Summer 2019

BOB SELF (2)
performance space.
Just a block away, right next to the
VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on
A. Philip Randolph Boulevard, sits That
Bar — yes, that’s the name. It draws the
bulk of foot traffic from people leaving the
Arena, Daily’s Place or TIAA Bank Field,
and it hosts open-mic jam sessions every
Tuesday.
While Bay Street is the undisputed
commercial core for Downtown nightlife,
the one block of Adams Street between
Laura and Hogan (right around the corner
from Chamblin’s Uptown) carries a
disproportionate share of load, in terms of
foot traffic.
That block is home to perhaps the city’s
premier jazz club, Breezy, just a couple
doors down from the iconic speakeasy-themed
bar The Volstead, which has
helped drive the resurgence of nightlife in
the section of Adams Street that for many
years was the epicenter of live music in the
urban core. Both of these clubs have live
music every weekend and often during the
week, especially for Art Walk.
Right across the street sits De Real
Ting, a Jamaican restaurant and reggae/
dancehall club that is one of the city’s truly
unique cultural experiences.
If you’ve never been Downtown
after-hours, the best way to start would be
at Art Walk. Most of the eateries and retail
spaces stay open past business hours for
the heavy foot traffic, while all the bars and
clubs open a bit earlier with happy hour
specials of different kinds.
Hemming Park is at full capacity,
augmented by food trucks that come in
from other parts of the city. Artists, media,
politicians and other residents network.
Civic institutions like the Museum of Contemporary
Art and the main branch of the
Jacksonville Public Library are side-byside
across from the park.
If you’re looking for a slight change of
pace, with refined settings without the
noise of a typical bar or club, consider
checking out one of the assorted hotel
bars. Downtown, the Omni and the Hyatt
both have hotel bars that stay open fairly
late, as do several of the hotels right across
the river on the Southbank, easily accessible
via the Main Street Bridge. Both banks,
in fact, have riverwalks that certainly merit
the occasional romantic moonlight stroll.
We all know that parking Downtown
can be a challenge when there’s something
going on, whether it’s Art Walk,
Florida-Georgia, the 4th of July, the Jazz
Festival or Welcome to Rockville. There
are few such issues in most after-hours settings.
If there are big shows at the Florida
Theatre, the Times-Union Center, Daily’s
Place and/or the arena, most of the street
parking is clear no later than 11 or 11:30,
and any of the bars and clubs you might
visit are likely to have open spaces within
a block of their front door, or two blocks at
worst.
Residents of nearby neighborhoods
may even choose not to drive. Public
transportation is a non-starter after early
evening, but walking is easy if you’re close
enough. From Riverside, you can walk
there via the Northbank Riverwalk. San
Marco residents can cross the Main Street
Bridge, and Main Street is a straight shot
down from Springfield. That’s a 20- to
30-minute walk in either direction, and it’s
TOP: Sylvia Luddnyo takes a selfie as she has drinks
with friends at the Volstead on West Adams Street.
BOTTOM: Members of the Lets Ride Brass Band
perform on Laura Street during Art Walk.
generally safe, though walking in groups
at night is always a good idea anywhere in
Florida these days.
And there are always taxis or rideshares
for about the cost of a single craft
cocktail. Worth every penny, especially if
you’ve been drinking — and honestly, if
you’re running around Downtown after
dark, you may have had a few.
Shelton Hull has written for Folio Weekly
for 22 years. He also appears regularly on WJCT.
He lives in Riverside.
SUMMER 2019 | J MAGAZINE 89