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Jacksonville is the most populous city in the state of Florida and the thirteenth most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Duval County. Since 1968, the city has shared a consolidated government with the county, making it the largest city in land area in the contiguous United States and the eleventh largest in the world. As of 2005, the city proper has an estimated population of 782,623 with a metropolitan population of more than 1.3 million.[http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/metropop/table01.xls

Jacksonville is located in the First Coast region of northeast Florida. The city is situated on the banks of the St. Johns River, which flows north and empties into the Atlantic Ocean about 20 miles east of downtown. The settlement that became Jacksonville was founded in 1791 as Cowford due to its location at a narrow point in the river where cattle were once driven across. The city was renamed in 1822 for Andrew Jackson, the first military governor of the Florida Territory and eventual seventh President of the United States.

History

The history of Jacksonville spans hundreds of years, and has been influenced by the area's unique geography and location. The first settlement in the area, called Ossachite, was made over 6,000 years ago by the Timucua Indians in the vicinity of modern-day downtown Jacksonville.

European explorers first arrived in 1562, when French Huguenot explorer Jean Ribault charted the St. Johns River. René Goulaine de Laudonnière established the first European settlement at Fort Caroline two years later.

The first permanent European settlement was founded as Cowford in 1791. Florida became a territory of the United States in 1821, and the following year Cowford acquired the name Jacksonville, after the first military governor of the Florida Territory and eventual seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson. The Florida Legislative Council approved a charter for a town government on February 9, 1832.

During the American Civil War, Jacksonville was a key supply point for hogs and cattle leaving Florida and aiding the Confederate cause. The city was blockaded by the Union, changing hands several times. Though no battles were fought in Jacksonville, the city was left in a considerable state of disarray after the war.

During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, Jacksonville and nearby St. Augustine became popular winter resorts for the rich and famous. Visitors arrived by steamboat and later by railroad. The city's tourism, however, was dealt major blows in the late 1800s by yellow fever outbreaks and the extension of the Florida East Coast Railroad to south Florida.

On May 2, 1901, downtown Jacksonville was ravaged by a fire that was started at a fiber factory. Known as the "Great Fire of 1901", it was one of the worst disasters in Floridian history, destroying the business district and rendering 10,000 residents homeless in the course of eight hours. Famed New York architect Henry Klutho was a primary figure in the reconstruction of the city.

In the 1910s, New York-based moviemakers who were in need of a winter headquarters were attracted to Jacksonville due to its warm climate, exotic locations, excellent rail access, and cheaper labor. Over the course of the decade, more than 30 silent film studios were established, earning Jacksonville the title "The Winter Film Capital of the World". The city's conservative political climate, however, as well as the emergence of southern California as a major film production center, quickly ended its film production industry.

During the Florida land boom of the 1920s, Jacksonville became known as the "Gateway to Florida". Hordes of train passengers passed through the city on their way to new tourist destinations.

In October 1940, Naval Air Station Jacksonville became the first navy installation in the city and a major training center during World War II. The opening of three additional naval bases in the 1940s led to a significant amount of Jacksonville's population growth, and by 1970 the city's first international airport was opened.

Jacksonville, like most other large cities in the United States, suffered from the effects of urban sprawl. To compensate for the loss of population and tax revenue, voters elected to consolidate the government of Jacksonville with the government of Duval County, making it the largest city in land area in the contiguous United States.

Geography and climate

Geography

Jacksonville is located at (30.319406, -81.659999). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2,264.5 km² (874.3 mi²). 1,962.4 km² (757.7 mi²) of it is land and 302.1 km² (116.7 mi²) of it (13.34%) is water.

Climate

Jacksonville has a humid subtropical climate, with mild weather during winters and hot weather during summers. High temperatures average 64 to 91 °F (18-33 °C) throughout the year.* High heat indices are not uncommon for the summer months in the Jacksonville area. High Temperatures can reach mid to high 90s with heat index ranges of 105-115 °F. The highest temperature ever recorded in Jacksonville was 105 °F (43 °C) on July 21, 1942. It is common for daily thunderstorms to erupt during a standard summer afternoon. These are caused by the heating of the land and water, combined with extremely high humidity.

