Arlington (Jacksonville) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Arlington Greater Arlington
Region
From left to right: Fort Caroline, Jacksonville University, Marabanong mansion, Ribault Monument, the Mathews Bridge, and Luci Lind, who helps lead the city.
Main areas of Jacksonville: 1. Urban core 2. Arlington 3. Southside 4. Westside 5. Northside 6. Beaches
Country	United States
State	Florida
City	Jacksonville
Area
• Land	64.307 sq mi (166.55 km²)
Population (2013)
• Total	120,593
• Density	1,875/sq mi (724/km²)
ZIP Code	32277, 32211, 32225
Area code(s)	904

Arlington is a large area in Jacksonville, Florida. It's considered one of the city's main parts, like the Urban Core, Northside, Southside, Westside, and the Beaches. Arlington is next to the Southside area and has bridges connecting it to nearby beaches, the Northside, and Downtown.

In 1968, Arlington became part of Jacksonville. This happened because the city of Jacksonville and Duval County joined their governments together. Arlington is known for its cool, modern buildings from the middle of the last century. Some famous local architects like Robert C. Broward, Taylor Hardwick, and William Morgan designed homes here. Today, Luci Lind, a person from Arlington, helps lead the city.

History of Arlington

Fort Caroline shown in an old drawing.

Arlington was one of the first places in the United States that Europeans visited. The French built Fort Caroline here in 1564–1565. You can still visit the Fort Caroline National Memorial today. After Fort Caroline was destroyed, not many people lived in the area until the 1800s. Then, sawmills and large farms were built along the St. Johns River. After the American Civil War, these changed into neighborhoods. These neighborhoods slowly became part of the growing Arlington community.

Atlantic Boulevard's Beginning

Atlantic Boulevard was finished in 1910. It was Florida's first modern "improved" highway. Many people see it as the start of the state's highway system. This road connects the main part of Jacksonville to the Jacksonville Beaches. It starts in the San Marco area, goes through Arlington, and ends at the Atlantic Ocean at the Jacksonville Beaches. When it was first built, the road was only about 18 feet wide. People soon said it was too narrow for all the cars traveling between the city and the beach.

Norman Studios and Early Films

Poster for The Flying Ace starring Laurence Criner.

The Norman Studios film company was located in Arlington in the 1920s. This studio made "race films," which were movies with African American actors and stories.

Jacksonville University's Move

In 1947, Jacksonville University bought land in Arlington to build its main campus. The first building was ready in 1950, and classes officially started there. That same year, the school became a fully approved two-year college. Jacksonville University was started in 1934 by William J. Porter. It was first called William J. Porter University. It began as a small, private two-year college. In its first year, 60 students attended. The school changed its name to Jacksonville Junior College in 1935. It moved three times over the next 15 years. After World War II, many soldiers used the GI bill to go to college, so the school needed a permanent home. In 1962, the school became a fully approved four-year university.

Growth After Mathews Bridge

After the Mathews Bridge opened in 1953, the Arlington area grew a lot. It grew faster than any other part of Jacksonville for 20 years. The Mathews Bridge is a large bridge that goes over the St. Johns River. It carries traffic along the Arlington Expressway between Downtown Jacksonville and Arlington. The Sandalwood neighborhood, which is between downtown and the beaches, started to develop in 1960. It was one of many new neighborhoods that began to spread across the area at that time.

Regency Square Mall Opens

Regency Square Mall opened in 1967. It was an enclosed shopping mall built on sand dunes. It cost $12 million to build. The mall first had three main stores: JCPenney, May-Cohens, and Furchgotts. It also had a Woolworth dime store and a Piccadilly restaurant. The mall was very successful. In 1979, a study said it was one of the most profitable shopping centers in the country. The mall also gave back to the community. Its operators donated thousands of dollars from their decorative fountains to charities. Many social events, like art shows and science fairs, were held there.

Dames Point Bridge Construction

Construction on the Dames Point Bridge started in 1985 and finished in 1989. This bridge crosses the St. Johns River using a special cable-stayed design. It connects Arlington to the Northside of Jacksonville. When it was built, it was the longest concrete cable-stayed bridge in the world.

Geography of Arlington

Arlington is one of the large sections of Jacksonville, along with Northside, Westside, and Southside. At first, Arlington was a small settlement across the St. Johns River, east of the city center. The area grew a lot in the late 1900s. Now, it includes many smaller neighborhoods. Today, Arlington refers to most of Jacksonville that is east and south of the St. Johns River, west of the Intracoastal Waterway, and north of the Arlington River and Southside.

Parks and Green Spaces

Arlington has many parks and natural areas for people to enjoy:

Economy in Arlington

Shopping and Business Areas

The Regency area is a big commercial and retail center around Regency Square Mall. This business district is about the same size as downtown Jacksonville. It includes many roads like SR 115 (Southside Boulevard) and SR 10 (Atlantic Boulevard). People in Arlington want to see the Regency Square Mall area redeveloped. They hope it will bring new businesses and shoppers. They imagine new buildings, a street layout like a grid, and more development. Crowley Maritime Corporation, a shipping company, has its main office in the Regency business district. In 2016, it was ranked as one of Florida's largest private companies.

Education in Arlington

The Duval County Public Schools district runs the public schools in Arlington. These include Terry Parker High School, Arlington Middle School, and Fort Caroline Middle School.

Colleges and Universities

Private Colleges

Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university that started in 1934. It offers more than 70 different majors and programs for college students. It also has 23 master's degree programs and several doctorate degree programs. The university is divided into four colleges and two institutes.

Public Colleges

The south campus of Florida State College at Jacksonville is located at 11901 Beach Boulevard.

Transportation in Arlington

Airports

Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport is a public airport owned by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. The airport covers a large area and has two paved runways. It's a mid-sized airport for general aviation, handling many small planes each day. On June 15, 1946, the United States Navy's Blue Angels performed their first airshow at this airport.

Public Transportation

Arlington is served by several bus routes from the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA). In December 2014, JTA changed its bus system to make service more frequent, direct, and reliable. Some of the new routes in Arlington include:

8 Beach / Town Center
9 Arlington / Beach
10 Atlantic
18 Atlantic / Monument
19 Arlington
23 Townsend / Southside
50 University
202 Mayport Express
205 Beaches Express
308 Arlington Community Shuttles

Roads and Bridges

Highways

Several major highways run through Arlington:

The Arlington Expressway (SR 10A)
The East Beltway (I-295)
The Southside Connector (SR-113)

Bridges

One bridge connects Arlington to Downtown Jacksonville, one bridge connects to the Northside, and two bridges lead to the Beaches. These bridges are:

To Downtown:

The Mathews Bridge

To the Northside:

The Dames Point Bridge, also known as the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge

To the Beaches:

The Charles E. Bennett Memorial Bridge
The Atlantic Boulevard Bridge

The Mathews Bridge connects Arlington to Downtown Jacksonville.
The Dames Point Bridge connects Arlington to the Northside.
The Charles E. