Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville, Florida City of Jacksonville Top, left to right: Downtown Jacksonville, Riverplace Tower, statue in Memorial Park, Jacksonville Skyway, Florida Theatre, Prime F.

Top, left to right: Downtown Jacksonville, Riverplace Tower, statue in Memorial Park, Jacksonville Skyway, Florida Theatre, Prime F.

Flag of Jacksonville, Florida Flag Official seal of Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is positioned in Florida Jacksonville - Jacksonville Body Jacksonville City Council Major State Routes Florida 9.svg Florida 10.svg Florida 13.svg Florida 15.svg Florida 21.svg Florida 23.svg Florida A1 - A.svg Florida 202.svg Website City of Jacksonville Jacksonville is a primary seaport town/city and the seat of Duval County, Florida, United States.

With an estimated 913,010 inhabitants as of 2017, Jacksonville is the most crowded city in both the state of Florida and the southeastern United States. It is estimated to be the 12th most crowded city in the United States and is the biggest city by region in the adjoining United States. The Jacksonville urbane region has a populace of 1,626,611 and is the 34th biggest in the United States and fourth biggest in the state of Florida. The town/city is situated on the banks of the St.

Prior to European settlement, the Jacksonville region was inhabited by Native American citizens known as the Timucua.

In 1822, a year after the United States attained Florida from Spain, the town of Jacksonville was platted along the St.

Jacksonville is the cultural, commercial and financial center of North Florida.

A primary military and civilian deep-water port, the city's riverine locale supports two United States Navy bases and the Port of Jacksonville, Florida's third biggest seaport. The two US Navy bases, Blount Island Command and the close-by Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, form the third biggest military existence in the United States. Jacksonville serves as command posts for various banking, insurance, healthcare, logistics, and other establishments.

Jacksonville is also home to a several colleges and universities, including University of North Florida, Jacksonville University and Florida State College at Jacksonville.

Main articles: History of Jacksonville, Florida and Timeline of Jacksonville, Florida The region of the undivided town/city of Jacksonville has been inhabited for thousands of years.

At the time of contact with Europeans, all Mocama villages in present-day Jacksonville were part of the powerful chiefdom known as the Saturiwa, centered around the mouth of the St.

Johns River. One early map shows a village called Ossachite at the site of what is now downtown Jacksonville; this may be the earliest recorded name for that area. Ribault erected a contemporary column near present-day Jacksonville claiming the newly identified territory for France. In 1564, Rene Goulaine de Laudonniere established the first European settlement, Fort Caroline, on the St.

During the American Civil War, Jacksonville was a key supply point for hogs and cattle being shipped from Florida to aid the Confederate cause.

Although no battles were fought in Jacksonville proper, the town/city changed hands a several times between Union and Confederate forces.

The Skirmish of the Brick Church in 1862 just outside Jacksonville proper resulted in the first Confederate victory in Florida. However, Union forces captured a Confederate position at the Battle of St.

Johns Bluff dominant to the Union occupation of Jacksonville in 1862.

Union forces then retreated to Jacksonville and held the town/city for the remainder of the war.

During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, Jacksonville and close-by St.

From 1893 to 1938, Jacksonville was the site of the Florida Old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Home with a close-by cemetery. On May 3, 1901, downtown Jacksonville was ravaged by a fire that started as a kitchen fire.

Downtown Jacksonville in 1914 In the 1910s, New York based filmmakers were thriving to Jacksonville's warm climate, exotic locations, excellent rail access, and inexpensive labor.

During this time, Jacksonville also became a banking and insurance center, with companies such as Barnett Bank, Atlantic National Bank, Florida National Bank, Prudential, Gulf Life, Afro-American Insurance, Independent Life and American Heritage Life grow in the company district.

Jacksonville, like most large metros/cities in the United States, suffered from negative effects of rapid urban sprawl after World War II.

After World War II, the government of the town/city of Jacksonville began to increase spending to fund new enhance building projects in the boom that occurred after the war.

Haydon Burns' Jacksonville Story resulted in the assembly of a new town/city hall, civic auditorium, enhance library and other projects that created a dynamic sense of civic pride.

However, the evolution of suburbs and a subsequent wave of middle class "white flight" left Jacksonville with a much poorer populace than before.

In 1958, a study recommended that the town/city of Jacksonville begin annexing outlying communities in order to problematic the needed tax base to advancement services throughout the county.

News of Jacksonville's consolidation from The Florida Times-Union.

On October 1, 1968, the governments consolidated to problematic the Consolidated City of Jacksonville.

The Better Jacksonville Plan, promoted as a blueprint for Jacksonville's future and allowed by Jacksonville voters in 2000, authorized a half-penny revenue tax.