Conversely, the area can experience freezes and hard freezes during the night at winter's peak. Occasionally, very cold weather can occur, although it is usually short lived. The coldest temperature recorded in Jacksonville was 7 °F (-14 °C) on January 21, 1985, a day that most locations in the eastern half of the US remember as the coldest day ever. Very rarely, the area will see snow, though when this happens the snow will usually melt before it touches the ground.

Jacksonville has suffered less damage from hurricanes than other east coast cities, but the city has experienced hurricane or near-hurricane conditions more than a dozen times since 1871.* The strongest effect on Jacksonville was from Hurricane Dora 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 110 mph, making it a strong Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

Rainfall averages around 52 inches a year, with the wettest months being June through September.

People and culture

Demographics

1870 - 1,000
1890 - 17,000
1900 - 28,000
1910 - 58,000
1920 - 92,000
1930 - 130,000
1940 - 173,000
1950 - 205,000
1960 - 201,000
1970 - 504,000
1980 - 541,000
1990 - 623,000
2000 - 735,617
2005 - 782,623
City of Jacksonville
Population by year
*

As of the census estimates of 2005, there were 782,623 people, 284,499 households, and 190,614 families residing in the city. The population density was 374.9/km² (970.9/mi²). There were 308,826 housing units at an average density of 157.4/km² (407.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.48% White, 34.03% Black or African American, 0.34% Native American, 2.78% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.33% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. 4.16% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Jacksonville has, as named by the census the 10th largest Arab population in the United States. Jacksonville also has the largest African-American population of any city in Florida at an estimated 240,000.

There were 284,499 households out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.07. In the city, the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,316, and the median income for a family was $47,243. Males had a median income of $32,547 versus $25,886 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,337. About 9.4% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.7% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

Religion

Jacksonville has a diverse religious population. There are 265,158 Evangelical Protestants and 89,649 Mainline Protestants who attend a total of 794 churches. Several of these are megachurches. There are 162,329 Roman Catholics who attend 51 Catholic churches within the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine. The greater metropolitan area also has a Jewish population of 7,300, over 3,000 members of various Eastern Orthodox church jurisdictions in 8 parishes or missions, and 18,050 of other religious affiliations. There are also small but active New Age and Neo-Pagan communities. [http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/metro/3600_2000.asp

Neighborhoods

As the largest city in land area in the contiguous United States, Jacksonville is informally divided into three major sections; Southside, which refers to everything between the St. Johns River and the Intercoastal Waterway; Northside, which is generally considered to be everything north of the St. Johns and east of New Kings Road; and Westside, which consists of everything west of the St. Johns River and south of New Kings Rd. (There is also a distinct part of the city known as "Eastside" which those unfamiliar with Jacksonville's overall geography sometimes mistakenly regard as one of the major divisions of town, rather than the localized neighborhood which it is. Additionally, with the rapid growth in the eastern parts of Duval County, the Intercoastal/Beaches area has emerged as a major section as well, but is not generally included in a Jacksonville list, since the Beaches communities lie outside of the Jacksonville city limits.) Each of these sections is divided into many neighborhoods, each of which has its own identity.
Southside
Neighborhoods include Arlington, Baymeadows, Deerwood, Lakewood, Mandarin, Sandalwood, San Jose, San Marco, and St. Nicholas.
=San Marco
= The area known as San Marco has a rich history, and, arguably, is one of the more cosmopolitan neighborhoods in Jacksonville. Originally a farm on the banks of the St. Johns River, the area now known as San Marco was called Oklahoma. One of the most prominent citizens of Oklahoma was Harrison Reed, who was elected Florida’s governor in 1868 and 1873. Reed’s sister, Margaret Reed Mitchell and her husband, Wisconsin railroad tycoon Alexander Mitchell, fell in love with Oklahoma and built their winter home, Villa Alexandria, on 140 acres on the river. By 1872, the palatial estate included a mansion (near the present corner of River Road and Arbor Lane), barns, tennis courts, a swimming pool, polo field, more than 2000 orange trees, bridle paths and formal gardens. By 1873, Mrs. Mitchell was one of Jacksonville’s most influential women and was active in many charitable causes.

