Jacksonville's Ten Major Missed Opportunities

5. The Metropolitan Park System That Never Happened


Potential metropolitan park system as shown in George Simons Jr's 1929 City Plan for Jacksonville. Image courtesy of George W. Simons, Jr Planning Collection at UNF Digital Commons at http://digitalcommons.unf.edu/simonsflorida/9/

Ever wonder why urban Jacksonville does not have the grand public parks that help define the urban core character of some of the largest cities in the country? It's because we said, "Thanks, but no thanks" to President Franklin Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression.

The WPA was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. It also operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects during the Great Depression.

In 1934, looking to put Jaxsons back to work, the WPA offered to develop a 14-mile, 3,500-acre metropolitan park system for the City.  The urban green space would have begun at the mouth of the Ribault River, moving west until reaching Cedar Creek. From that point, the park would have followed Cedar Creek and the Ortega River, ending where the Ortega meets the St. Johns, forming a greenbelt around urban Jacksonville.  A major part of this plan would have been to connect the Ribault and Ortega Rivers at their headwaters, thus virtually converting urban Jacksonville into an island. In addition to this, miles of driveways, walks, bridle paths and picnic shelters were to be constructed.

The WPA saw this urban park system as something that would stimulate economic development throughout Jacksonville.  It was its belief that the newly created waterway would drain vast areas of the westside while also stimulating development along the park borders, which would repay the park’s capital cost investment.  This line of thinking was supported by Jacksonville financier Ed Ball, who claimed it would generate $30 million to the city annually in economic impact.  Ninah Holden Cummer promoted the development of this space as well, telling the city council that a city without a vision would perish.  To entice the city to move forward with the park plan, the WPA offered to provide $735,000 to purchase the property needed to construct the urban greenway.

However, what could have been Jacksonville’s version of San Diego’s Balboa Park or New Orleans’ City Park, would not happen. City leaders did not see the value of spending their money on 14 miles of parkland when residents could already visit the woods anytime on their own.