...

. Other notable companies based in Jacksonville or with a large presence include

Florida Blue GuideWell, formally GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation (holding company for Florida Blue), is a mutual insurance holding company primarily focused on health insurance in Florida. It was created in 2013 by a reorganization initiated by Florida ...

Swisher International Group 'Swisher'' (formerly Swisher International, Inc.) is an international tobacco company. Swisher has manufactured products since 1861 and ships more than two billion cigars a year to more than 70 countries. The company operates worldwide, with its ...

, BOA Merrill Lynch,

Fanatics Fanaticism (from the Latin adverb ''fānāticē'' ren-''fānāticus''; enthusiastic, ecstatic; raging, fanatical, furious is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal or an obsessive enthusiasm. Definitions Philosopher George Santayana ...

Crowley Maritime Crowley, legally Crowley Maritime Corporation, is based in Jacksonville, Florida. Founded in 1892, Crowley is primarily a family- and employee-owned vessel management, owner, and supply chain logistics services company, providing services globall ...

Web.com Web.com Group Inc. was an American company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida that provides domain name registration and web development services. Established in 1999 by Darin Brannan, the company was known as Website Pros Inc. until early 2 ...

, Firehouse Subs and

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

, SW of downtown, employs more than 25,000 people. In 2008, Jacksonville had 2.8 million visitors who stayed overnight, spending nearly $1 billion. A study by Research Data Services of Tampa quantified the importance of tourism. The total economic impact was $1.6 billion and supported nearly 43,000 jobs, 10% of the local workforce.

Banking and financial services

Jacksonville has long had a regional legacy in banking and finance. Locally headquartered

, Florida National Bank and Barnett Bank dominated the industry in Florida from the turn of the 20th century through the 1980s, before all being acquired in a national wave of mergers and acquisitions throughout the entire financial sector. Acquired by NationsBank in 1997, Barnett Bank was the last of these banks to succumb to acquisition, and at the time was the largest banking merger in U.S. history. The city still holds distinction nationally and internationally, boasting two Fortune 500 financial services companies,

and FIS, FIS being well recognized as a global leader in financial technology. Headquartered on the banks of the St. Johns River in Downtown Jacksonville, EverBank holds the title of largest bank in the state by deposits. The city is home to other notable financial services institutions including

Ameris Bancorp Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta. Through its bank subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company operates full-service branches in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, and mortgage-only locations i ...

, Atlantic Coast Financial, Black Knight Financial Services, MedMal Direct Insurance Company, US Assure, Jax Federal Credit Union, and VyStar Credit Union. The city is also home to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Jacksonville Branch, Jacksonville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Jacksonville's financial sector has benefited from a rapidly changing business culture, as have other Sunbelt cities such as Atlanta, Tampa, and Charlotte. In a concept known as nearshoring, financial institutions are shifting operations away from high-cost addresses such as Wall Street, and have shifted some trading functions to Jacksonville. With relatively low-cost real estate, easy access by planes to New York City, high quality of life, and 19,000 financial sector employees, Jacksonville has become an option for relocating staff.

's growth in the city is an example of such change. Jacksonville is the site of Deutsche Bank's second largest US operation; only New York City is larger. They also are an example of a business that has moved operations to the suburbs. Other institutions with a notable presence in Jacksonville include Macquarie Group, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Citizens Property Insurance, Fidelity Investments, Ally Financial and Aetna.

Logistics

CMA CGM Virginia - IMO 9351139 (3194444689)

Jacksonville is a rail, air, and highway focal point and a busy port of entry, with

, ship repair shipyard, yards and extensive freight-handling facilities. Lumber, phosphate, paper, cigars and Pulp (paper), wood pulp are the principal exports; automobiles and coffee are among imports. The city's manufacturing base provides 4.5% of local jobs, versus 8.5% nationally. According to ''Forbes'' magazine in 2007, Jacksonville ranked third among the top ten U.S. cities as destinations for jobs. Jacksonville was ranked as the tenth-fastest growing city in the U.S. To emphasize the city's transportation business and capabilities, the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce filed ''Jacksonville America's Logistics Center'' as a trademark on November 9, 2007. It was formally registered on August 4, 2009. Cornerstone began promoting the city as "Jacksonville: America's Logistics Center" in 2009. Signs were added to the existing city limit markers on Interstate 95. The

, a seaport on the

, is a large component of the local economy. Approximately 50,000 jobs in Northeast Florida are related to port activity and the port has an economic impact of $2.7 billion in Northeast Florida: The three maritime shippers who ship to Puerto Rico are all headquartered in Jacksonville: TOTE Maritime,

, and Trailer Bridge. Cecil Commerce Center is on the site of the former Naval Air Station Cecil Field, which closed in 1999 following the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decision. Covering a total area of , it was the largest military base in the Jacksonville area. The parcel contains more than 3% of the total land area in Duval County (). The industrial and commercial-zoned center offers mid to large-size parcels for development; it has excellent transportation and utility infrastructure, including the third-longest runway in Florida.

