San Marco (Jacksonville)
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San Marco is a neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida, south of Downtown across the St. Johns River. The neighborhood was formerly the independent city of South Jacksonville until it was annexed by Jacksonville in 1932. The neighborhood is primarily residential, with an integrated commercial sector known as San Marco Square.
The South Jacksonville community emerged after the
Geography
"San Marco" originally designated only one development within South Jacksonville, but the name is now used for much of the former city's territory, south and east of the
History
Early history
Permanent habitation on this part of the St. Johns River came only during Florida's
After the
South Jacksonville
Promoters marketed South Jacksonville as a suburb of Jacksonville, though access to the city across the river was limited to ferries.
Growth came rapidly over the next few years as the town saw the construction of a bank, a public school, a city hall, several sizable industries and a series of amusement parks at present-day
The bridge opened in 1921 and spurred a new wave of development in South Jacksonville. New subdivisions were platted in Oklahoma and Villa Alexandria, including South Shores, Alexandria Place, River Oaks, and the original San Marco development, while the old Red Bank plantation became South Riverside and Colonial Manor.[6] In 1857, the Red Bank Plantation House became a residence in the Colonial Manor neighborhood that grew around it; it is Jacksonville's second oldest residential building still in use.[17] The bridge triggered economic development in South Jacksonville as well, though it greatly reduced the ferry business, which disappeared entirely within twenty years.[6]
San Marco development
San Marco, which eventually gave its name to the former area of South Jacksonville, broke ground in 1925 as the city's most ambitious development. It was constructed over 80 acres of the former Villa Alexandria estate, which had deteriorated after Martha Reed Mitchell's death in 1902.
Construction on the first buildings started in 1926. San Marco was originally planned in the
Unlike most of Jacksonville's neighborhoods, San Marco's momentum and profusion of desirable properties carried it through the collapse of the 1920s
Annexation and later history
By 1931, many Duval County residents were warming to the idea of merging municipal and county governments to reduce bureaucracy, corruption and weak management. As a result, in 1932, citizens of both cities voted for the annexation of South Jacksonville into Jacksonville.
In 1937, Jacksonville annexed the neighborhoods on the old Red Bank property.[4][24] As development continued to spread south of the city limits, much of the former city of South Jacksonville came to be called "San Marco".[1] The area was increasingly integrated into Jacksonville's urban fabric, and in the 1980s the area along the St. Johns River, known as the Southbank, was designated part of the Downtown Jacksonville central business district and was developed primarily for commercial office uses.[4][5] Meanwhile, the neighborhood began to decline under the pressure of suburban sprawl. In 1975, the San Marco Preservation Society (SMPS) was formed to encourage historic preservation and to revitalize the commercial district. Subsequently, the society and the City of Jacksonville undertook a series of urban renewal projects, including renovating San Marco Square, building a new branch library and park complex, and converting the former South Jacksonville City Hall as the SMPS headquarters.[3][25]
San Marco Square
San Marco Square is the neighborhood's major commercial district. The triangular district is located at the three-way juncture of
Designed as the commercial heart of San Marco, the square had declined seriously by the 1970s, with many businesses closing. The original, compass-themed fountain was demolished. In the 1990s, the City of Jacksonville undertook a major renovation and streetscaping project, which included restoring the fountain with three lion statues inspired by the Piazza San Marco.[3][25] Since then, the square has become a popular commercial destination with many shops, restaurants and bars. In 2013, the square underwent another renovation project that rerouted the streets and expanded the small park in the center, named Balis Park, into a larger pedestrian green space.[29][30]
Features
San Marco has a number of parks of various sizes and purposes; the San Marco Preservation Society lists fourteen within its boundaries.
Notes
- ^ a b Wood, p. 260.
- ^ McEwen, pp. 59–68.
- ^ a b c Newman, Jennifer (2003). "San Marco History Includes Magnificent Mansions and a Business District Reminiscent of Venice, Italy". jaxhistory.com. Jacksonville Historical Society. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Wood, p. 252.
- ^ a b "Celebrating the River: A Plan for Downtown Jacksonville" (PDF). www.coj.net. City of Jacksonville. 2000. pp. 34–35. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Wood, p. 251.
- ^ Davis, Ennis (March 18, 2010). "Urban Neighborhoods: Miramar". Metro Jacksonville. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
- ^ Davis, Ennis (August 3, 2010). "Neighborhoods: South Riverside". Metro Jacksonville. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
- ^ Wood, pp. 229–231.
- ^ Wood, p. 22.
- ^ Wood, p. 229.
- ^ a b c d Wood, p. 250.
- ^ Wood, pp. 260–261.
- ^ Wood, pp. 250–251.
- ^ Wood, pp. 251, 253, 256.
- ^ Wood, pp. 85, 251.
- ^ Wood, p. 257.
- ^ Wood, p. 261.
- ^ Wood, pp. 260, 261.
- ^ Wood, pp. 261-262.
- ^ a b c Wood, p. 262.
- ^ Ward, p. 226.
- ^ Ward, pp. 226–237.
- ^ Ward, p. 227.
- ^ Star-Banner. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
- ^ Wood, pp. 262, 268.
- ^ Wood, p. 268.
- ^ Wood, p. 269.
- ^ Davis, Ennis (November 9, 2012). "A Public Square for San Marco". Metro Jacksonville. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
- ^ Davis, Ennis (August 21, 2013). "Before & After: San Marco Square's Balis Park". Metro Jacksonville. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
- ^ a b "Parks". smpsjax.com. San Marco Preservation Society. 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
- ^ Davis, Ennis (September 13, 2010). "The 14 Parks of San Marco". Metro Jacksonville. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
- ^ Wood, p. 255.
- ^ Charlie Patton (June 16, 2011). "Renovated Friendship Fountain will reopen Saturday". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
- ^ "South Jax City Hall". smpsjax.com. San Marco Preservation Society. 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
- ^ "Preservation Hall". smpsjax.com. San Marco Preservation Society. 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
References
- "Celebrating the River: A Plan for Downtown Jacksonville" (PDF). www.coj.net. City of Jacksonville. 2000. pp. 34–35. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- McEwen, John W. (2007). "The Vernacular Neighborhoods of Jacksonville, Florida: Can GIS Help Determine their Boundaries?". The Florida Geographer. 38: 54–71.
- Ward, James Robertson (1985). Old Hickory's Town. Old Hickory's Town, Inc. ASIN B000OL8E9O.
- Wood, Wayne (1992). Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage. ISBN 0-8130-0953-7.