Ruby, Pablo Beach, or Jacksonville Beach – no matter what it has been called, this special place has been the hub of Beaches life since the early days of the 1880s. This was the beach for fun and festivities, of the railroad, and the beach that set the tone for the development of the other beaches. This is the Famous Beach.

In true Florida style, Jacksonville Beach began here with the dream of development: to turn this "oak scrub beach" into the tourist and entertainment hub of the Atlantic Coast. Beginning as a tent city for a few hardy souls, Jacksonville Beach has become a business, resort and residential community able to thrive on change and recognize adversity as an opportunity.

In 1884, William and Eleanor Scull set up their tent home at the beach to help survey the area for the coming railroad. Eleanor opened the first general store and post office on the beach, thereby bestowing the name Ruby on the area. The little community grew. In 1899, Henry Flagler purchased the faltering Jacksonville & Atlantic Railroad, converting it to regular gauge and spearheading the development of the area. Some 20 years later, the boardwalk had become a major attraction and the Beaches population grew. Racing, aviation, dancing, eating and frolicking in the waves became hallmarks of Jacksonville Beach!

Today, the sense of community is very strong here as Jacksonville Beach experiences growing pains. The city is growing vertically with old landmarks being replaced by modern cement "sand castles" and an influx of new residents. The atmosphere is still warm and friendly as a small town would be. The Jacksonville Beach welcome is still strong after some 110 years. Old friend or new friend, we are glad you are here.

This former amusement park was located in vicinity of where the Bandshell and the Jacksonville Beach Pier stand today. It included a ferris wheel and a 50 mph wooden roller coaster known as "The Beach Coaster" which operated from 1928 to 1949. Much of the area where the park was located was destroyed by Hurricane Dora in 1964.
A Jax Beach Ocean View Pavilion Photo Tour is available on the Metro Jacksonville website.

Looking to revitalize the core of the beachfront community The City of Jacksonville Beach selected Haskell to take on the task of creating a unique gathering place that would enhance the cultural life of the more than one million people it serves.
Working within a limited budget Haskell planned and executed the development of a park area that also functions as a concert and festival venue. The Sea Walk Pavillion is the centerpiece of the new Commons space, an architecturally exciting facility designed to cope with the harsh oceanfront environment.

Built in just four months the project has been the recipient of nine local and national awards of excellence.

This prominent ocean-front landmark with its five-story look-out tower stands on the site of the old Murray Hall Hotel.  The U.S. Volunteer Life Savings Corps was begun at Pablo Beach in 1912, and the first life-saving station was completed in 1913.  Nineteen volunteer lifeguards equipped with a surf boat and lifelines patrolled the beach.  In those early days, the F.E.C. Railroad paid $25 per month for support of the lifeguards.  In 1918, the Pablo Beach Town Council deeded the present site to the American Red Cross for the construction of a new "very substantial and very expensive" life saving station, which was completed in 1920 and stood until 1946 when the present station was built.  Jefferson D. Powell designed this building, the tower of which has rounded corners and the clean lines of the Moderne style.

The Casa Marina Hotel is a radiantly refined grand 'lady' and still turning heads! Ever since it opened its doors onto the Jacksonville beaches in 1925, when every postcard of the era announced 'world's finest beach', the Casa Marina has remained an alluring landmark of Florida history.  There have been many forgotten moments in the vast drama of the 1920's, but the mystery of the Casa Marina is that she must have seen it all.

Jacksonville Beach was originally known as the town of "Ruby" (circa 1884) named by W.E. Scull, a railroad surveyor with the Jacksonville and Atlantic Railway Company, for his daughter. By 1885, the railroad and depot were completed and 'Ruby' was transformed into a tent city as crowds of beachgoers arrived with tents in which to live. By then the town was renamed Pablo Beach, after the San Pablo River, a name it kept for nearly 30 years, before settling in as Jacksonville Beach in 1925.

The Grand Opening of the Casa Marina on Saturday, June 6, 1925 was the height of Florida's first land boom. That same day the town was renamed Jacksonville Beach, while 200 guests dined and danced in the grand 'salon'. Its construction and Spanish-Mediterranean design brought a 'first' to the beach...a fireproof building composed of stucco, concrete, tile and an automatic sprinkler system.

The 1920's in Jacksonville were 'hot'. The Jacksonville train terminal opened in 1919 and everybody who was anybody came southward to Florida: from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, John D. Rockefeller, and President Harry S. Truman and F.D.R. claims that these celebrities including, Jean Harlow and Al Capone, were guests at the hotel in its early years. The movie industry boomed in Jacksonville long before Hollywood and the 'greats' like Chaplin and Pickford made appearances.

The Casa Marina was two stories tall and had 60 rooms. Jacksonville Beach was the most alluring tourist town in NE Florida: its boardwalk, dance casinos, dining, amusement rides and wide beaches were known throughout America.

During the War Years of World War II, the U.S. government appropriated the Casa Marina for military housing. A succession of owners followed who were passionate about restoring and remodeling the Casa Marina into private residences and an assortment of businesses...a tearoom, clothing store, 37-room apartment building and restaurant.

The 'grand lady' finally took a well-deserved rest and closed until 1991. By this time, a veranda and 3rd-story penthouse had been added to the original structure.  Today celebrating nearly a century of romance, the Casa Marina Hotel & Restaurant offers 23 stunning bedrooms and parlor suites individually decorated to represent the distinctive and changing eras of its rich history. The Penthouse Lounge enjoys its own notoriety, with one of the most stunning views of the Florida coastline.

The Casa Marina brings a feeling of classic glamour to Jacksonville Beach, a sultry blend of history, natural beauty and sophisticated culture. One can still conjure up images of the 'ghosts' of the beach, the sounds of families and lovers laughing and a lineup of Model 'T' Fords as they enjoyed the best that life could imagine!

Recognized in 2005 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of the Historic Hotels of America, the Casa Marina is 'a building worth saving and history is in our hands'.