The NFL awarded Jacksonville an NFL charter called the Jacksonville Jaguars on November 30, 1993. In 2005, Jacksonville hosted Super Bowl XXXIX that was seen by an estimated 86 million viewers. In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew caused primary flooding and damage to Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach, the first such damage in the region since 2004. According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, the town/city has a total region of 874.3 square miles (2,264 km2), making Jacksonville the biggest city in territory area in the adjoining United States; of this, 86.66% (757.7 sq mi or 1,962 km2) is territory and 13.34% (116.7 sq mi or 302 km2) is water.

Johns County lie to the south; the Atlantic Ocean lies to the east, along with the Jacksonville Beaches.

Johns River, is positioned entirely inside Jacksonville.

The state of Florida, including Jacksonville, is a huge flat plateau with a high water table, and surface lakes are very shallow. The United States Geological Survey states that the highest point in Jacksonville is only 40 feet (12.2 meters) above sea level, making the region susceptible to flooding and storm surge. Soil composition is primarily sand and clay clean water limestone, so very several sinkholes develop; however deep, large diameter sinkholes do occur. See also: Architecture of Jacksonville and List of tallest buildings in Jacksonville Few structures in the town/city center predate the Great Fire of 1901. The town/city is home to one of the biggest collections of Prairie School style buildings outside of the Midwest. following the Great Fire of 1901, Henry John Klutho would come to influence generations of small-town designers with his works by both the Chicago School, championed by Louis Sullivan, and the Prairie School of architecture, popularized by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Jacksonville is also home to a notable compilation of Mid-Century undivided architecture. Local architects Robert C.

Jacksonville's early dominant position as a county-wide center of company left an indelibly mark on the city's skyline.

Many of the earliest high-rise buildings in the state were constructed in Jacksonville, dating as far back as 1902., The town/city last held the state height record from 1974 to 1981. The tallest building in Downtown Jacksonville's horizon is the Bank of America Tower, constructed in 1990 as the Barnett Center.

It has a height of 617 ft (188 m) and includes 42 floors. Other notable structures include the 37-story Wells Fargo Center (with its distinct ive flared base making it the defining building in the Jacksonville skyline), originally assembled in 1972-74 by the Independent Life and Accident Insurance Company, and the 28 floor Riverplace Tower which, when instead of in 1967, was the tallest precast, post-tensioned concrete structure in the world. Like much of the south Atlantic region of the United States, Jacksonville has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa), with mild weather amid winters and hot and humid weather amid summers.

Rainfall averages around 52 inches (1,300 mm) a year. Due to Jacksonville's low latitude and coastal location, the town/city sees very little cold weather, and winters are typically mild and sunny.

Such cold weather is usually short lived, as the town/city averages only 10 to 15 evenings at or below freezing and around 5 days where the high does not rise above 50 F (10 C). The coldest temperature recorded at Jacksonville International Airport was 7 F ( 14 C) on January 21, 1985.

Jacksonville has recorded three days with calculable snow since 1911, most recently a one-inch (2.5 cm) snow flurry in December 1989 and flurries in December 2010. Jacksonville has suffered less damage from hurricanes than most other east coast cities, although the threat does exist for a direct hit by a primary hurricane.

The town/city has only received one direct hit from a hurricane since 1871; however, Jacksonville has experienced hurricane or near-hurricane conditions more than a dozen times due to storms crossing the state from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, or passing to the north or south in the Atlantic and brushing past the area. 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.

Jacksonville also suffered damage from 2008's Tropical Storm Fay which crisscrossed the state, bringing parts of Jacksonville under darkness for four days.

Similarly, four years before to this, Jacksonville was inundated by Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Jeanne, which made landfall south of the area.

These tropical cyclones were the costliest indirect hits to Jacksonville.

Hurricane Floyd in 1999 caused damage mainly to Jacksonville Beach.

During Floyd, the Jacksonville Beach pier was severely damaged, and later demolished.

Tropical Storm Bonnie would cause minor damage in 2004, spawning a minor tornado in the process. On May 28, 2012, Jacksonville was hit by Tropical Storm Beryl, packing winds up to 70 miles per hour (113 km/h) which made landfall near Jacksonville Beach.

Climate data for Jacksonville, Florida (Jacksonville Int'l), 1981 2010 normals, extremes 1871 present The City of Jacksonville has a unique park system, with various lands directed by the National Park Service, Florida State Parks and the City of Jacksonville Department of Parks and Recreation.

Jacksonville operates the biggest urban park fitness in the United States, providing facilities and services at more than 337 locations on more than 80,000 acres (320 km2) positioned throughout the city. Jacksonville appreciates natural beauty from the St.

There are a several state parks inside the town/city limits of Jacksonville, these include Amelia Island State Park, Big Talbot Island State Park, Fort George Island Cultural State Park, George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier State Park, Little Talbot Island State Park, Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park and Yellow Bluff Fort Historic State Park.

