The ongoing revival of downtown Jacksonville has led to a new appreciation for the area after years of neglect.
But some residents still haven’t warmed up to the idea of hanging out downtown. Many don’t even know why anyone would do so. After all, it’s often portrayed as an empty wasteland – and who wants to hang out in an empty wasteland?
In reality, though, downtown Jax isn’t that bad. It’s actually pretty nice, and it’s getting increasingly nicer as development projects wrap up and new tenants arrive.
Obviously downtown is far from perfect. There’s a lot of work left to be done, and it’s still fighting reputation issues and lots of ground-floor vacancies. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth checking out – and more importantly, it means the area needs as much of the community’s support as it can get.
So if you’re still in need of some persuasion, here are a few great qualities of the city’s downtown area that just don’t get enough love.
There are so many beautiful historic buildings downtown, and walking around the historic core of the area can give you an amazing helping of early-1900s architecture.
Must-sees include the Barnett Bank building, currently being renovated and revitalized, as well as the Laura Street Trio buildings, the DuPont Center building, and the old Carnegie Library.
As you walk around and look at all the historic structures, you can really get a sense of what downtown Jax was like during its heyday. You can also see obvious changes that have been made: bricks covering up windows, paint and siding plastered over old storefronts, and even buildings that have been partially demolished or mangled in some other way.
