1944 Riverside plane crash first to receive ‘Pop Up History’ treatment
By Steve DiMattia Jay Robinson was just seven years old when two low flying P-51 Mustang fighter planes hit some trees and crashed in Riverside near Post and James streets on July 20, 1944. “I saw it happen — It was around 7 o’clock in the morning and I was awake in bed. They […]
Proposed Shoppes of Avondale parking study awaits city action: Parking analysis service could cost city $60K
By Steve DiMattia It could cost the City of Jacksonville $60,000 to conduct a parking study in the Shoppes of Avondale according to a Scope of Services for Parking Analysis prepared by local planning and engineering firm Ghyabi & Associates. The scope is dated May 24 and was delivered to the Planning and Development Department […]
Roundabouts, safety spur talk of Square redesign
By Susanna P. Barton As the last phases of the San Marco Boulevard road project take shape, District 5 City Councilwoman Lori Boyer, San Marco Preservation Society and the San Marco Merchants Association representatives have been investigating how long term improvements to square traffic can be implemented while streetscape construction is still underway. Doug […]
Restaurant serving up economic development
By Susanna P. Barton One of the neighborhood’s biggest new job-makers is Black Sheep Restaurant, the primary tenant in 5 Points’ nearly complete 1534 Oak Street multi-use building. The business has begun hiring process to bring nearly 65 people onboard, according to spokesman, Allan DeVault. The company is hiring for all positions but does […]
Exceptions to the rules: How PUDs, administrative deviations change landscape
By Steve DiMattia The triangular structure quickly taking shape on the corners of Margaret and Oak streets in Five Points made extensive use of one. Goozlepipe & Guttyworks on King Street in Riverside did not. Mellow Mushroom in Avondale was going to, but decided against it. Without it, San Marco Station may have taken a […]
Talks continue over Mellow Mushroom plans
By Susanna P. Barton There has been no mellowing of discussion between Mellow Mushroom restaurant planners and the newly formed We Love Avondale partnership over the summer. Lunches, meetings and conversations between the opposing groups have been ongoing, according to We Love Avondale founder and Avondale resident Tommy Donahoo. A mid-July meeting, in fact, […]
The Way We Were: Joyce Thomas Jones — Part II
By Laura Jane Pittman Last month, retired UNF educator Joyce Thomas Jones shared her earliest memories of growing up in the city of South Jacksonville in last month’s column. This month, we follow Jones through her elementary and high school years, in a charming glimpse of the way things were. Joyce Thomas Jones was […]
San Jose woman keeps songs, Psalms in her heart
By Amanda Ford Usually once someone has lived to be 80 years old, they are about ready to settle down and enjoy their golden years. Anne Coyle had made those plans for herself, and relished in them as she blew out the candles on her special day. “On my birthday I said to the Lord […]