See also: List of parks in Jacksonville Johns River Park at the west end of Downtown Jacksonville's Southbank Riverwalk.

It opened in 1965 as the world's biggest and tallest fountain, and has been one of Jacksonville's most recognizable and prominent attractions.

Designed by Jacksonville architect Taylor Hardwick in 1963 and, in 2011 the town/city instead of a $3.2 million renovation to the fountain and the encircling park.

Hanna Park is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) enhance beach and town/city park positioned near Mayport in the Jacksonville Beaches area.

The region was established as a enhance square in 1857 by Isaiah Hart, founder of Jacksonville.

The first Wednesday of every month, Hemming Park is converted into the centerpiece of Jacksonville's Downtown Art Walk.

The Jacksonville Landing is a prominent riverfront dining and shopping venue, accessible by River Taxi from the Southbank Riverwalk.

It is the locale of Friendship Fountain, one of the most recognizable and prominent attractions for locals as well as tourists in Jacksonville.

A ceremony is held each Memorial Day recognizing any service woman or man from Jacksonville who died in the previous year. Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens broke ground on a new center in April 2007 and held their grand opening on November 15, 2008.

Jacksonville National Cemetery Tree Hill Nature Center is a nature preserve and surroundingal education center positioned five minutes from Downtown Jacksonville.

Main article: Neighborhoods of Jacksonville, Florida There are more than 500 neighborhoods inside Jacksonville's vast area. These include Downtown Jacksonville and its encircling neighborhoods, including La - Villa, Brooklyn, Riverside and Avondale, Springfield, Eastside, and San Marco. Additionally, greater Jacksonville is traditionally divided into a several amorphous areas, comprising large parts of Duval County.

There are four municipalities that have retained their own governments since consolidation; these are Baldwin and the three Jacksonville Beaches suburbs of Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, and Jacksonville Beach. Four of Jacksonville's neighborhoods, Avondale, Ortega, Springfield, and Riverside, have been identified as U.S.

Jacksonville is the most crowded city in Florida, and the twelfth most crowded city in the United States.

Jacksonville has the country's tenth-largest Arab population, with a total populace of 5,751 as stated to the 2000 United States Census. Jacksonville has Florida's biggest Filipino American community, with 25,033 in the urbane region as of the 2010 Census.

Much of Jacksonville's Filipino improve served in or has ties to the United States Navy. As of 2010, those of Hispanic or Latino lineage accounted for 7.7% of Jacksonville's population.

As of 2010, those of African lineage accounted for 30.7% of Jacksonville's population, which includes African Americans.

As of 2010, those of (non-Hispanic white) European lineage accounted for 55.1% of Jacksonville's population.

As of 2010, those of Asian lineage accounted for 4.3% of Jacksonville's population.

As of 2010, 87.1% of Jacksonville's populace age five and over spoke only English at home while 5.8% of the populace spoke Spanish at home.

Jacksonville has a diverse theological population.

According to the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA), in 2010 the Jacksonville urbane region had an estimated 365,267 Evangelical Protestants, 76,100 Mainline Protestants, and 56,769 Black Protestants, though figures for the latter were incomplete.

Jacksonville is part of the Catholic Diocese of St.

Augustine, which covers seventeen counties in North Florida. ARDA estimated 133,155 Catholics attending 25 churches in the Jacksonville urbane region in 2010. One notable Catholic church in Jacksonville is the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, a minor basilica added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. There are also two Eastern Catholic churches, one of the Syriac Catholic Church and one of the Maronite Church. According to ARDA, in 2010 there were 2520 Eastern Orthodox Christians representing four churches in the Eastern Orthodox communion, as well as congregations of Syriac Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Coptic Orthodox Christians. ARDA also estimated 4,595 Hindus, 3,530 Buddhists and 650 Baha'is in the Jacksonville region in 2010. For more details on this topic, see List of companies based in the Jacksonville area.

Jacksonville's locale on the St.

Jacksonville has the biggest deepwater port in the South (as well as the second-largest port on the U.S.

Jacksonville is home to many prominent corporations and organizations, including the command posts of four Fortune 500 companies: CSX Corporation, Fidelity National Financial, Fidelity National Information Services and Southeastern Grocers. Interline Brands is based in Jacksonville and is presently owned by The Home Depot. The Florida East Coast Railway, Swisher International, Inc., and the large short line barns holding business Rail - America are also based in Jacksonville.

In 2008, Jacksonville had approximately 2.8 million visitors who stayed overnight, spending nearly $1 billion.

Locally headquartered Atlantic National Bank, Florida National Bank and Barnett Bank dominated the trade in Florida from the turn of the 20th century through the 1980s, before all being acquired in a nationwide wave of consolidation s and acquisitions throughout the entire financial sector.