The development of the “South Bank” began in earnest with the opening of the St. Johns River Bridge (renamed the Acosta) in 1921. Telfair Stockton bought 80 acres of land north of the Mitchell estate for the new “San Marco” subdivision. The business district was based on the Piazza di San Marco in Venice, Italy, which had impressed Mr. Stockton on a European trek. The clay pit of Gamble & Stockton Brick Company was transformed into Lake Marco. San Marco was an immediate success. In 1929, an additional subdivision, Villa Alexandria, was platted on the overgrown Villa Alexandria estate. The first two homes in the development were built on adjoining lots by Carl and John Swisher, who had just moved their King Edward Cigar Company from Chicago to Jacksonville.

Today San Marco, despite its tiny size, possesses a thriving commercial center, which includes restaurants, retail, and two theaters—one for movies and the other staging plays.

=Lakewood
= Lakewood, which lies in the area where San Jose Blvd. and University Blvd intersect, is a residential area with houses built in the 1950s. It has several churches, two shopping centers, and a plethora of streets named after major private colleges, such as Clemson, Cornell, Fordham, and Emory.

Northside
Neighborhoods include Biscayne, Dinsmore, Downtown, Durkeville, Eastside, Garden City, Grand Park, Hart Estates, Highlands, Lake Forest, La Villa, New Berlin, North Jacksonville, Oceanway, Springfield, Sheerwood, San Mateo, Turtle Creek and Yellow Bluff.

The Northside has been home to many famous individuals and has also produced many well known Jacksonville political figures. Former Jacksonville Mayor Jake Godbold and US Representative Corrine Brown call the Northside home. The late Bob Hayes was also a product of Jacksonville's Northside.

Most prominent among Northside schools is Stanton College Preparatory School. Stanton, which offers an International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, has been consistently ranked among the top high schools in the nation by the US News and World Report.

=Eastside
= Eastside is not only one of the oldest neighborhoods of the Northside, it is one of the oldest residential portions in all of Jacksonville. Eastside consists of those parts of downtown east of Main St. (hence the name) and south of Evergreen Cemetery. Not all of Eastside is residential; the port of Jacksonville occupies the waterfront in the Tallyrand area, for example, and some older industrial sites existed in the past, particularly along Liberty St. and Union St. After World War II, like many urban neighborhoods in the United States, Eastside saw a steady decline into poverty. Unlike Springfield—its next-door neighborhood across Main St.—Eastside has not yet benefited from a heavy influx of government investment to restore its former status.
=Oceanway
= As recently as the 1980s, Oceanway was still regarded as typifying perhaps the epitome of racism in Jacksonville. But in an area where African-Americans once dared not tread, a new Oceanway is emerging. Spurred in part by the building of First Coast High School in 1990, new housing developments have sprung up only a short distance from the trailer that only twenty years ago housed the self-proclaimed leader of Jacksonville's Ku Klux Klan. A new middle school and two new elementary schools have helped accelerate the influx of a more educated, more economically successful, and ethnically diverse population. Oceanway and the bordering neighborhoods of New Berlin and Yellow Bluff are now amongst the fastest growing areas of the city, and would literally be unrecognizable to someone who "came home" today after a twenty-year absence.