Media and technology

''The Florida Times-Union'' is the major daily newspaper in Jacksonville and the First Coast. Jacksonville.com is its official website. The ''Financial News & Daily Record'' is a daily paper focused on the business and legal communities. Weekly papers include the ''Jacksonville Business Journal'', an American City Business Journals publication focused on business news, ''Folio Weekly'', the city's chief alternative weekly, and ''The Florida Star'' and the ''Jacksonville Free Press'', two weeklies catering to African Americans. ''Jax4Kids'', a monthly newspaper, caters to parents. ''EU Jacksonville'' is a monthly entertainment magazine. ''The Coastal'' is a local online magazine that also publishes a quarterly paper edition. Jacksonville is the 47th-largest local television market in the United States. Despite its large population, Jacksonville has always been a medium-sized market because the surrounding suburbs and rural areas are not much larger than the city. It is served by television stations affiliated with major American networks including WTLV 12 (NBC) and its sister station WJXX 25 (American Broadcasting Company, ABC), WJAX-TV 47 (CBS) and WFOX-TV 30 (Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox; with MyNetworkTV/MeTV on DT2), which operates WJAX-TV under a Local marketing agreement, joint sales and shared services agreement, WJCT (TV), WJCT 7 (PBS), and WCWJ 17 (The CW, CW). WJXT 4, WCWJ's sister station, is a former longtime CBS affiliate that turned independent in 2002. Jacksonville is the 46th-largest local radio market in the U.S., and is dominated by the same two large ownership groups that dominate the radio industry across it: Cox Communications, Cox Radio and iHeartMedia. The dominant AM radio station in terms of ratings is WOKV (AM), WOKV 690AM, which is also the flagship station for the Jacksonville Jaguars. In May 2013, WOKV began simulcasting on 104.5 FM as WOKV FM. There are two Radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcasting a primarily contemporary hits format; WAPE-FM, WAPE 95.1 has dominated this niche for over 20 years, and more recently has been challenged by WKSL 97.9 FM (KISS FM). WJBT 93.3 (The Beat) is a hip hop music, hip hop/rhythm and blues, R&B station, 96.9 The Eagle WJGL operates a Classic Hits format while its HD subchannel WJGL-HD2 operates an Urban CHR format under the moniker Power 106.1, WWJK, WWJK 107.3 is a Mainstream Rock station under the moniker "107.3 Planet Radio. WEZI (FM), WEZI 102.9 is an adult contemporary station branded as "Easy 102.9" along with WEJZ, 96.1 WEJZ branded as "96.1 WEJZ" WXXJ (FM), WXXJ X106.5 is an alternative station, WQIK 99.1 is a country music, country station as well as WGNE-FM 99.9, and WJCT-FM, WJCT 89.9 is the local National Public Radio affiliate. WJKV 90.9 FM is an Educational Media Foundation K-LOVE outlet. The NPR and PRX radio show ''State of the Re:Union'', hosted by performance poet and playwright Al Letson, is headquartered and produced in Jacksonville.

Military and defense

Jacksonville is home to three US naval facilities. Together with the nearby Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Jacksonville is the third-largest naval complex in the country. Only Norfolk, Virginia and San Diego, California are bigger. The United States military is the largest employer in Jacksonville and its total economic impact is approximately $6.1 billion annually. Several veterans' service organizations are also headquartered in Jacksonville, including Wounded Warrior Project.

is a military airport south of the central business district. Approximately 23,000 civilian and active-duty personnel are employed on the base. There are 35 operational units/squadrons assigned there. Support facilities include an airfield for pilot training, and a maintenance depot capable of tasks ranging from changing a tire to intricate micro-electronics, or total engine disassembly. Also on-site is a Naval Hospital, a Fleet Industrial Supply Center, a Navy Family Service Center, and recreational facilities. USS Bataan arrives at Naval Station Mayport 121102-N-IC228-001

USS Bataan arrives at Naval Station Mayport 121102-N-IC228-001

is a Navy Ship Base that is the third-largest fleet concentration area in the U.S. Mayport has a busy harbor capable of accommodating 34 ships, and an runway capable of handling any aircraft used by the Department of Defense. Until 2007, it was home to the aircraft carrier , which locals called "Big John". In January 2009, the Navy committed to stationing a nuclear-powered carrier at Mayport when the official ''Record of Decision'' was signed. The port will require approximately $500 million in facility enhancements to support the larger vessel, which took several years to complete. The carrier was projected to arrive in 2019; however, an amphibious group was sent before the carrier.

is a Marine Corps Logistics Base whose mission is to support the Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF). This provides for rapid deployment of personnel to link up with pre-positioned equipment and supplies embarked aboard forward-deployed Maritime Prepositioning Ships (MPS). , a Nuclear propulsion, nuclear-powered , is a U.S. Navy ship named for the city. The ship's nickname is ''The Bold One'' and Pearl Harbor is her home port. The 125th Fighter Wing, Florida Air National Guard is based at

. Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville is on the St. Johns River next to Naval Station Mayport. Sector Jacksonville controls operations from Kings Bay, Georgia, south to Cape Canaveral, Florida, Cape Canaveral. CGC ''Kingfisher'', CGC ''Maria Bray'', and CGC ''Hammer'' are stationed at the Sector. Station Mayport is co-located with Sector Jacksonville and includes response boats, and motor lifeboats.

Culture

Leisure and entertainment

Throughout the year, many annual events of various types are held in Jacksonville. In sports, the annual Gate River Run has been held annually since March 1977. It has been the US National road running, road race Championship since 1994 and is the largest race of its distance in the country with over 13,000 runners, spectators, and volunteers, making it Jacksonville's largest participation sporting event.
WJXT-TV, March 15, 2009-15K Take To Streets in 15K River Run In college football, the Gator Bowl is held on January 1. It has been continuously held since 1946. Also, the Florida–Georgia game (also known as the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party"), the annual college football game between the rival Florida Gators football, Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs football, Georgia Bulldogs has been held in Jacksonville almost yearly since 1933. For six days in July the Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament is held for fishermen of all skills. With $500,000 of prizes up for grabs, up to 1000 boats participate with almost 30,000 spectators watching. Jacksonville is also home of River City Pride which is Northeast Florida's largest Gay Pride parade. The parade and festivities usually take place over the course of the weekend, usually the first or second weekend in October in Jacksonville's Riverside neighborhood. The first pride parade was held in 1978. A number of cultural events are also held in Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Jazz Festival, held downtown, is the second-largest jazz festival in the nation, while ''Springing the Blues'', one of the oldest and largest blues festivals, has been held in

since 1990. The World of Nations Celebration has been held in

since 1993, and features a number of events, food and souvenirs from various countries. Hemming Plaza2

The Art Walk, a monthly outdoor art festival on the first Wednesday of each month, is sponsored by Downtown Vision, Inc, an organization which works to promote artistic talent and venues on the First Coast. Jacksonville is home to many breweries and a growing number of distilleries. Other events include the Blessing of the Fleet held in March since 1985 and the Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair in November at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds and Exposition Center featuring games, rides, food, entertainment and livestock exhibition. One Spark is the largest annual crowdfunding event held for creators to showcase their ideas for a chance to win part of $300,000 in funding. Riverside Arts Market (RAM), an outdoor arts-and-crafts market on the Riverwalk, occurs every Saturday from March to December under the canopy of the Fuller Warren Bridge. Holiday celebrations include the Freedom, Fanfare & Fireworks celebration on Independence Day (United States), July 4, the lighting of Jacksonville's official Christmas tree at the Jacksonville Landing (now removed) on the day after Thanksgiving (United States), Thanksgiving and the Jacksonville Light Parade of boats the following day. The VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, which opened in 2003, is a 16,000-seat performance venue that attracts national entertainment, sporting events and also houses the Jacksonville Sports Hall of Fame. It replaced the outdated Jacksonville Coliseum that was built in 1960 and demolished on June 26, 2003. The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens boasts the second largest animal collection in the state. The zoo features elephants, lions, and jaguars, with an exhibit, ''Range of the Jaguar'', hosted by the former owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Wayne Weaver, Delores and Wayne Weaver. It also has a multitude of reptile houses, free flight aviaries, and many other animals. Adventure Landing is an amusement park with locations in Jacksonville and Jacksonville Beach. The Jacksonville Beach location contains Shipwreck Island, Duval County's only waterpark. Theatre Jacksonville was organized in 1919 as the ''Little Theatre'' and is one of the oldest continually producing community theatre, community theaters in the United States. The Alhambra Dinner Theatre, on the Southside near the University of North Florida, has offered professional productions that often starred well-known actors since 1967. There are also a number of popular community theatres such as ''Players by the Sea'' in Jacksonville Beach and The 5 & Dime Theatre Co. in Downtown Jacksonville. The Murray Hill Art Center was reopened in February 2012 through a partnership of the Jacksonville Parks and Recreation (JaxParks) and the Art League of Jacksonville, a nonprofit dedicated to arts education. The center is in the historic Murray Hill area and offers community arts classes as well as shared studio space for aspiring artists. Visitors are welcomed year around for events and classes. Jacksonville has two fully enclosed shopping malls. The oldest is the Regency Square Mall (Jacksonville, Florida), Regency Square Mall, which opened in 1967 and is on former sand dunes in the Arlington area. The other is The Avenues (shopping mall), The Avenues Mall. It opened in 1990 on the Southside at the intersection of I-95 and US 1. There is a third indoor mall in the metropolitan area, The Orange Park Mall, but it's just outside of Jacksonville in Orange Park, Florida, in Clay County, Florida, Clay County. The St. Johns Town Center opened in 2005, on the south side of Jacksonville. River City Marketplace opened in 2006, on the north side of Jacksonville. Both of these are "open-air" malls, with a mix of stores but not contained under the same roof.

