Welcome to Jacksonvil
le, Florida! Adventure, culture, history…these are words usually describing hot spots around the world. Many are surprised to find out that these same words are used to describe our great city of Jacksonville. It’s a city chock full of vibrant history and life, that spans as far back as 1791. Originally known as “Cowford”, since cattle used to cross a shallow area in the St. John’s River, Jacksonville is now named after the first military governor of Florida, Andrew Jackson in 1882. Only about 25 miles south of the Georgia border, Jacksonville is the most northern city on the First Coast and is the largest city by square mileage in the entire United States!
Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite! The “Great Fire of 1901” spawned this infamous line when an enormous fire burned the entire business district of downtown Jacksonville and 10,000 homes to the ground in just eight hours! In the early years of Jacksonville, mattresses were stuffed with Spanish moss, which still hangs from many North Florida trees, today. It all began at a local mattress production factory, when an ember blew out the window as workers were cooking off the little bugs that live in the Spanish moss. It is still, to this day, the largest urban fire in the Southeast region of the U.S. Amazingly, in just eleven years, over 13,000 buildings were rebuilt.
Lights, Camera, Action! Jacksonville was also the home of the original Hollywood! Around 1910, New York silent film pioneers chose Jacksonville for its exotic landscapes, warm climate, inexpensive labor and access to railways. More than thirty studios were built in a decade, earning Jacksonville great recognition for this new found entertainment and quickly named, “The Winter Film Capital of the World”! Unfortunately, Jacksonville’s conservative population ousted the increasingly popular big film production center, but today several original buildings remain as museums or other media businesses.
Jacksonville has a huge selection of entertainment and vibrant arts culture. It’s home of the Florida Theatre, where Elvis Presley performed his first indoor concert. Local Juvenile Court Judge Marion Gooding threatened Elvis with incarceration if he “wiggled” his hips during the concert, and proceeded to sit in the front row to ensure that Elvis obeyed. Instead, Elvis just “wiggled” his finger. The Times Union Center for the Performing Arts contains three exception recital halls and stages that attract everything from big Broadway productions and world-renowned symphonies to local ballet recitals and choirs. The largest public library in the state of Florida finds its home in downtown Jacksonvilleas it is enhanced by traveling exhibits, unique map collections and various other artwork. Lastly, Jacksonville has an amazing variety of museums including, but not limited to the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the Museum of Science and History (MOSH), etc.
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