See Rock City

See Rock City

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Jacksonville Beach, FL


Images from top, left to right: beginning of the pier with condos, the Seawalk Pavilion, end of the pier, Bukkets, lifeguard station

Jacksonville Beach, also referred to locally as "Jax Beach", is a city to the east of Jacksonville, Florida. The current mayor is Fland Sharp. When the majority of communities in Duval County consolidated with Jacksonville in 1968, Jacksonville Beach, along with Neptune Beach, Atlantic Beach, and Baldwin, Florida, remained quasi-independent. Like the other towns within Duval County that are not part of Jacksonville, it maintains its own municipal government but its residents vote in the Jacksonville mayoral and city council elections. The population was 20,990 at the 2000 census. As of 2005, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 21,770, giving the city a population density of 2,827/mi² (1,094/km²).


View of fountain and flags in front of the Jacksonville Beach Flag Pavilion

Although the French Huguenots led by Captain Jean Ribault laid claim to the First Coast in 1562, it was the Spanish who first settled the Jacksonville Beach area, establishing missions from Mayport to St. Augustine. The Spanish ceded East Florida to the English by treaty in 1763 only to regain control twenty years later. In 1821 the Spanish ceded Florida to the United States of America. The Jacksonville Beaches area has been inhabited since at least 1837 when Mayport was made a port, but it was not until 1883 that the Jacksonville and Atlantic Railroad established "Ruby Beach" in modern-day Jacksonville Beach. The settlement was renamed "Pablo Beach" three years later, and was incorporated as a town in 1907. The name was changed to "Jacksonville Beach" in 1925.


Automobile filled beach scene

Jacksonville Beach is the largest town in the Jacksonville Beaches community. It is the eastern terminus of U.S. Route 90, which ends at an intersections with State Road A1A three blocks from the Atlantic Ocean.


Walk-Way Along Jacksonville Beach, Fla., 1935

Government

Jacksonville Beach is a separate municipality within the consolidated city of Jacksonville. As such, it has its own city manager, city council, and mayor, while but is subject to county-level governance by Jacksonville. In 2008, Fland Sharp was re-elected to a four year term as mayor.

Jacksonville Beach In Pictures:


Beach scene and Casa Marina Hotel


View looking over section of Jacksonville Beach with pier, 1946


Bird's eye view of Jacksonville Beach, 1946


Aerial view looking east over neighborhood : Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 1957


Aerial view looking west along Beach Boulevard : Jacksonville Beach, Florida


Aerial view showing rivers at Jacksonville Beach : Duval County, Florida
Rural Negro schoolhouse near Jacksonville Beach - Duval County, Florida

Rural Negro schoolhouse near Jacksonville Beach, 1932


Aerial view of the Ocean 14 Condominium at Jacksonville Beach, 1981


Aerial view of a hotel on the beach


Pier extending out into the water from the shore : Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 1980


Bird's eye view of people and cars at the beach, 1976


Jacksonville Beach "baby races", 1973


Same Picture As Below, 1962 (In Living Color)


Cars parked along Jacksonville Beach, 1962 (Black & White)


Amusement rides at Jacksonville Beach, 1948


Eighteen contestants of the Miss Florida Pageant being judged : Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 1948


Eddie Moore, Martha Louise Park and Evelyn McElroy buying fishing bait : Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 1947


Beauty contestants lined up on the beach : Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 1946


People walking near the beach, 1936


Amusement and shopping at the beach in Jacksonville, 1936


Jacksonville Beach teachers, 1929


Tourists at Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 1929


Ponte Vedra Club : Jacksonville Beach, Florida




B.and P. Women's Club : Jacksonville Beach, Florida


Gay-Anna Motel : Jacksonville Beach, Florida



External links:

City of Jacksonville Beach official website

City of Jacksonville