Westside
Neighborhoods include Argyle, Avondale, Cedar Hills, Dinsmore, Jacksonville Heights, Marietta, Maxville, Murray Hill, Paxon, Ortega, Venetia, Lackawanna, Sweetwater, Riverside and Whitehouse.
=Argyle
= Both one of the newest and largest neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Argyle has grown rapidly from its beginnings in the mid-1980s. Straddling the Duval-Clay county line, Argyle was originally accessible only from Orange Park. However, as it has expanded westward, Argyle is now connected to Jacksonville's Westside by a number of roads, including the Brannan Field-Chaffee Rd. thoroughfare. Argyle remains a popular choice amongst middle-class families settling in Jacksonville.
=Marietta
= Marietta was one of the small towns absorbed by the consolidation of Jacksonville with Duval County. Though technically a part of the city proper today, much of Marietta retains a small-town and even rural "feel", with many homeowners occupying lots of ten acres or more, on which they keep livestock or raise grain or maintain orchards.
=Paxon
= The Paxon neighborhood, which sits astride Edgewood Ave. South, was once a bastion of middle-class pride. One of the first areas in Jacksonville to racially integrate, it has now fallen on harder times. Its largest shopping center sits half-vacant, and its neighborhood high school was performing so poorly in the mid-1990s that an alumnus (Steve Pajcic) offered to pay the full tuition for four years of college to any student of Paxon High School who could simply get accepted into college. The school has since been converted into a magnet school for academically talented students.

Outside of Jacksonville
Cities outside of Jacksonville proper, yet in the surrounding Greater Jacksonville Metropolitan area include Atlantic Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, and Baldwin within Duval County, Callahan, Fernandina Beach, Hilliard, and Yulee in Nassau County, Fruit Cove, Switzerland, Ponte Vedra Beach, Hastings, and St. Augustine in St. Johns County, Green Cove Springs, Keystone Heights, Middleburg, Orange Park, and Penney Farms in Clay County, and Glen St. Mary and Macclenny in Baker County.

Annual cultural events and fairs

Jacksonville is home to a number of annual cultural events. The Jacksonville Jazz Festival is held every April and is the second-largest jazz festival in the nation. Other popular music festivals include Come Together Day, a massive hip hop event, The Spring Music Fest, a free concert sponsored by the city that features some of today's most popular artists, Planetfest, featuring a variety of modern rock artists, and Springing the Blues, a free outdoor blues festival held in Jacksonville Beach.

The Jacksonville Film Festival is held every May and features a variety of independent films, documentaries, and shorts screening at seven historic venues in the city. Past attendees of the festival have included director John Landis and Academy Award nominees Bill Murray and Graham Greene, both of whom were awarded the Tortuga Verde Lifetime Achievement Award.

Every July 4th is the Freedom, Fanfare & Fireworks celebration, one of the nation's largest fireworks displays, held at Metropolitan Park. The Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair is held every November at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds & Exposition Center, featuring an array of carnival rides, live entertainment, agriculture and livestock.

Other annual cultural events include the Great Atlantic Seafood and Music Festival in March, the Blessing of the Fleet Parade of Boats and the Jacksonville International Boat Show in April, the World of Nations Celebration in May, and the Jacksonville Light Parade in November.

Museums and art collections

The Museum of Science and History (MOSH) is found on Jacksonville's South Riverwalk, and features three stories of hands-on science and local history exhibits, including the Alexander Brest Planetarium.

The Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art (JMOMA) opened its 60,000 square foot facility in 2003, located adjacent to the Main Library downtown. Tracing its roots back to the formation of Jacksonville's Fine Arts Society in 1924, the museum features eclectic permanent and traveling exhibitions.

The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens holds a large collection of European and American paintings, as well as a world-renowned collection of early Meissen porcelain. The museum is surrounded by three acres of formal English and Italian style gardens, and is located on the bank of the St. Johns River.

There are also several historical properties and items of interest in the city, including the Klutho Building, the Old Morocco Temple Building, the Palm and Cycad Arboretum, and the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center.