Literature, film and television

A handful of significant literary works and authors are associated with Jacksonville and the surrounding area. Perhaps the most important is James Weldon Johnson, who moved North and was influential in the Harlem Renaissance. In 1920 he also became the first African American to lead the NAACP civil rights organization. His first success as a writer was the poem "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" (1899), which his brother Rosamond Johnson set to music; the song became unofficially known as the "Negro National Anthem." Already famous for having written ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), northern writer Harriet Beecher Stowe published ''Palmetto Leaves'' in 1873. A travel guide and memoir about her winters in the town of Mandarin, Florida, it was one of the first guides written about Florida and stimulated the state's first boom in the 1880s of tourism and residential development. Jacksonville embraced the movies. Sun-Ray Cinema, also known as the 5 Points Theatre and Riverside Theatre, opened in 1927. It was the first theater in Florida equipped to show the new "talking pictures" and the third nationally. It is in the Five Points (Jacksonville), Five Points section of town and was renamed as the ''Five Points Theater'' in 1949. The Florida Theatre, also opened in 1927, is in downtown Jacksonville and is one of only four remaining high-style movie palaces that were built in Florida during the Mediterranean Revival Style architecture, Mediterranean Revival architectural boom of the 1920s. Since that time, Jacksonville has been chosen by a number of film and television studios for location shooting. Notable motion pictures that have been partially or completely shot in Jacksonville since the silent film era include the classic thriller, ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' (1954). Since the late 20th century, the city has attracted numerous film companies, which shot ''The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking'' (1988), ''Brenda Starr (1989 film), Brenda Starr'' (1989), ''G.I. Jane'' (1997), ''The Devil's Advocate (1997 film), The Devil's Advocate'' (1997), ''Ride'' (1998), ''Why Do Fools Fall in Love (film), Why Do Fools Fall in Love'' (1998), ''Forces of Nature (1999 film), Forces of Nature'' (1999), ''Tigerland'' (2000), ''Sunshine State (film), Sunshine State'' (2002), ''Basic (film), Basic'' (2003), ''The Manchurian Candidate (2004 film), The Manchurian Candidate'' (2004), ''Lonely Hearts (2006 film), Lonely Hearts'' (2006), ''Moving McAllister'' (2007), ''The Year of Getting to Know Us'' (2008), ''The Ramen Girl'' (2008) and ''Like Dandelion Dust'' (2009). Notable television series or made-for-television films that have been partially or completely shot in Jacksonville include ''Inherit the Wind (1988 film), Inherit the Wind'' (1988), ''Orpheus Descending'' (1990), ''Saved by the Light'' (1995), ''The Babysitter's Seduction'' (1996), ''First Time Felon'' (1997), ''Safe Harbor (film), Safe Harbor'' (2009), ''Recount (film), Recount'' (2008), ''American Idol'' (2009), and ''Ash vs Evil Dead'' (2015).

Museums and art galleries

Cummer Museum, Jacksonville, FL, US (02)

The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens is an art museum in Jacksonville's

neighborhood. It was founded in 1961, following the death of Ninah Mae Holden Cummer, who bequeathed her art collection, house and gardens to the museum. Its galleries display one of the world's three most comprehensive collections of Meissen porcelain, as well as large collections of American, European, and Japanese art. The grounds contain two acres of Italian and English gardens begun by Ninah Cummer. The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville (MOCA Jacksonville) is a contemporary art museum funded and operated as a "cultural resource" of the University of North Florida. Tracing its roots to the formation of Jacksonville's Fine Arts Society in 1924, it opened its current facility in 2003 next to the Main Library downtown. The museum features eclectic permanent and traveling exhibitions, and a collection of over 700 works. The Museum of Science & History (MOSH), in downtown's Southbank Riverwalk, specializes in science and local history exhibits. It features a main exhibit that changes quarterly, plus three floors of nature exhibits, an extensive exhibit on the history of Northeast Florida, a hands-on science area, and the area's only astronomy theater, the Bryan Gooding Planetarium. Jax FL Museum of SH pano01

Kingsley Plantation is a historic plantations in the American South, plantation built in 1798. The house of Zephaniah Kingsley, barn, kitchen, and slave cabins have been preserved. Alexander Brest, founder of Duval Engineering and Contracting Co., was the benefactor for the Alexander Brest Museum and Gallery on the campus of Jacksonville University. The exhibits are a diverse collection of Ivory carving, carved ivory, Pre-Columbian artifacts, Steuben Glass Works, Steuben glass, Chinese ceramics, Chinese porcelain and cloisonné, Tiffany glass, Edward Marshall Boehm, Boehm porcelain, and rotating exhibits of the work of local, regional, national and international artists. Three other art galleries are at educational institutions in town. Florida State College at Jacksonville has the Kent Gallery on their westside campus and the Wilson Center for the Arts at their main campus. The University Gallery is on the campus of the University of North Florida. The Jacksonville Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum (Jacksonville), Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum is a branch of the world's largest private collection of original manuscripts and documents. The museum in Jacksonville is in a 1921 neoclassical building on the outskirts of downtown. In addition to document displays, an antique-book library has numerous volumes dating from the late 19th century. The Catherine Street Fire Station building is on the

; it was relocated to Metropolitan Park in 1993. It houses the Jacksonville Fire Museum and features more than 500 artifacts, including an 1806 hand pumper. The LaVilla Museum opened in 1999 and features a permanent display of African-American history. In addition, the art exhibits are changed periodically. The city has several outstanding historical properties, some of which have been adapted to new uses. These include the Klutho Building, the Morocco Temple, Old Morocco Temple Building, the Palm and Cycad Arboretum, and the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, originally built as Union Station train depot. The Jacksonville Historical Society showcases two restoration projects: the 1887 St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (Jacksonville, Florida), St. Andrews Episcopal Church and the 1879 Merrill House, both near the sports complex. The Jacksonville Naval Museum opened in 2022 with the museum ship USS Orleck, USS ''Orleck'' as its centerpiece. This museum gives tribute to the city's naval history.

