Introducing The Eastside: Neighborhood Photo Tour

[Metro Jacksonville]

Introducing The Eastside: Neighborhood Photo Tour



While many are familiar with the rise and fall of LaVilla, not many know about Jacksonville's other historic African-American suburb and now inner city district... The Eastside.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/436

[Jeremiah]

Man, what an amazing structure that could be, and used to be.  Not only would it be a perfect retrofit project, it's convenient to just about everything - downtown, springfield, lavilla, etc etc.  Anyone know where I can get more information on that building?

[I-10east]

I don't know much about Union Terminal, but I believe that it's across the street from Old City Cemetery; Hopefully the building won't be too creepy for a loft conversion. As for the building itself, I agree that it would make a good loft. People complain about DT not having enough restaurants; How bout the Eastside. While the Eastside does has some family owned restaurants, they hardly have any fast food restaurants; The only one that I can think of is Church's Chicken on Phoenix Avenue and East 8th Street; If anyone can think of anymore please chime in. It seems like all of the franschise restaurants are on Main Street. I think it would be great if East 8th could have franchise restaurants similar to Main Street.

[downtownparks]

As a Springfield resident, I mean this from the bottom of my heart... THEY CAN HAVE OURS!!!

I don't mind a few fast food joints peppered in, but we are at a greasy critical mass.

[Adam B]

i really wish there was a place to get a healthy, fast meal in springfield.  i head on down to BR fairly often, but it would be nice to have something closer.

[RG]

The "Eastside" aka East Springfield  was not only a black neighborhood historically.  It had both white and black neighborhoods years ago.  The white ones were mainly lower middle class when compared with Springfield which was more middle to upper middle class.  Either way, it is a great area with a rich architectural heritage and lots of potential IMO.  It obviously suffers from commercial intrusion and the proximity to the port and the railroad lines leading there but it could be revived one day once Springfield is fully restored.  Right now, it is mainly potential.  Thanks for the tour y'all.

[downtownparks]

Actually, your history is a little off RG.

the Eastside is the remnants of three different communities. East Jacksonville, which was at one point its own township was working class, blue collar, and predominanty white. That is the area around the Ballfield. You have Fairfield, which is the area NE of the stadium, it was also predominantly white, though I am not entirely sure of the social economic make up. I seem to remember reading that a lot of the shipping captains lived there.

Then you have Oakland. This is the bulk of the area highlighted. It was actually a black settlement almost as long as its been settled. Someone told me its roots actually go back further than LaVilla, but again I am going completely on memory.

There was no "east springfield". There is a "new springfield", which is the area platted just north of the Railroad tracks near 12th st and was built as Springfield filled in after the great fire.

Springfield  was really more of a farming community before the great fire. It was sparsely populated, and didn't even get trolley service until after the building boom of 1901 and 1902. It was so sparsely populated in 1898, that the US Army was able to station thousands of troops along Ionia St for the Spanish American War effort, at the behest of the citizens of Jacksonville.

[Joey Marchy]

Ha ha ha. Dan, you are a walking encyclopedia. Glad you're around to set us all straight. Lots of potential over there on the eastside. Lots.

[downtownparks]

Yeah, Thats two nights in a row that I started a post with "Actually..."

I am rapidly becoming the Cliff Claven of Springfield. A regular cesspool of trivia...

Did you know that Main St in Springfield used to be Pine St (pre-1900), and the Street numbers dropped by 200 in the 1940s???


AHHHH Im DOING IT AGAIN...  ;D ;D ;D ;D

[skink]

Check out some new and rehabbed homes not included in the photos above at...


http://www.operationnewhope.com/ONH_redesign/EastJAX.html

[Houseboat Mike]

In regards to the riot in 69, was the truck driver ever charged?

[Know Growth]

I assumed "East Side" might have been representative of......well, you know....East,as per towards the eastern Terminus....East! Beach Towards,as if,You Know,near the pre Eastern Pre- Consolidation towns that remained decidedly Stand Alone.

[thelakelander]

Nope. The Eastside is the eastside of the original, pre-consolidated city of Jacksonville. During the 19th century, a portion of it was the city of East Jacksonville.

[Tacachale]

Nope. The Eastside is the eastside of the original, pre-consolidated city of Jacksonville. During the 19th century, a portion of it was the city of East Jacksonville.

I don't think East Jacksonville ever incorporated as a city. Fairfield did for a little while before it was annexed.

But yeah, as odd as it seems to people who don't know the Eastside, it's the area between Downtown and Springfield and the river, not east of the river. And I don't know of any "pre Eastern Pre- Consolidation towns" besides the Beaches, which are miles from the Old City.

[Adam White]

When I was growing up in the 80s, I went to Susie Tolbert for sixth grade and Stanton for 7 -12 grades. Anyway, we had a number of kids in my class(es) who lived locally or fairly nearby. They used to talk about the "east side" and I had no idea what they were on about - I used to say "the east side is the beaches" which was a really ignorant thing for me to say.

It's an interesting part of town - one that is clearly overlooked.