The LaVilla neighborhood is still alive

[jaxlongtimer]

The LaVilla neighborhood is still alive



https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/the-lavilla-neighborhood-is-still-alive/

Great article.  Much of this overlaps with what is now the Rail Yard District.  Appreciating what Downtown hasn't .

One minor correction:  Main Recycling sold out a few years ago to Trademark Metals Recycling (https://tmrecycling.com/jacksonville-fl/ ), a subsidiary of Tampa based David J. Joseph Company, itself a subsidiary of Charlotte based Fortune 120 company, Nucor, today, America's largest steel company (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucor).

[thelakelander]

Yes, many call the part of LaVilla that wasn't taken out by urban renewal, the Rail Yard District now. The Rail Yard District is a branding of several historic neighborhoods situated around Honeymoon Yard, including LaVilla, Mixontown, Campbell's Addition, New Town, Robinson's Addition, etc., that have gotten the short end of the economic investment stick (lack of the city's attention) for decades.

The lack of knowledge of these areas, lead to many people believing that the historic LaVilla community is no longer. Many also think that I-95 is LaVilla's western border, which is also incorrect, as I-95 was intentionally built through the middle of the neighborhood in the 1950s. As a result, many downtown initiatives fail from a community engagement perspective because the people hired and the entities that hire them, don't really know or effectively reach out to the community they are attempting to plan for.

[jaxlongtimer]

^ Yep, sad but true.  Jax leaders lack of appreciation for our history is not just lacking in LaVilla, it is endemic almost everywhere.  It has greatly diminished the character of the City.  Ironically, not honoring our past has held back our future as a result.

It seems the biggest stock of pre-WW II commercial buildings remaining is probably in Springfield and the Rail Yard District, not Downtown.  In a perverse way, their eras as economically depressed areas that caused such communities to be locked in a time warp may come back to benefit them via their survival and, hopefully, restored historic character.  For sure, lets hope such buildings don't find a similar fate to "demolition" Downtown.