Music

The Ritz Theatre (Jacksonville), Ritz Theatre, opened in 1929, is in the LaVilla, Jacksonville, Florida, LaVilla neighborhood of the northern part of Jacksonville's downtown. The Jacksonville music scene was active in the 1930s in LaVilla, which was known as "Harlem of the

". Black musicians from across the country visited Jacksonville to play standing room only performances at the Ritz Theatre (Jacksonville), Ritz Theatre and the ''Knights of Pythias Hall''. Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong were a few of the legendary performers who appeared. After his mother died when he was 15, Ray Charles lived with friends of his mother while he played piano at the Ritz for a year, before moving on to fame and fortune. The Ritz Theatre was rebuilt, and reopened in October 1999. The Jacksonville Jazz Festival has been held for than 40 years. It takes place over the three-day Memorial Day weekend, and includes the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition. During the 1960s, the Classics IV was the most successful pop rock band from Jacksonville. Southern Rock was defined by the Allman Brothers Band, which formed in 1969 in Jacksonville. Lynyrd Skynyrd achieved near cult status and inspired Blackfoot (band), Blackfoot, Molly Hatchet and 38 Special (band), .38 Special, all successful in the 1970s. The 1980s were a quiet decade for musical talent in Jacksonville. The Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts consists of three distinct halls: the ''Jim & Jan Moran Theater'', a venue for touring Broadway shows; the ''Jacoby Symphony Hall'', home of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra; and the ''Terry Theater'', intended for small shows and recitals. The building was originally erected as the Civic Auditorium in 1962 and underwent a major renovation and construction in 1996. The next local group to achieve national success was the nu metal band Limp Bizkit, formed in 1994. Other popular acts from Jacksonville were hip hop music, hip hop acts 95 South, 69 Boyz, and the Quad City DJ's. The bands Inspection 12, Cold (band), Cold, and Yellowcard were also well known and had a large following. After 2000, Fit For Rivals, Burn Season, Evergreen Terrace, Shinedown, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Electric President, and Black Kids became notable bands from the city.

Sports

Jacksonville is home to one Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, major league professional sports, sports team, the Jacksonville Jaguars of the

(NFL). The Jaguars joined the NFL as an expansion team in the 1995 season; they play their home games at TIAA Bank Field. In 2005, Jacksonville hosted

. The PGA Tour, which organizes the main professional

tournaments in the U.S., is headquartered in the suburb of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Ponte Vedra Beach, where it holds The Players Championship every year. Jacksonville is also home to several minor league-level teams. The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, a Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A baseball team, have played in Jacksonville continuously since 1970 and have consistently been near the top of their league in attendance. The Jacksonville Sharks, who began play in 2010, were the champions of the Arena Football League's ArenaBowl XXIV in 2011 and now play in the National Arena League, where they have won two league championships. The Jacksonville Axemen are a semi-professional rugby league team founded in 2006, and now play in the USA Rugby League. The Jacksonville Giants basketball team started play in the new American Basketball Association (2000–present), American Basketball Association in December 2010. The Giants won the 2011–12 ABA season, 2012 ABA Championship in March 2012 in Tampa, Florida. The Jacksonville Armada FC is a soccer team that began play in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2015. The Jacksonville Icemen is a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL that began play in the 2017–18 season. The team plays its home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. All Elite Wrestling, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is a professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville and a competitor of WWE. College sports, especially college football, are popular in Jacksonville. The city hosts the Florida–Georgia game, an annual college football game between the University of Florida and the University of Georgia and the Gator Bowl, TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, a post-season college football bowl game. Jacksonville's two universities compete in NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I: the University of North Florida North Florida Ospreys, Ospreys and the Jacksonville University Jacksonville Dolphins, Dolphins, both in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Government and politics

Government

In 1968 Jacksonville and Duval County consolidated their governments in the Jacksonville Consolidation. This eliminated a separate county executive or legislature, and supplanted these positions with the Mayor of Jacksonville and the City Council of the City of Jacksonville, respectively. Because of this, voters who live ''outside'' of the city limits of Jacksonville but ''inside'' Duval County may vote in elections for these positions and run for them. In 1995, John Delaney (Florida politician), John Delaney, a resident of

within Duval County, was elected as mayor of the city of Jacksonville. Jacksonville is organized under the city charter and provides for a "strong" Mayor–council government, mayor–council form of city government. The Mayor of Jacksonville is elected to four-year terms and serves as the head of the government's executive branch. The Jacksonville City Council comprises nineteen members, fourteen representing single-member district, single-member electoral districts of roughly equal populations, and five elected for at-large seats. The mayor oversees most city departments, though some are independent or quasi-independent. Law enforcement is provided by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, headed by an elected sheriff; public schools are overseen by Duval County Public Schools, and several services are provided by largely independent authorities. The mayor holds veto power over all resolutions and ordinances made by the city council and also has the power to hire and fire the heads of various city departments. As before the consolidation, some government services are operated independently of city and county authority. In accordance with Florida law, the elected school board has nearly complete autonomy. Jacksonville also has several quasi-independent government agencies which only nominally answer to the consolidated authority, including JEA, electric authority, port authority, transportation authority, housing authority and airport authority. The main environmental and agricultural body is the Duval County Soil and Water Conservation District, which works closely with other area, state, and federal agencies. LennyCurryJAX

The Jacksonville Housing Authority (JHA) is the quasi-independent agency responsible for public housing and subsidized housing in Jacksonville. The Mayor and City Council of Jacksonville established the JHA in 1994 to create a community service-oriented, public housing agency with innovative ideas and a different attitude. The primary goal was to provide safe, clean, affordable housing for eligible low and moderate income families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. The secondary goal was to provide effective social services, work with residents to improve their quality of life, encourage employment and self-sufficiency, and help residents move out of assisted housing. To that end, JHA works with HabiJax to help low and moderate income families to escape the public housing cycle and become successful, productive, homeowners and taxpayers.

