Urban Neighborhoods: Exploring Panama Park

[Metro Jacksonville]

Urban Neighborhoods: Exploring Panama Park



Located three miles from downtown, Panama Park was one of Jacksonville's up and coming suburbs 100 years ago.  Today, this diverse community anchors the northern portion of Old Jacksonville's corporate limits.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/571

[downtownparks]

Half of the stuff you got it actually North Shore, which is, as many who live in North Shore will tell you, a different neighborhood :-)

[thelakelander]

Is it safe to assume that Main Street is the dividing line between North Shore and Panama Park?

[downtownparks]

Ok, I just went to JAXGIS and I picked two houses at random.134 W 65th, the plot is listed as North Shore, and 233 E 65th and the plot is listed at Panama Park...

After clicking around a bit more in JAX GIS, it looks like anything west of Rolliston St (the inlet North Shore Park sits on), and south of 63rd is North Shore, and thing north of 63rd on Laura St, and to the east of Main, is Panama park

[RiversideGator]

Great pics.  Panama Park has some real architectural gems.  I think the whole area from Springfield north along Main to the Trout River is ripe for gentrification because of the many old attractive houses and apartment buildings and the proximity to downtown.  If I were looking for a bargain historic home, this is where I would look.

Also, wasnt the Klutho designed school recently shut down due to redistricting?  And, it is a shame that the two pelicans are covered in tarps by the city rather than restored.

Finally, Joseph's on North Main is a great Italian restaurant with good pizza and other Italian food.  I highly recommend it.

[thelakelander]

Ok, I just went to JAXGIS and I picked two houses at random.134 W 65th, the plot is listed as North Shore, and 233 E 65th and the plot is listed at Panama Park...

After clicking around a bit more in JAX GIS, it looks like anything west of Rolliston St (the inlet North Shore Park sits on), and south of 63rd is North Shore, and thing north of 63rd on Laura St, and to the east of Main, is Panama park

I went ahead and labled all of the images of the North Shore area.  Btw, when looking at the street grid, its evident that there are two distinct neighborhoods.

[thelakelander]

Great pics.  Panama Park has some real architectural gems.  I think the whole area from Springfield north along Main to the Trout River is ripe for gentrification because of the many old attractive houses and apartment buildings and the proximity to downtown.  If I were looking for a bargain historic home, this is where I would look.

Also, wasnt the Klutho designed school recently shut down due to redistricting?  And, it is a shame that the two pelicans are covered in tarps by the city rather than restored.

Finally, Joseph's on North Main is a great Italian restaurant with good pizza and other Italian food.  I highly recommend it.

I've heard a lot of good things about Joseph's.  I'm definately going to have to try them out.

[gmpalmer]

This is the best neighborhood in town and the only neighborhood that still has affordable housing.  The Old Folks here are slowly dying off.  Get a house in good repair for less than $100 a square foot! (probably about $75).  Seriously folks, buy these houses.  It's an excellent little community that could quickly become a quirky artists' enclave.  I promise to host dinners

That is, if we're not all at Joseph's or Hip Hop Chicken (which is great and cheap!) 

[sheclown]

If North Shore and Panama Park go through gentrification, I'm going to hang myself.  It is perfectly perfect the way it is.  It isn't ripe for any quirky enclaves of any kind.  It is a nice, working class neighborhood, humble and lovable. 

[downtownparks]

Yeah, leave it to the drug dealers and prostitutes. Thats REAL culture!!! Who needs safe fun neighborhoods on the northside!

[sheclown]

Everyone knows that artist's enclaves will be drug free zones.  And there certainly won't be any indiscriminate sex going on. 

[sheclown]

We can be urban, but we can also be urbane.

[downtownparks]

Last time I checked, no pot smoking artists who has casual sex shot a little girl in bed reading a book, or did a drive by on a rival artists house.

Its not about race or class, or even vices, its about safety. Every neighborhood in Jax should expect to be a safe area. Instead, any community trying to clean itself up (read, make itself safer) gets swept aside as though there is some big effort to push poor people out. Stop your class warfare for a moment and recognize the majority of the people who move in and try to clean things up are not bottom line driven so much as quality of life driven.

[gmpalmer]

Gentrification is boring.
But North Shore / PP doesn't need to be gentrified.  Most (if not all) the houses here are in good to excellent repair.  I was suggesting that it's the last nice & cheap (as opposed to horrible-oogy-terrifying & cheap) place to buy in town.  Meaning if there are any youngish artists (that is, poor ones) looking for a home, it's a great place to buy.  And it's close to pretty much every great kind of food Jacksonville has to offer.
Michael
p.s. stephen -- we've not had a shooting here in the 7 years we've been here.  Across Tallulah, maybe, but not N of Tallulah. 

[Driven1]

yeah...be careful "Exploring Panama Park"... quite a few people have been shot for doing less innocent things there.