The Jaxson

The Legacy of the Boylan-Haven School A brief history and look at the legacy of the Historic Eastside’s Boylan-Haven School.

A brief history and look at the legacy of the Boylan-Haven School, an institution of Black education in the Historic Eastside from 1910 to 1959. A brief history and look at the legacy of the Historic Eastside’s Boylan-Haven School.

The Maceo Elks Lodge #8: A Legacy of LaVilla A brief history and look inside LaVilla's historic Maceo Elks Lodge #8.

A brief history and look inside the historic Maceo Elks Lodge #8, the last surviving institutional building in LaVilla connected to Jacksonville’s early Jewish community and now a cornerstone of the city’s Black civic life.

Viva Jax: Jacksonville's Hispanic heritage Though less well known than those in South Florida or Tampa Bay, Jacksonville’s Hispanic community has roots that are hundreds of years deep, and it’s helped shape all aspects of life in the city throughout its history. It’s high time Jacksonville’s Hispanic heritage got its due.

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month: from the early Floridano colonists to 19th-century Cuban cigar factories to the diverse and growing communities of today, Jacksonville’s Hispanic history is hundreds of years deep. It’s time they got their due. www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/viva...

THE JAXSON | Viva Jax: Jacksonville’s Hispanic heritage | Jacksonville Today Though less well known than those in South Florida or Tampa Bay, Jacksonville’s Hispanic community has roots that are hundreds of years deep.

Ennis’s and my piece on Jacksonville’s Hispanic heritage, from the Floridanos of the colonial era to Cuban cigar factories to the booming diversity of the present day, is up on Jacksonville Today: jaxtoday.org/2025/09/16/t...

Northbank Renaissance: Publix coming to Pearl Square Goodbye Homerdome, hello Pub Subs: Gateway Jax has announced that Publix is coming to the burgeoning Pearl Square district in the Downtown Northbank. It's the latest addition to Gateway Jax's major Do...

Goodbye Homerdome, hello Pub Subs: Gateway Jax has announced that Publix is coming to the burgeoning Pearl Square district in the Downtown Northbank. It's the latest addition to Gateway Jax's major Downtown development plans. www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/nort...

Will DCPS's move waste a golden opportunity? Done right, moving the Duval County Public Schools headquarters off the Southbank waterfront could be a boon for both the district and Jacksonville taxpayers. However, the School Board may abandon Dow...

Done right, moving the Duval County Public Schools HQ off the Southbank waterfront could be a boon for the district and taxpayers. However, if the School Board abandons Downtown entirely for expensive digs in Baymeadows, it’ll be a blow to taxpayers and Downtown.

moving the DCPS offices away from downtown is ridiculous. Especially to Baymeadows?! if i remember where the proposed building is, it's a nightmare of traffic, not where you would want to be a pedestrian or taking the bus. And trying to get there from the Northside? yikes no.

THE JAXSON | Will DCPS's move waste a golden opportunity? | Jacksonville Today The School Board now faces a pivotal choice: strengthen Downtown’s resurgence or contribute to its decline.

Duval County Public Schools may finally leave the Downtown Southbank. But in moving to an expensive, poorly accessible Baymeadows office building wasting a golden opportunity?

Five historical facts about Fernandina Beach Located about 25 miles northeast of Jacksonville, Fernandina Beach is a historic city of 13,000 residents that spans the northern half of Amelia Island. Here are five fascinating facts about this vibr...

Located about 25 miles northeast of Jacksonville, Fernandina Beach is a historic city of 13,000 residents that spans the northern half of Amelia Island. Here are five fascinating facts about this vibrant walkable community.

A tour of McCoys Creek in 1926 McCoys Creek is a tributary of the St. Johns River, flowing eastward from the Murray Hill neighborhood before emptying into the river near downtown Jacksonville. Over the years, the creek has undergon...

Rerouted, channelized & even buried underground for decades, McCoys Creek is currently undergoing restoration to return it to its natural state as part of the Emerald Trail. These City of Jacksonville photos from 1926 offer a glimpse of this important tributary 99 years ago.

Experiencing NAVI: The “Ultimate Urban Circulator” I decided it was important to see what all these years of work and millions of taxpayer dollars had gone into, and I figured there’s no better way to do that than to get up close and personal, so I to...

Guest writer Marcus Nelson tried out JTA’s $60 million U2C project. Is it a viable transit solution or… not?

American Beach's Evans Rendezvous Evans Rendezvous, a prominent oceanfront venue on the Chitlin' Circuit, operated from 1948 to 1980. Last week, during the annual Preservation on Main Street conference in Fernandina Beach, we had the ...

Evans Rendezvous, a prominent oceanfront venue on the Chitlin' Circuit, operated from 1948 to 1980 in the Black resort town of American Beach. Last week we had the opportunity to get a sneak peek inside this iconic historic landmark:

Five Restaurants Coming Downtown Downtown Jacksonville has struggled to maintain a consistent evening dining presence, but that will soon change as more concepts are currently under construction that will turn the area into the hotte...

Sushi, steaks, South African cuisine and more: Downtown Jax has struggled to maintain a consistent evening dining presence, but that will soon change as more concepts build out that could turn the area into the hottest dining destination in Northeast Florida. www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/five...

When Paxson Was the Place to Be A brief look into the history of an early Jacksonville suburban shopping center.

A brief look into the history of an early Jacksonville’ Paxon Shopping Center, one of the early suburban plazas to challenge Downtown as the city’s retail epicenter.