Libraries

The 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 the next 127 years, the system has grown from that one room library to become one of the largest in the state. Now featuring twenty branches - from the 54,000 sq.ft. West Regional Library (located on Chaffee Road in the western part of the city) to smaller neighborhood libraries like Westbrook and Eastside (located in the central part of the city) - 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 300,000 sq.ft. Main Library opened to the public. The largest public library in the state, this opening was an historic event for the library system and the City of Jacksonville. It marks the completion of an unprecedented period of growth for the system under the Better Jacksonville Plan. It adds to the city's architectural and cultural landscape and provides a wonderful gathering place downtown for the entire community. The new Main Library offers specialized reading rooms, public access to hundreds of computers and extensive collection of books and other materials, public displays of art, and special collections ranging from the African-American Collection to the recently opened Holocaust Collection.

Media

The Florida Times-Union is the major daily newspaper in Jacksonville. Another daily newspaper is The Daily Record. Popular magazines include Folio Weekly, Jacksonville Free Press, Jacksonville Business Journal, The Jacksonville Advocate, The Florida Star, Saint Augustine Catholic and Jacksonville Magazine.

Jacksonville is served by television stations affiliated with major American networks including WTLV (NBC), WJXX (ABC), WTEV (CBS), WAWS (FOX/UPN), and WJWB (WB). PBS has two members stations in Jacksonville, WUFT, a Gainesville station available locally on cable, and WJCT. Some households also get WXGA, a PBS affiliate based in Waycross, Georgia, and an affiliate of Georgia Public Braodcasting which is based in Atlanta. WJXT is a former longtime CBS affiliate that turned independent in 2002.

Jacksonville's Radio market is dominated by two large ownership groups: Cox Radio and Clear Channel. The dominant AM radio station (in terms of ratings) is WOKV 690, which is also the flagship station for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The most popular radio station in regard to contemporary hits is WAPE 95.1. WJBT 92.7 is a hip-hop/R&B station, WPLA 107.3 is a modern rock and alternative music station, WFYV 104.5 - Rock 105 Jacksonville Classic rock, WQIK 99.1 is a country station as well as WGNE-FM 99.9 and WROO 93.3, WBGB 106.5 plays contemporary Christian music, WHJX 105.7 is a soul station, WFJO 92.5 plays music in Spanish like salsa, merengue, and reggaeton, and WJCT 89.9 is a local public radio station and NPR affiliate. See Radio Stations in Jacksonville, Florida for more radio stations in Jacksonville.

Parks and outdoor attractions

Jacksonville operates the largest urban park system in the United States, providing services at more than 337 locations on more than 80,000 acres (320 km²) located throughout the city. * Jacksonville gathers significant natural beauty from the St. Johns River and Atlantic Ocean. The Jacksonville Beaches area is a center of recreation and nightlife, and the many parks around the city have received international recognition. The city center includes the Jacksonville Landing shopping center and the Riverwalk. Downtown Jacksonville has a memorable skyline with the tallest building being the Bank of America Building, constructed in 1990 with a height of 617 ft (188 m). Other notable structures include the Modis Building (once the defining building in the Jacksonville skyline), originally built in 1972-74 by the Independent Life and Accident Insurance Company with its distinctive flared base, and the Riverplace Tower, which is the tallest precast, post-tensioned concrete structure in the world.

The Jacksonville Zoological Gardens boast the second largest animal collection in the state. The zoo features elephants, lions, jaguars (with a new exhibit, Range of the Jaguar, hosted by the owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Delores and Wayne Weaver), a multitude of reptile houses, free flight aviaries, and many other animals.

Performing arts

The beautiful Florida Theatre, opened in 1927, is located in downtown Jacksonville and is one of only four remaining high-style movie palaces built in Florida during the Mediterranean Revival architectural boom of the 1920s.

The Times-Union Center For The Performing Arts is comprised of three distinct halls: the Jim & Jan Moran Theater, the Jacoby Symphony Hall, and the Terry Theater. It was originally erected as the Civic Auditorium in 1962 and underwent a major renovation and construction in 1996. It is also the home of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1949.

The Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena is a 16,000-seat performance venue that attracts national entertainment, 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.

