Print ArticleDowntown isn't the only neighborhood in town that's interesting. Here's eight facts about the beaches that you probably didn't already know.
2. Beach racing capitol of the world 
Courtesy of Deadly Dave's Blog - Sharing the lost stories of early American motorcycling at http://dlmracing.blogspot.com/2013/06/jonathan-yerkes-bert-camplejohn.html
It was once believed that Jacksonville Beach, then known as Pablo Beach, would become the racing capitol of the world. In 1903, Florida's first automobile club was established in Jacksonville and by 1906, automobiles were racing up and down the area's beaches.
At the time, its hard packed sands made it an extremely popular area for auto racing and spectating. In April 1906, racer Joe Lander of Atlanta would break the existing world record, driving 5 miles in 4 minutes and 55 seconds. Lander drove a Thomas stock car on the Atlantic-Pablo beaches course, which began at the world famous Hotel Continental. Races would continue to happen on a smaller scale, as the automobile grew in popularity as the "rich man's" toy. There was another large race held in July of 1910, and another, in March 1911. For this race, however, monster cars showed up, and attendance skyrocketed, as people wanted to see if these bigger cars were capable of beating record speeds of 75 miles per hour. There would be one more race held before all racing was suspended as the First World War broke out.
Jacksonville Beach is a crowded parking lot in May 1973. Prior to 1979, cars were allowed on the beach. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/95046
After the war, Daytona's popularity in the auto racing world grew and by the late 1950s, Bill France, Sr. and NASCAR had created the Daytona International Speedway to replace beach racing. In 1979, auto driving in general became officially prohibited in Jacksonville Beach.
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