Five things you didn't know about Bayard Located 18 miles southeast of downtown Jacksonville, Bayard is a historic community with a rich cultural story. Here are five fascinating historical facts about Bayard that you might not know.

Located 18 miles southeast of downtown Jacksonville, Bayard is a historic community with a rich cultural story. Here are five fascinating historical facts about Bayard that you might not know.

1939 Jax rental rates colored coded at block level A 1939 map prepared by the Research Division of the Federal Housing Administration colored coded by average monthly rental rates for each city block. Did you know that Downtown's highest rents were in...

Did you know that Downtown Jax’s highest rents were once in LaVilla's red light district? This 1939 map by the Federal Housing Administration is colored coded by rental rates for each city block, revealing economic conditions in the City prior to World War II.

This is pretty neat!

and Angie Nixon!! I knew of her work before she ran for office, and she was pretty cool then. She's a great state rep now, too.

One year of Cafe Resistance Founded by Florida state representative Angie Nixon, Cafe Resistance on Soutel Drive is a bookstore, coffee shop and community hub that highlights African American authors and banned books. Here’s the...

Founded by Florida state rep Angie Nixon, Cafe Resistance on Soutel Dr. is a bookstore, coffee shop and community hub that highlights African American authors and banned books. Guest writer Jalicia Lewis tells the story behind this Northwest Jax hotspot.

a plastic orange dinosaur with a yellow hard hat holding a white shovel

We’re celebrating #IDigJax with a scavenger hunt! We’re hiding 5 miniature Rexies all over the city. Stay tuned to our social media channels for clues to find the first one. If you find him, post it on social media with the hashtags #IDigJax and #RexMarkstheSpot. Happy hunting!

Somewhere in the city, the first of 5 Rexy statues is hidden — the clue to find it drops TOMORROW

Happy Pride, y’all! In a great day to cap off a great week, Mayor Deegan and community leaders commemorated LGBTQ Pride Month in Jacksonville. Especially in troubled times, it’s important to honor those who’ve brought us this far along our pat and celebrate with those paving the next steps forward.

6 stories from Jacksonville’s LGBTQ history From Timucua two-spirits to bisexual blues musicians to the continued celebration of River City Pride, Jacksonville has a long and storied LGBTQ history. In honor of Pride Month, The Jaxson takes a lo...

My piece on six stories from Jacksonville’s storied LGBTQ history is up today on @thejaxsonmag.bsky.social.

DUUUVAL: A brief history of Black music-making in Jax June is Black Music Month, an annual national celebration of the ways that Black music movements, genres and contributions have shaped America’s history and culture. Today, The Jaxson takes a look at ...

Black music movements, genres and contributions have shaped America’s history and culture since the beginning. To close out Black Music Month, The Jaxson takes a look at the long and vibrant tradition of Black music-making in Jacksonville.

There is some pretty interesting history in my area.

It's a real shame how so much of it goes uncelebrated or is overshadowed by the bigotry and racism also prevalent.

but Jax was... maybe not a big city like NYC or Atlanta, but still pretty major, for a long time, thanks to railroads and climate.

6 stories from Jacksonville’s LGBTQ history From Timucua two-spirits to bisexual blues musicians to the continued celebration of River City Pride, Jacksonville has a long and storied LGBTQ history. In honor of Pride Month, The Jaxson takes a lo...

From Timucua two-spirits to bisexual blues musicians to the origin of River City Pride, Jax has a long and storied LGBTQ history. In honor of Pride Month, here are six stories from the city's past with special significance for the LGBTQ community.

The story of Dr. E.A. Welters, a Jacksonville dentist who took his tooth powder — a precursor to modern toothpaste — and justice to the streets of Chicago.

The Historic Coffee Roasters of Jacksonville The rich aroma of roasting coffee has long been woven into the fabric of Jacksonville’s identity. While many associate that familiar scent with Maxwell House, it was neither the first nor the only com...

Even before the Maxwell House plant filled Jax with its rich aromas, the city was home to a vibrant coffee roasting industry. Take a look into the fascinating history of the Jacksonville’s early coffee businesses and the people who shaped this tradition. www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/the-...

A walk inside the Fort George Island's Neff House A walk inside the former Neff House on Fort George Island. In 1974, the Betz family of Jacksonville found a metal orb in the woods of Fort George Island. Over the years, the enigmatic “Betz sphere” ha...

A walk inside the former Neff House on Fort George Island. Built in 1926, it later became famous for the finding of the mysterious, still unidentified “Betz sphere” nearby. Today, the house is owned by the National Park Service and has fallen into disrepair.

UF campus land swap is the best deal on the table The major deal to bring a University of Florida graduate campus to Downtown Jacksonville hinges on the City acquiring LaVilla’s Interline building so classes can begin in August. City Council is debat...

An op-ed by Jaxson cofounder Kelsi Hasden arguing that a land swap for the vacant Landing development parcel is the best deal on the table for moving the UF graduate campus forward.

Elements of Urbanism: Uptown Butte, Montana Join the Jaxson for a virtual tour of Uptown Butte, Montana. A late 19th century mining boomtown, it is now part of the largest National Historic District in the United States, encompassing more than ...

Join the Jaxson for a virtual tour of Uptown Butte, Montana. A late 19th century mining boomtown, it is now part of the largest National Historic District in the United States, encompassing more than 6,000 registered historic sites.