Politics

The present mayor is Lenny Curry, who assumed office on July 1, 2015. The past mayor was Alvin Brown (politician), Alvin Brown.Gibbons, Timothy J. (May 18, 2011).
Alvin Brown makes history, becoming city's first African-American mayor
. ''The Florida Times-Union''. Retrieved on May 18, 2011. Most of the city is in the Florida's 4th congressional district, and is represented by Republican John Rutherford (Florida politician), John Rutherford. Most of central Jacksonville is in the Florida's 5th congressional district, 5th district, represented by Democrat Al Lawson. The 4th and 5th districts have been characterized by analysts as some of the most Gerrymandering, gerrymandered districts in the country In 2014, the Florida Supreme Court ordered the state legislature to redraw at least eight of the congressional districts to correct inequities. In 2010, Duval County's crime rate was 5,106 per 100,000 people, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The county's murder rate had been the highest among Florida's counties with a population of 500,000 or more for eleven years in 2009, leading to widespread discussion in the community about how to deal with the problem. In 2010 Duval County's violent crime rate decreased by 9.3% from the previous year, with total crime decreasing 7.3%, putting the murder rate behind Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County. Jacksonville and Duval County historically maintained separate police agencies: the Jacksonville Police Department and Duval County Sheriff's Office. As part of consolidation in 1968, the two merged, creating the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO). The JSO is headed by the elected Sheriff of Jacksonville, currently Pat Ivey (sheriff), Pat Ivey, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill a vacancy in 2022. It is responsible for law enforcement and corrections in the county.

Education

Primary and secondary education

Duval County Public Schools, Jacksonville

Public primary and secondary schools in Jacksonville and Duval County are administered by Duval County Public Schools, which is governed by an elected, seven-member Duval County School Board. In the 2009–2010 school year, the district enrolled 123,000 students. It administers 172 total schools, including 103 elementary schools, 25 middle schools, 19 High school (North America), high schools, three K–8 schools, and one 6–12 school, as well as 13 charter schools and a juvenile justice school program. Of these, 62 are designated magnet schools. Three of Jacksonville's high schools, Stanton College Preparatory School, Darnell-Cookman School of the Medical Arts and Paxon School for Advanced Studies regularly appear at the top of ''Newsweek'' magazine's annual list of the country's top public high schools, coming in respectively at #3, #7, and #8 in the 2010 edition.Mathews, Jay
America's Best High Schools: The List
''Newsweek'' magazine, June 13, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2011. Five other schools, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts (#33), Mandarin High School (#97), Duncan U. Fletcher High School (#205), Sandalwood High School (#210), and Englewood High School (Florida), Englewood High School (#1146) were also included in the list. The Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine operates a number of Catholic schools in Jacksonville, including two high schools, Bishop Kenny High School and Bishop John J. Snyder High School. Other private schools in Jacksonville include Arlington Country Day School, the Bolles School, Trinity Christian Academy, and the Episcopal School of Jacksonville.

Colleges and universities

Jacksonville is home to a number of institutions of higher education. The University of North Florida (UNF), opened in 1972, is a public institution and a member of the State University System of Florida. Jacksonville University (JU) is a private institution founded in 1934. Edward Waters College, established in 1866, is the oldest college in Jacksonville and the state's oldest historically black college. Florida State College at Jacksonville is a state university, state college and a member of the Florida College System, offering two-year associate's degrees as well as some four-year bachelor's degrees. The University of Florida has its second campus of the J. Hillis Miller Health Science Center in Jacksonville. Other colleges and universities in Jacksonville include Trinity Baptist College, and Jones College (Jacksonville), Jones College. Also in the area are St. Johns River State College, a state university, state college with campuses in

, St. Johns, and Putnam County, Florida, Putnam Counties, and Flagler College in

. The Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science also offers educational programs from its Mayo Clinic Jacksonville campus. File:UNF Student Union pic.jpg, University of North Florida File:JU2014.JPG, Jacksonville University File:Building A, FSCJ.JPG, Florida State College at Jacksonville File:Jax FL Waters College Admin Bldg sq pano02.jpg, Edward Waters University

Public libraries

The Jacksonville Public Library (Florida), Jacksonville Public Library had its beginnings when May Moore and Florence Murphy started the Jacksonville Library and Literary Association in 1878. The Association was populated by various prominent Jacksonville residents and sought to create a free public library and reading room for the city. Over the course of 127 years, the system has grown from that one room library to become one of the largest in the state. The Jacksonville library system includes the Main Library and 20 branches, ranging in size from the West Regional Library to smaller neighborhood libraries like Westbrook and Eastside. The Library annually receives nearly 4 million visitors and circulates over 6 million items. Nearly 500,000 library cards are held by area residents. On November 12, 2005, the new Jacksonville Public Library (Florida)#Main Library, Main Library opened to the public, replacing the 40-year-old Haydon Burns Library. The largest public library in the state, the opening of the new main library marked the completion of an unprecedented period of growth for the system under the Better Jacksonville Plan. The new Main Library offers specialized reading rooms, public access to hundreds of computers and public displays of art, an extensive collection of books, and special collections ranging from the African-American Collection to the recently opened Holocaust Collection.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roadways and bridges

There are seven bridges over the

at Jacksonville. They include (starting from furthest downstream) the Dames Point Bridge, Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge (Dames Point) (which carries Interstate 295 Eastern Beltway traffic), the Mathews Bridge, John E. Mathews Bridge, the Hart Bridge, Isaiah D. Hart Bridge, the Main Street Bridge (Jacksonville), John T. Alsop Jr. Bridge (Main Street), the Acosta Bridge, St. Elmo W. Acosta Bridge, the Fuller Warren Bridge (which carries Interstate 95 in Florida, I-95 traffic) and the Buckman Bridge, Henry Holland Buckman Bridge (which carries Interstate 295 (Florida), I-295 North/South traffic). Also, next to the Acosta Bridge is a large jackknife railroad bridge built in the 1920s by Henry Flagler's FEC Railroad. Beginning in 1953, tolls were charged on the Hart, Mathews, Fuller Warren and Main Street bridges to pay for bridge construction, renovations and many other highway projects. As Jacksonville grew, toll plazas created bottlenecks and caused delays and accidents during rush hours. In 1988, Jacksonville voters chose to eliminate toll collection and replace the revenue with a ½ cent local sales tax increase. In 1989, the toll booths were removed. Interstate 10 in Florida, Interstate 10 (I-10) and Interstate 95 in Florida, I-95 intersect in Jacksonville, forming the busiest freeway interchange in the region with 200,000 vehicles each day. I-10 ends at this intersection (the other end being in Santa Monica, California). Additionally, Florida State Road 202, State Road 202 (J. Turner Butler Boulevard) provides freeway access to the Jacksonville beaches from I-95 on the Southside. I-95 has a bypass route, Interstate 295 (Florida), I-295, which ring road, encircles the downtown area. The major freeway interchange at I-295 and SR 202 was finally completed on December 24, 2008. Florida State Road 9B, SR 9B was completed in late 2019, and connects I-295's southeast corner to the Bayard Area. The SR 9B freeway will be called I-795 when it is completed. U.S. Route 1 in Florida, U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) and U.S. Route 17 in Florida, US 17 travel through the city from the south to the north, and U.S. Route 23 in Florida, US 23 enters the city Concurrency (road), running concurrently with US 1. In downtown, US 23 splits from US 1 and quickly runs to its southern terminus. The eastern terminus of U.S. Route 90 in Florida, US 90 is in nearby

near the Atlantic Ocean. US 23's other end is in Mackinaw City, Michigan. * * * * * * * * Several regional transportation projects have been undertaken in recent years to deal with congestion on Jacksonville freeways. A $152 million project to create a high-speed interchange at the intersection of Interstates 10 and 95 began in February 2005, after the conclusion of

. Construction was expected to take nearly six years with multiple lane flyovers and the requirement that the interchange remain open throughout the project. The previous configuration used single lane, low speed, curved ramps which created backups during rush hours and contributed to accidents. Also, construction of SR 9B (future Interstate 795 (Florida), Interstate 795), is currently underway. File:I95555.jpg, I-95 passing by downtown Jacksonville File:Jacksonville Acosta Bridge Panorama.jpg, Acosta Bridge File:Mathews Bridge.jpg, Mathews Bridge File:Fuller Warren Bridge, Jacksonville FL 1 Panorama.jpg, Fuller Warren Bridge File:MSBJaxFL.jpg, Main Street Bridge (Jacksonville), Main St Bridge File:HartBridgeJax.jpg, Hart Bridge File:Dames Point Bridge, Jacksonville FL Pano 2.jpg, Dames Point Bridge File:Buckman Bridge, Jaxsonville FL Panorama 1 3667.jpg, Buckman Bridge

Transit system

The Jacksonville Skyway is an automated people mover connecting Florida State College at Jacksonville downtown campus, the Northbank central business district, Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, Convention Center, and Southbank locations. The system includes 8 stops connected by two lines. The existing train is a UMIII monorail built by Bombardier. The guideway consists of concrete beams which rest atop an unusually large support structure not used in most monorail systems. Maximum speed for the train is . A monorail was first proposed in the 1970s as part of a mobility plan hoping to attract interest from the Urban Mass Transit Administration's Downtown Peoplemover Program. The initial study was undertaken by the Florida Department of Transportation and Jacksonville's planning department, who took the Skyway project to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) in 1977. Following further development and a final 18-month feasibility study, the UMTA selected Jacksonville as one of seven cities to receive federal funding for an automated people mover. Two other related projects are Miami's Metromover and Detroit's People Mover. UMTA's approved plan called for the construction of a Phase I system to be built in three segments.

Modal characteristics

In 2014, the Jacksonville was among the top large cities ranked by percentage of commuters who drove to work alone (80 percent). According to the 2016 American Community Survey, 80 percent of city of Jacksonville residents commuted in single-occupancy vehicles, 8.6 percent carpooled, 2.6 percent used public transportation, and 2.7 percent walked. All other forms of transportation combined for 1.7 percent of the commuter modal share, while 4.5 percent worked out of the home. Some patterns of car ownership are similar to national averages. In 2015, 8.3 percent of city of Jacksonville households lacked a car, which increased slightly to 8.7 percent in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Jacksonville averaged 1.62 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.