Johns River in Downtown Jacksonville, Ever - Bank holds the title of biggest bank in the state by deposits. The town/city is home to other notable financial services establishments including Ameris Bancorp, Atlantic Coast Financial, Black Knight Financial Services, Med - Mal Direct Insurance Company, US Assure, and Vy - Star Credit Union.

The town/city is also home to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Jacksonville Branch. Jacksonville's financial zone has benefited from a quickly changing company culture, as have other Sunbelt metros/cities like Atlanta, Tampa, and Charlotte.

In a concept known as nearshoring, financial intuitions are shifting operations away from high-cost addresses like Wall Street, and have even shifted trading functions to Jacksonville. With mostly low-cost real estate, easy access to New York City, high-quality of life and 19,000 financial zone employees, Jacksonville has turn into an appealing option for relocating staff. Perhaps the best example of this is the expansion of Deutsche Bank's existence in the city.

Jacksonville is home to Deutsche Bank's second biggest US operation, only New York is larger. Other establishments with a notable existence in Jacksonville include Macquarie Group, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Citizens Property Insurance, Fidelity Investments, Ally Financial and Aetna. Jacksonville is a rail, air, and highway focal point and a busy port of entry, with Jacksonville International Airport, ship repair yards and extensive freight-handling facilities.

The city's manufacturing base provides just 4.5% of small-town jobs, versus 8.5% nationally. According to Forbes in 2007, Jacksonville, Florida ranked 3rd in the top ten U.S.

Cities to relocate to find a job. Jacksonville was also the 10th quickest burgeoning city in the U.S. To accentuate the city's transit company and capabilities, the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce filed Jacksonville America's Logistics Center as a trademark on November 9, 2007.

It was formally registered on August 4, 2009. Cornerstone began promoting the town/city as "Jacksonville: America's Logistics Center" in 2009.

The Port of Jacksonville, a seaport on the St.

Covering a total region of 22,939 acres (92.83 km2), it was the biggest military base in the Jacksonville area.

Main article: Media in Jacksonville, Florida The Florida Times-Union is the primary daily journal in Jacksonville and the First Coast.

Weekly papers include the Jacksonville Business Journal, an American City Business Journals printed announcement concentrated on company news, Folio Weekly, the city's chief alternative weekly, and The Florida Star and the Jacksonville Free Press, two weeklies catering to African Americans.

Metro Jacksonville is an online-only publication.

Jacksonville is the 47th biggest small-town tv market in the United States,. Even with its large population, Jacksonville has always been a medium-sized market because the encircling suburbs and non-urban areas are not much larger than the town/city itself.

Jacksonville is the 49th biggest small-town radio market in the United States, and is dominated by the same two large ownership groups that dominate the radio trade athwart the United States: Cox Radio and i - Heart - Media. The dominant AM airways broadcast in terms of ratings is WOKV 690 - AM, which is also the flagship station for the Jacksonville Jaguars. In May 2013, WOKV began simulcasting on 104.5 FM as WOKV FM.

The NPR and PRX radio show, State of the Re:Union, hosted by performance poet and playwright, Al Letson, is headquartered and produced in Jacksonville.

Jacksonville is home to multiple military facilities, and with Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay close-by gives Jacksonville the third biggest naval existence in the country. Only Norfolk, Virginia and San Diego, California are bigger.

The military is by far the biggest employer in Jacksonville and its total economic impact is approximately $6.1 billion annually.

Several veterans service organizations are also headquartered in Jacksonville including Wounded Warrior Project. Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a military airport positioned 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the central company district.

USS Jacksonville, a nuclear-powered Los Angeles class submarine, is a US Navy ship titled for the city.

The Florida Air National Guard is based at Jacksonville International Airport.

Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville is positioned on the St.

Station Mayport is co-located with Sector Jacksonville and includes 25-foot (7.6 m) Response Boats, and 47-foot (14 m) Motor Life Boats.

See also: List of attractions and affairs in Jacksonville, Florida In sports, the annual Gate River Run has been held annually since March 1977. It has been the US National 15-kilometre (9.3 mi) road race Championship since 1994 and is the biggest race of its distance in the nation with over 13,000 runners, spectators, and volunteers, making it Jacksonville's biggest participation sporting event. In college football, the Gator Bowl is held on January 1.

Also, the Florida Georgia game (also known as the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party"), the annual college football game between the rival Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs has been held in Jacksonville almost annual since 1933.

For six days in July the Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament is held for fishermen of all skills.

Jacksonville is also home of River City Pride which is Northeast Florida's biggest Gay Pride parade.

The Jacksonville Jazz Festival, held downtown, is the second-largest jazz festival in the nation, while Springing the Blues, one of the earliest and biggest blues festivals, has been held in Jacksonville Beach since 1990. The World of Nations Celebration has been held in Metropolitan Park since 1993, and features a number of affairs, food and souvenirs from various countries.