Sports

Club Sport League Stadium
Jacksonville Jaguars Football National Football League (NFL) - AFC ALLTEL Stadium
Jacksonville Barracudas Hockey Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) - Eastern Conference Veterans Memorial Arena
Jacksonville Suns Baseball Southern League - sd Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville
Jacksonville Stallions Arena Football National Indoor Football League (NiFL) Veterans Memorial Arena
Jacksonville Jam Basketball American Basketball Association (ABA) UNF Arena
Jacksonville Axemen Rugby League American National Rugby League (AMNRL) University of North Florida
Jacksonville Dixie Blues Women's Football Women's Football League Episcopal High School
Jacksonville University College Football Pioneer Football League TBA
Jacksonville University College Basketball NCAA - Atlantic Sun Conference Swisher Gymnasium
University of North Florida College Basketball NCAA - Atlantic Sun Conference UNF Arena
Jacksonville is home to a number of professional sports teams, the most famous of which is the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. With the exception of Green Bay (which looks at all of Wisconsin, including Milwaukee, as its market), Jacksonville is the smallest market in the NFL. There is an ABA expansion team, the Jacksonville Jam, scheduled to start playing in November of 2006. There is a Women's Football League team, the Jacksonville Dixie Blues. The Jacksonville Suns is a minor league baseball affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The ice hockey team is the Jacksonville Barracudas. In 2007, Jacksonville will become home to a National Indoor Football League expansion franchise,Jacksonville Stallions, and also a professional soccer team, the Jacksonville Northsiders FC who will set up play in the United Soccer League (USL).

Jacksonville was named as the site for Super Bowl XXXIX, becoming the third city in the state of Florida (Miami and Tampa being the others) to host the event. Jacksonville was notably smaller than the previous hosts and lacked adequate hotel space for such an event, so the city chartered several cruise ships to act as "floating hotels" in the St. John's River. The game was held on February 6, 2005 and featured halftime entertainment by former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney.

The Jacksonville area also boasts many excellent golf courses. In Ponte Vedra lies the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass, one of the most famous golf courses in the world and home to the annual PGA TPC (THE PLAYERS Championship) tournament(considered by the Media as Golf's unofficial 5th Major. Nearby St. Augustine is home to the World Golf Village and World Golf Hall of Fame.

Professional tennis is in town each year when the WTA holds the Bausch & Lomb Championships at Amelia Island Plantation near Fernandina Beach, just north of Jacksonville. Other sports events include the annual Kingfish Tournament held in July, the Florida-Georgia football game, commonly known as "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" held every October, the ACC Championship football and baseball, and the Gator Bowl held in early January. University of North Florida, Jacksonville University and Edward Waters College also field athletic teams in a number of sports. On March 2006, Jacksonville held the first round of the NCAA 68th Annual Division I Basketball Championship with Jacksonville University as host.

Film and television

In the early 1900s, New York-based moviemakers were attracted to Jacksonville's warm climate, exotic locations, excellent rail access, and cheaper labor, earning the city the title of "The Winter Film Capital of the World". Over 30 movie studios were opened and thousands of silent films produced between 1908 and the 1920s, when most studios relocated to Hollywood, California.

Since that time, Jacksonville has been chosen by a number of film and television studios for on-location shooting. Notable motion pictures that have been partially or completely shot in Jacksonville since the silent film era include Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988), Brenda Starr (1989), G.I. Jane (1997), The Devil's Advocate (1997), Ride (1998), Why Do Fools Fall In Love (1998), Forces of Nature (1999), Tigerland (2000), Sunshine State (2002), Basic (2003), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Lonely Hearts (2006), Monster House (2006), and Moving McAllister (2006).

Notable television series or made-for-television films that have been partially or completely shot in Jacksonville include Intimate Strangers (1986), Inherit the Wind (1988), Roxanne: The Prize Pulitzer (1989), A Girl of the Limberlost (1990), Orpheus Descending (1990), Pointman (1995), Saved by the Light (1995), The Babysitter's Seduction (1996), Sudden Terror: The Hijacking of School Bus #17 (1996), First Time Felon (1997), Gold Coast (1997), Safe Harbor (1999), The Conquest of America (2005), and Super Bowl XXXIX (2005).