Rail

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides daily service from the Jacksonville (Amtrak station), Jacksonville Amtrak Station on Clifford Lane in the northwest section of the city. Two trains presently stop there, the ''Silver Meteor'' and ''Silver Star (passenger train), Silver Star''. Jacksonville was also served by the thrice-weekly ''Sunset Limited'' and the daily ''Silver Palm (Amtrak), Silver Palm''. Service on the ''Silver Palm'' was cut back to

in 2002. The ''Sunset Limited'' route was truncated at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas as a result of the track damage in the Gulf Coast area caused by Hurricane Katrina on August 28, 2005. Service was restored as far east as New Orleans by late October 2005, but Amtrak has opted not to fully restore service into Florida. Jacksonville is the headquarters of two significant freight railroads. CSX Transportation, owns a large building on the downtown riverbank that is a significant part of the skyline.

and RailAmerica also call Jacksonville home.

Airports

Jacksonville is served by

, 13 miles north of downtown, with 82 departures a day to 27 nonstop destination cities. Airports in Jacksonville are managed by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA). Smaller aircraft use Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport in Arlington, Herlong Recreational Airport on the Westside, and Cecil Airport , at Cecil Commerce Center. The state of Florida has designated Cecil Airport a space port, allowing horizontal lift spacecraft to use the facility.

Seaports

Public seaports in Jacksonville are managed by the Jacksonville Port Authority, known as JAXPORT. Four modern deepwater () seaport facilities, including America's newest cruise port, make Jacksonville a full-service international seaport. In FY2006, JAXPORT handled 8.7 million tons of cargo, including nearly 610,000 vehicles, which ranks Jacksonville second in the nation in automobile handling, behind only the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The 20 other maritime facilities not managed by the Port Authority move about 10 million tons of additional cargo in and out of the St. Johns River. In terms of total tonnage, the Port of Jacksonville ranks 40th nationally; within Florida, it is third behind Tampa and Port Everglades. In 2003, the JAXPORT Cruise Terminal opened, providing cruise service for 1,500 passengers to Key West, Florida, the Bahamas, and Mexico via Carnival Cruise Lines ship, Grand Celebration, Celebration, which was retired in April 2008. For almost five months, no cruises originated from Jacksonville until September 20, 2008, when the cruise ship Carnival Fascination, Fascination departed with 2,079 passengers. In Fiscal year 2006, there were 78 cruise ship sailings with 128,745 passengers. A JaxPort spokesperson said in 2008 that they expect 170,000 passengers to sail each year. Jacksonville Fire and Rescue operates Fireboats of Jacksonville, Florida, a fleet of three fireboats. Its vessels are called on to fight approximately 75 fires per year. The Mayport Ferry connects the north and south ends of State Road A1A between Mayport and Fort George Island, and is the last active ferry in Florida. The state of Florida transferred responsibility for ferry operations to JAXPORT on October 1, 2007.

Utilities

Basic utilities in Jacksonville (water, sewer, electric) are provided by JEA (formerly the Jacksonville Electric Authority). According to Article 21 of the ''Jacksonville City Charter'',

JEA is authorized to own, manage and operate a utilities system within and outside the City of Jacksonville. JEA is created for the express purpose of acquiring, constructing, operating, financing and otherwise have plenary authority with respect to electric, water, sewer, natural gas and such other utility systems as may be under its control now or in the future.

TECO Energy, People's Gas is Jacksonville's natural gas provider. Comcast is Jacksonville's local cable provider. AT&T Corporation, AT&T (formerly BellSouth) is Jacksonville's local phone provider, and their U-Verse service offers TV, internet, and VoIP phone service to customers served by fiber-to-the-premises or fiber-to-the-node using a Video ready access device, VRAD. The city has a successful recycling program with separate pickups for garbage, Green waste, yard waste and recycling. Collection is provided by several private companies under contract to the City of Jacksonville.

Health

LifeFlight Helicopter Landing Pad - panoramio

Major players in the Jacksonville health care industry include St. Vincent's HealthCare, Baptist Health (Florida), Baptist Health and UF Health Jacksonville for local residents. Additionally, Nemours Foundation, Nemours Children's Clinic and Mayo Clinic Jacksonville each draw patients regionally. The TaxExemptWorld.com website, which compiles Internal Revenue Service data, reported that in 2007, there are 2,910 distinct, active, tax exempt/non-profit organizations in Jacksonville which, excluding Credit Unions, had a total income of $7.08 billion and assets of $9.54 billion. There are 333 charitable organizations with assets of over $1 million. The largest share of assets was tied to Medical facilities, $4.5 billion. The problems of the homeless are addressed by several non-profits, most notably the Sulzbacher Center and the Clara White Mission.

Notable people

Sister cities

Jacksonville's sister cities are: * Bahía Blanca, Argentina (1967) * Murmansk, Russia (1975), Dormant status * Changwon, South Korea (1983) * Nantes, France (1984) * Yingkou, China (1990) * Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa (2000) * Curitiba, Brazil (2009) * San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico (2009) In 2000, Sister Cities International awarded Jacksonville the Innovation Arts & Culture Award for the city's program with Nantes.

Notes

References

External links

*
Visit Jacksonville
official tourism website of Jacksonville * * {{#related:Florida Jacksonville, Florida, Cities in Duval County, Florida Cities in Florida Cities in the Jacksonville metropolitan area Consolidated city-counties County seats in Florida Populated coastal places in Florida on the Atlantic Ocean Populated places established in 1822 Populated places on the St. Johns River Port cities and towns of the Florida Atlantic coast 1822 establishments in Florida Territory Census balances in the United States Andrew Jackson