Other affairs include the Blessing of the Fleet held in March since 1985 and the Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair in November at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds and Exposition Center featuring games, rides, food, entertainment and livestock exhibition.

Holiday celebrations include the Freedom, Fanfare & Fireworks celebration on July 4, the lighting of Jacksonville's official Christmas tree at the Jacksonville Landing on the day after Thanksgiving and the Jacksonville Light Parade of boats the following day.

The Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, which opened in 2003, is a 16,000-seat performance venue that attracts nationwide entertainment, sporting affairs and also homes the Jacksonville Sports Hall of Fame.

It replaced the outdated Jacksonville Coliseum that was assembled in 1960 and completed on June 26, 2003.

The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens boasts the second biggest animal compilation in the state.

Adventure Landing is an amusement park with locations in Jacksonville and Jacksonville Beach.

The Jacksonville Beach locale contains Shipwreck Island, Duval County's only waterpark.

Theatre Jacksonville was organized in 1919 as the Little Theatre and is one of the earliest continually producing improve theatres in the United States.

There are also a number of prominent improve theatres such as Players by the Sea positioned in Jacksonville Beach.

The Murray Hill Art Center was reopened in February 2012 through a partnership of the Jacksonville Parks and Recreation (Jax - Parks) and the Art League of Jacksonville, a nonprofit dedicated to arts education. The center is positioned in the historic Murray Hill region and offers improve arts classes as well as shared studio space for aspiring artists.

Jacksonville has two fully enclosed shopping malls.

The Orange Park Mall is another mall positioned just south of the town/city in the suburb of Orange Park, Florida, in Clay County, off of Blanding Boulevard (State Road 21).

Main article: Media in Jacksonville, Florida A handful of momentous literary works are associated with Jacksonville and the encircling area.

A travel guide and memoir about her winters in the town of Mandarin, Florida, it was one of the first guides written about Florida and stimulated Florida's first boom of tourism and residentiary evolution in the 1880s.

It is positioned in the Five Points section of town and was retitled the Five Points Theater in 1949. The Florida Theatre, opened in 1927, is positioned in downtown Jacksonville and is one of only four remaining high-style movie palaces assembled in Florida amid the Mediterranean Revival architectural boom of the 1920s.

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.

Notable tv series or made-for-television films that have been partially or completely shot in Jacksonville include Inherit the Wind (1988), Orpheus Descending (1990), Saved by the Light (1995), The Babysitter's Seduction (1996), First Time Felon (1997), Safe Harbor (2009), Recount (2008), American Idol (2009), and Ash vs Evil Dead (2015).

The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville (MOCA Jacksonville) is a intact art exhibition funded and directed as a "cultural resource" of the University of North Florida.

Tracing its roots back to the formation of Jacksonville's Fine Arts Society in 1924, it opened its current 60,000-square-foot (6,000 m2) facility next to the Main Library downtown in 2003.

Alexander Brest, founder of Duval Engineering and Contracting Co., was also the benefactor for the Alexander Brest Museum and Gallery on the ground of Jacksonville University.

The Jacksonville Maritime Museum, positioned in the Jacksonville Landing, includes models of ships, paintings, photographs and artifacts dating to 1562. Florida State College at Jacksonville has the Kent Gallery on their westside ground and the Wilson Center for the Arts at their chief campus.

The Jacksonville Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum is a branch of the world's biggest private compilation of initial manuscripts and documents.

It homes the Jacksonville Fire Museum and features 500+ artifacts including an 1806 hand pumper.

The Jacksonville Historical Society showcases two restoration projects: the 1887 St.

The Ritz Theatre, opened in 1929, is positioned in the La - Villa neighborhood of the northern part of Jacksonville's downtown.

The Jacksonville music scene was active in the 1930s in La - Villa, which was known as "Harlem of the South". Black musicians from athwart the nation visited Jacksonville to play standing room only performances at the Ritz Theatre and the Knights of Pythias Hall.

The Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts consists of three distinct halls: the Jim & Jan Moran Theater, a venue for touring Broadway shows; the Jacoby Symphony Hall, home of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra; and the Terry Theater, intended for small shows and recitals.

Main article: Sports in Jacksonville The Star-Spangled Banner performed before a Jacksonville Jaguars game at Ever - Bank Field.

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp Baseball Southern (AA) Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville (11,000) Jacksonville Giants Basketball ABA Veterans Memorial Arena (14,100) Jacksonville Sharks Indoor football NAL Veterans Memorial Arena (13,000) Jacksonville Axemen Rugby league USARL Hodges Stadium (12,000) Jacksonville Armada FC Soccer NASL Hodges Stadium (12,000) Jacksonville Cannons Ultimate AUDL George H.

Jacksonville is home to one primary league sports team, the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL).

The Jaguars joined the NFL as an expansion team in the 1995 season; they play their home games at Ever - Bank Field. In 2005, Jacksonville hosted Super Bowl XXXIX.