Famous native individuals and groups

Economy

Jacksonville's location on the St. John's River and the Atlantic Ocean proved providential in the growth of the city and its industry. The largest city in the state, it is also the largest deepwater port in the south and a leading port in the U.S. for automobile imports, as well as the leading transportation and distribution hub in the state. However, the strength of the city's economy lies in its broad diversification. The area's economy is balanced among distribution, financial services, biomedical technology, consumer goods, information services, manufacturing, and other industries.

Jacksonville is a rail, air, and highway focal point and a busy port of entry, with an international airportJAX] and ship repair yards and extensive freight-handling facilities. Lumber, phosphate, paper, and wood pulp are the principal exports; automobiles and coffee are among imports. The city also has a large and diverse manufacturing base.

Jacksonville is home of several corporations and organizations:

See also: Famous businesses native to Jacksonville, Florida

Infrastructure

Government

History
After World War II, the government of the City of Jacksonville began to increase spending to fund new building projects in the boom that occurred after the war. Mayor Haydon Burns' "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. However, the development of suburbs and a subsequent wave of "white flight" left Jacksonville with a much poorer population than before. Much of the city's tax base dissipated, leading to problems with 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 that the City of Jacksonville begin annexing outlying communities in order to create the needed tax base to improve services throughout the county. Voters outside the city limits rejected annexation plans in six referendums between 1960 and 1965.

In the mid 1960s, corruption scandals began to arise among many of the city's officials, who were mainly elected through the traditional good ol' boy network. After a grand jury was convened to investigate, several officials were indicted and more were forced to resign. Consolidation, led by Sheriff Dale Carson, began to win more support during this period, from both inner city blacks (who wanted more involvement in government) and whites in the suburbs (who wanted more services and more control over the central city). The simultaneous disaccredation of all fifteen of Duval County's public high schools in 1964 added momentum to the proposals for government reform. 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.

A consolidation referendum was held in 1967, and voters approved the plan. On October 1, 1968, the governments merged to create the Consolidated City of Jacksonville.

Structure
The most noteworthy feature of Jacksonville government is its consolidated nature. The Duval County-Jacksonville consolidation eliminated any type of 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 of Duval County, are allowed not only to vote in elections for these positions, but to run for them as well. In fact, in 1995, Jacksonville elected John Delaney, a resident of Neptune Beach, as mayor.

Jacksonville uses the Mayor-Council form of city government, also called the Strong-Mayor form, in which mayors are the city's Chief Executive and Administrative officer. They hold veto power over all resolutions and ordinances made by the city council, and also have the power to hire and fire the head of various city departments.

The city council has nineteen members, fourteen of whom are elected from single-member districts, and five who are ostensibly elected at-large. However, although these five additional council members are elected at-large, they are required to meet an unusual residency requirement. In the early 1990s, because these five "at-large" members were generally all elected from the same area, voters approved a change in the city government which divided the city up into five districts unrelated to any other districts, solely for the purpose of electing these at-large council members. Thus, at-large council members are elected from each of these five districts by the voters of the county as a whole.

Some government services remained—as they had been prior to consolidation—independent of both city and county authority. In accordance with Florida law, the school board continues to exist with nearly complete autonomy. Jacksonville also has several quasi-independent government agencies which only nominally answer to the consolidated authority, including, electric authority, port authority, and airport authority. Fire, police, health and welfare, recreation, public works, and housing and urban development were all combined under the new government.

Four municipalities within Duval County voted not to join the consolidated government. These were the communities of Baldwin, Neptune Beach, Atlantic Beach and Jacksonville Beach, which consist of only 6% of the total population within the county. The four separate communities provide their own services, while maintaining the right to contract the consolidated government to provide services for them. In December of 2005, the city council of Baldwin voted to eliminate the Baldwin Police Department. If this move is consummated as planned in 2006, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office will assume policing responsibilities for the one-square mile town, located in the far western portion of Duval County.

