Discover Jacksonville 2017

Daniel McGirtt and Don Juan McQueen,
who attempted to establish a plantation
on his 1791 Ortega land grant, but was
forced out by the attacks of Georgians
and the French. There was even a
persistent rumor that gangster George
“Machine Gun” Kelly and his wife were
the mysterious couple who abruptly left
their rented Grand Avenue home hours
before a midnight police raid in 1933.
Present-day Ortega is defined by its
rivers, tree-shaded home sites and parks,
and an eclectic collection of spectacular
architectural styles. Mediterranean
Revival homes sit side-by-side with
colonial-style frame houses. Grand
Tudors are alongside cedar-shingle
homes.
Perhaps the most obvious
characteristic of today’s Ortega is its
stability. It is well-known as a place to
raise a family and to remain even after
the children are grown and have left
home. Roosevelt Square, a collection of
restaurants and shops, is just across the
river, and the Ortega Village shopping
area has its own array of retail and
service businesses.
Also drawing residents is Ortega’s
physical beauty. The view of the city
from across the water is spectacular, and
there seems to be a park around every
corner.
Ortega, long known as home to “Old
Jacksonville” families, has waterfront
home prices that can reach into the
multi-millions, although the median
price is $277,500.
Riverside/Avondale
Preserving our roots
In 1868, Confederate veteran Miles
COMMUNITIES
Price sold 500 acres of his property,
known as Dell’s Bluff, to a Yankee,
Edward M. Cheney, and financial
backer John M. Forbes of Boston for
$10,000 in gold. Forbes and Cheney built
grand riverfront homes and waited for
the influx of residents. For the next 30
years, however, they remained the only
homeowners in the very rural area.
On May 3, 1901, in less than 24 hours,
downtown Jacksonville and the majority
of the city’s homes disappeared in a
blazing inferno, sparked by a fire that
spread from the Cleveland Fiber Factory.
With downtown Jacksonville in ruins
from the Great Fire, residents relocated
in droves to the suburbs, starting with
Riverside.
Soon the riverfront on Riverside
Avenue was lined with elegant
mansions and within 10 years was
A look at the many neighborhoods of Duval County
As you can see, Jacksonville has a variety of
communities spread across its large land mass.
Downtown spans the Northbank and Southbank at
a narrow spot on the St. Johns River. Just north of
there is Historic Springfield. North Jacksonville
goes from the Trout River to the Nassau County
line and from New Kings Road on the west
to the Intracoastal Waterway. Westside
runs from Riverside Avenue west
to Baker County and from
Interstate 10 to Clay County.
Arlington is bordered by
the river on the west
and north and the
Intracoastal on
the east.
River City
Marketplace
Southside, a huge area that runs on both sides of the river from
Arlington south to Baymeadows Road and the St. Johns County line,
includes such diverse areas as San Jose, San Marco and the St. Johns
Bluff Road area. Mandarin is the area south of Baymeadows, bordered
by Philips Highway to the west and Julington Creek to the south. The
Beaches are bordered by the Intracoastal and the Atlantic Ocean.
B
2017 DISCOVER JACKSONVILLE | 43