Jacksonville is also home to a several minor league-level teams.

The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, a class Double-A baseball team, have played in Jacksonville continuously since 1970, longer than any other Double-A team has been in its city, and are the top-selling charter in the Southern League. The Jacksonville Sharks, who began play in 2010, were the champions of the Arena Football League's Arena - Bowl XXIV in 2011 and now play in the National Arena League.

The Jacksonville Axemen are a semi-professional rugby league team established in 2006, and now play in the USA Rugby League. The Jacksonville Giants basketball team started play in the new American Basketball Association in December 2010.

The Giants won the 2012 ABA Championship in March 2012 in Tampa, Florida. The Jacksonville Armada FC is a soccer team that began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2015. College sports, especially college football, are prominent in Jacksonville.

The town/city hosts the Florida Georgia game, an annual college football game between the University of Florida and the University of Georgia, and the Gator Bowl, a post-season college bowl game.

Jacksonville's two universities compete in NCAA Division I: the University of North Florida Ospreys and the Jacksonville University Dolphins, both in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Main article: Government of Jacksonville James Building, presently housing Jacksonville City Hall.

The most noteworthy feature of Jacksonville government is its merged nature, an arrangement brought about in the 1968 Jacksonville Consolidation.

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, in the order given.

Because of this, voters who live outside of the town/city limits of Jacksonville but inside Duval County are allowed to vote in elections for these positions and to run for them.

In fact, in 1995, John Delaney, a resident of Neptune Beach, was propel mayor of the town/city of Jacksonville.

Jacksonville is organized under the town/city charter and provides for a "strong" mayor council form of town/city government.

The Jacksonville City Council comprises nineteen members, fourteen representing electoral districts and five more in at-large seats.

Law enforcement is provided by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, headed by an propel sheriff, enhance schools are overseen by Duval County Public Schools, and a several services are provided by largely autonomous authorities.

Jacksonville also has a several quasi-independent government agencies which only nominally answer to the merged authority, including electric authority, port authority, transit authority, housing authority and airport authority.

The Jacksonville Housing Authority (JHA) is the quasi-independent agency responsible for enhance housing and subsidized housing in Jacksonville.

The Mayor and City Council of Jacksonville established the JHA in 1994 to problematic an effective, improve service oriented, enhance housing agency with innovative ideas and a different attitude.

Main article: Politics of Jacksonville Jacksonville and Duval County historically maintained separate police agencies: the Jacksonville Police Department and Duval County Sheriff's Office.

The JSO is headed by the propel Sheriff of Jacksonville, presently Mike Williams, and is responsible for law enforcement and corrections in the county.

Main article: Education in Jacksonville, Florida For more details on this topic, see List of universities and universities in urbane Jacksonville.

Jacksonville is home to a number of establishments of higher education.

The University of North Florida (UNF), opened in 1972, is a enhance institution and a member of the State University System of Florida.

Jacksonville University (JU) is a private institution established in 1934.

Edward Waters College, established in 1866, is the earliest college in Jacksonville and the state's earliest historically black college.

Florida State College at Jacksonville is a state college and a member of the Florida College System, offering two-year associate's degrees as well as some four-year bachelor's degrees.

Other universities and universities in Jacksonville include Florida Coastal School of Law and Jones College. Also in the region are St.

Jacksonville University Florida State College at Jacksonville See also: List of high schools in Jacksonville Public major and secondary schools in Jacksonville and Duval County are administered by Duval County Public Schools, which is governed by an elected, seven-member Duval County School Board.

It administers 172 total schools, including 103 elementary schools, 25 middle schools, 19 high schools, 3 K 8 schools, and 1 6 12 school, as well as 13 charter schools and a juvenile justice school program. Of these, 62 are designated magnet schools. Three of Jacksonville's high schools, Stanton College Preparatory School, Darnell-Cookman School of the Medical Arts and Paxon School for Advanced Studies regularly appear at the top of Newsweek magazine's annual list of the country's top enhance high schools, coming in in the order given at #3 #7, and #8 in the 2010 edition. Five other schools, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts (#33), Mandarin High School (#97), Duncan U.

Augustine operates a number of Catholic schools in Jacksonville, including two high schools, Bishop Kenny High School and Bishop John J.

Snyder High School. Other private schools in Jacksonville include Arlington Country Day School, the Bolles School, Trinity Christian Academy, and the Episcopal School of Jacksonville. Main article: Jacksonville Public Library (Florida) Jacksonville Main Library.

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 inhabitants and sought to problematic a no-charge enhance library and reading room for the city. The Jacksonville library fitness has twenty chapters, ranging in size from the 54,000 sq ft (5,000 m2) West Regional Library to lesser neighborhood libraries like Westbrook and Eastside.