Education

Jacksonville, along with the standard district schools, is home to two International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme ("IB") high schools. They are Stanton College Preparatory School and Paxon School for Advanced Studies. Jacksonville also has a notable magnet high school devoted to the performing and expressive arts, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. See also: List of high schools in Jacksonville

Jacksonville is home to Jacksonville University, the University of North Florida, Florida Community College at Jacksonville, Edward Waters College, Florida Coastal School of Law, Trinity Baptist College, Jones College, Florida Technical College, Logos Christian College, and Brewer Christian College.

Former mayor John Delaney has been president of the University of North Florida since leaving office in July 2003, parlaying his widespread popularity in the city into a position of leadership in the state university system.

Transportation

Interstate Highways 10 and 95 intersect in Jacksonville. Interstate Highway 10 ends at this intersection (the other end being in Santa Monica, California). The eastern terminus of US-90 is in nearby Jacksonville Beach near the Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, several other roads as well a major local expressway, J. Turner Butler Boulevard (SR 202) also connect Jacksonville to the beaches. Public transportation is provided by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority. The city has the Jacksonville Skyway monorail, which travels through the central business district and is fairly cheap to use. However, there are very few Skyway stations and as such, traffic is quite light. The Skyway has been criticized in that it goes from "nowhere to nowhere" along its limited route, which encompasses only downtown and is of no use to most commuters.

Interstate 95 has a bypass route, with I-295, which bypasses the city to the west, and SR-9A, bypassing the city to the east. I-295 and SR-9A circumscribe the most populated portion of Jacksonville, and will form a complete beltway once 9A is completed in 2006.

Jacksonville is also home to the world headquarters of CSX Transportation, which owns a large building on the riverbank downtown that is a significant part of the skyline.

There are also numerous bridges over the St. Johns River at Jacksonville. They include (starting from furthest downstream) the Dames Point Bridge, the Mathews Bridge, the Isaiah D. Hart Bridge, the Main Street Bridge, the Acosta Bridge, the Fuller Warren Bridge (which carries I-95 traffic) and the Buckman Bridge (which carries I-295 traffic).

Major commercial air service in Jacksonville operates out of Jacksonville International Airport. Smaller planes can fly to Craig Airport on the southside and Herlong Airport on the westside. The city also operates an airfield at Cecil Commerce Center that is intended for aerospace manufacturing companies.

Amtrak passenger railroad serves Jacksonville from a station on Clifford Lane in the Northwest section of the city.

Four modern seaport facilities, including America's newest cruise port, make Jacksonville a full-service international seaport. In 2004, JAXPORT handled 7.7 million tons of cargo, including 533,000 vehicles.

In 2003, the JAXPORT Cruise Terminal opened, providing cruise service to Key West, Florida, the Bahamas, and Mexico.

Sister cities

Jacksonville has several sister cities *. They are:
In 2000, The Sister Cities International awarded Jacksonville the Innovation Arts & Culture Award for the city's program with Nantes.

See also

References

External links

Government Resources

Non-Profits and Social Services

Higher Education


Cities in Florida | Cities named for Presidents of the United States | Coastal cities in the United States | Duval County, Florida | Jacksonville, Florida | Port cities

Jacksonville | Jacksonville, Florida | Jacksonville | Jacksonville (Florida) | Jacksonville (Florida) | Jacksonville (Florido) | Jacksonville | Jacksonville, Florida | Jacksonville (Florida) | ג'קסונוויל | Iacsonvilla | Jacksonville (Florida) | ジャクソンビル | Jacksonville (Floryda) | Jacksonville | Jacksonville, Florida | Jacksonville | Jacksonville | Jacksonville | 杰克逊维尔 (佛罗里达州)

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Jacksonville, Florida".

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