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.
4. Little Coney Island 
Looking down a roller coaster at the Ocean View amusement park. Photo courtesy of State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/31004
The amusement park scene came to beaches in the early 1900s with the construction of The Pavilion. The company responsible would be the Pablo Power and Development Company, whose president was Charles Henry Mann, and Englishmen who had migrated to Jacksonville in the late 19th century.
The Pavilion was huge; covering nearly an entire block, near what is now First Street. The Pavilion would become very popular among both locals and tourists, and featured attractions such as a bowling alley, dance floor, swim room, concession stands, stores, and roller skating rinks. Builders of the Pavilion wanted to continue to grow the area and entice people to visit, so they tried mimicking what they saw in New York; adding hotels, bath houses, and beer halls. By 1916, the area was being referred to as "Little Coney Island." 
The Ocean View amusement park on July 3, 1949. Photo courtesy of State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/67597
However, Little Coney Island aged badly, and quickly, due to its wooden structures facing constant ocean winds. Around 1925, W.H. Adams created the Ocean View amusement park, which tried to be a better, bigger Little Coney island. With all this going on, and with an issue in contracting, Little Coney Island was torn down that same year.
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