The biggest enhance library in the state, the opening of the new chief library marked the culmination of an unprecedented reconstructionof expansion for the fitness under the Better Jacksonville Plan. The new Main Library offers specialized reading rooms, enhance access to hundreds of computers and enhance displays of art, an extensive compilation of books, and special collections ranging from the black Collection to the recently opened Holocaust Collection. Main article: Transportation in Jacksonville, Florida Johns River at Jacksonville.

As Jacksonville grew, toll plazas created bottlenecks and caused delays and accidents amid rush hours.

Interstate 10 (I-10) and I-95 intersect in Jacksonville, forming the busiest intersection in the region with 200,000 vehicles each day. I-10 ends at this intersection (the other end being in Santa Monica, California).

Turner Butler Boulevard) joins Jacksonville to the beaches.

I-95 passing by downtown Jacksonville Main article: Jacksonville Transportation Authority The Jacksonville Skyway is an automated citizens mover connecting Florida State College at Jacksonville downtown campus, the Northbank central company district, Convention Center, and Southbank locations.

The initial study was undertaken by the Florida Department of Transportation and Jacksonville's planning department, who took the Skyway universal to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) in 1977.

Following further evolution and a final 18-month feasibility study, the UMTA chose Jacksonville as one of seven metros/cities to receive federal funding for an automated citizens mover.

Amtrak, the nationwide passenger rail system, provides daily service from the Jacksonville Amtrak Station on Clifford Lane in the northwest section of the city.

Florida East Coast Railway also calls Jacksonville home.

Main article: Jacksonville Aviation Authority Jacksonville is served by Jacksonville International Airport (IATA: JAX, ICAO: KJAX, FAA LID: JAX), 13 miles north of downtown, with 82 departures a day to 27 nonstop destination cities.

Airports in Jacksonville are managed by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA).

Smaller airplane use Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport (IATA: CRG, ICAO: KCRG, FAA LID: CRG) in Arlington, Herlong Recreational Airport (ICAO: KHEG, FAA LID: HEG) on the Westside, and Cecil Airport (IATA: VQQ, ICAO: KVQQ, FAA LID: VQQ), at Cecil Commerce Center.

Main article: Jacksonville Port Authority Public seaports in Jacksonville are managed by the Jacksonville Port Authority, known as JAXPORT.

Four undivided deepwater (38 ft) seaport facilities, including America's newest cruise port, make Jacksonville a full-service global seaport.

In FY2006, JAXPORT handled 8.7 million tons of cargo, including nearly 610,000 vehicles, which rates Jacksonville 2nd in the country in automobile handling, behind only the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. In terms of total tonnage, the Port of Jacksonville rates 40th nationally; inside Florida, it is 3rd behind Tampa and Port Everglades.

For almost five months, no cruises originated from Jacksonville until September 20, 2008, when the cruise ship Fascination departed with 2,079 passengers. In Fiscal year 2006, there were 78 cruise ship sailings with 128,745 passengers. A Jax - Port spokesperson said in 2008 that they expect 170,000 passengers to sail each year. Main article: Jacksonville Electric Authority Basic utilities in Jacksonville (water, sewer, electric) are provided by JEA (formerly the Jacksonville Electric Authority).

According to Article 21 of the Jacksonville City Charter, JEA is authorized to own, manage and operate a utilities fitness inside and outside the City of Jacksonville.

AT&T (formerly Bell - South) is Jacksonville's small-town phone provider, and their U-Verse service offers TV, internet, and Vo - IP phone service to customers served by fiber-to-the-premises or fiber-to-the-node using a VRAD.

Collection is provided by a several private companies under contract to the City of Jacksonville.

Major players in the Jacksonville community care trade include St.

The Tax - Exempt - World.com website, which compiles Internal Revenue Service data, reported that in 2007, there are 2,910 distinct , active, tax exempt/non-profit organizations in Jacksonville which, excluding Credit Unions, had a total income of $7.08 billion and assets of $9.54 billion. There are 333 charitable organizations with assets of over $1 million.

Main article: List of citizens from Jacksonville, Florida In 2000, The Sister Cities International awarded Jacksonville the Innovation Arts & Culture Award for the city's program with Nantes.

List of citizens from Jacksonville, Florida Official records for Jacksonville were kept at downtown from September 1871 to December 1955, Imeson Field from January 1, 1956 to January 18, 1971, and at Jacksonville Int'l since January 19, 1971.

City of Jacksonville Seal.

"Jacksonville had biggest populace jump in state".

"Port of Jacksonville" World Port Source, Port Detail History of Jacksonville, Florida and Vicinity, 1513 to 1924.

Jacksonville Public Library.

Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage.

Metro Jacksonville.

"Great Jacksonville Fire of 1901".

"The Jacksonville Silent Film Museum at Norman Studios".

"Jacksonville (city), Florida".

"Florida - Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Enumeration to 1990".

Jacksonville Historical Society.

"Jacksonville Real Estate website: Better Jacksonville Plan".

"Distinguish Jacksonville: The Great Fire of 1901".

Jacksonville Historical Society.

Metro Jacksonville.

"Bank of America Tower, Jacksonville Florida".

"No more 'Modis' on downtown Jacksonville building".

"NWS Jacksonville, FL [Climate Page]".

"Climate Information for Jacksonville, Florida".

City of Jacksonville.

City of Jacksonville.

City of Jacksonville.

City of Jacksonville.

City of Jacksonville.

City of Jacksonville.

City of Jacksonville.

City of Jacksonville.

"Jacksonville Riverwalk".

City of Jacksonville.

City of Jacksonville.

Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage.

"The Vernacular Neighborhoods of Jacksonville, Florida: Can GIS Help Determine their Boundaries?" Insiders' Guide to Jacksonville, 3rd Edition.

"Jacksonville, Florida Hispanic or Latino by Type: 2010 - 2010 Enumeration Summary File 1".

"Jacksonville, Florida Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 - 2010 Demographic Profile Data".

"Jacksonville, Florida: SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES - 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates".

"Jacksonville, Florida: Age Groups and Sex: 2010 - 2010 Enumeration Summary File 1".

"Jacksonville, Florida: SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS - 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates".

"MLA Data Center Results of Jacksonville, Florida".

"Jacksonville, FL, Metropolitan Statistical Area".

"Jacksonville's Immaculate Conception titled a Minor Basilica".

"Living the Jewish Life in Jacksonville, Florida".

Florida Times-Union, May 12, 2009-City visitors left $1 billion here in '08 "Jacksonville companies move up on Fortune 500 list".

"Jacksonville Area Employers" (PDF).

"Jacksonville America's Logistics Center" ZIBB Business News Bauerlein, David: "New signs help tout Duval County" Florida Times-Union, April 21, 2009 "Cox Radio's Market Profile for Jacksonville, Florida".

"Clear Channel Radio Station List for Jacksonville, Florida".

"Bnet Business Network: Cities of the United States (2005)-Jacksonville: Economy".

Waymarking, Five Points Theater, Jacksonville Chapin, Veronica: Jacksonville Travel Archived October 31, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.

"INUSA tourguide: Jacksonville, Florida".

"Ashley Street: The Harlem of the South" Metro Jacksonville, History "Jacksonville Jaguars".

"Jacksonville soccer team to be called the Jacksonville Armada FC".

Jacksonville University.

Insiders' Guide to Jacksonville, 3rd Edition.

"Jacksonville Public Library: A History".

"Jacksonville Public Library: Profile".

"The Better Jacksonville Plan".

"The Florida Legislature Archive: BILL# HB945 RELATING TO the Jacksonville Seaport Authority" (PDF).

"The Jacksonville Port Authority".

"Men of Valor: A History of Firefighting in Jacksonville Florida, 1886-1996".

In some jurisdictions, such as Jacksonville, Florida, all crew members are required to be USCG-licensed regardless of what position they are assigned on the boat.

-JEA" Municode website, Jacksonville City Charter Tax Exempt World, Organization Search by City, Jacksonville, Florida "Jacksonville Sisters Cities Association".

Wakelyn - Keeping the Faith: Race, Politics, and Social Development in Jacksonville, Florida, 1940 1970, Greenwood Publishing, 2000.

To Render Invisible: Jim Crow and Public Life in New South Jacksonville.

Crackers and Carpetbaggers: Moments in the History of Jacksonville, Florida.

Heroes all: a history of firefighting in Jacksonville.

Jacksonville: The Consolidation Story, from Civil Rights to the Jaguars, University Press of Florida, 2004.

Jacksonville, Florida: The Jacksonville Historical Society.

Jackson, David H., Jr., "'Industrious, Thrifty, and Ambitious': Jacksonville's African American Businesspeople amid the Jim Crow Era," Florida Historical Quarterly, 90 (Spring 2012), 453 87.

Jags to Riches: The Cinderella Season of the Jacksonville Jaguars, St.

Jacksonville and Florida's First Coast, Windsor Publishing, 1989.

Historic Photos of Jacksonville, Turner Publishing Company, 2006.

Jacksonville, Florida Geographic data related to Jacksonville, Florida at Open - Street - Map Articles Relating to Jacksonville and Duval County

Categories:
1791 establishments in the United States - Enumeration balances in the United States - Cities in Duval County, Florida - County seats in Florida - Port metros/cities in Florida - Port metros/cities and suburbs of the United States Atlantic coast - Populated places established in 1791 - Populated places on the St.

Johns River - Cities in Jacksonville urbane region - Jacksonville, Florida - Consolidated city-counties in the United States - Cities in Florida - Populated coastal places in Florida on the Atlantic Ocean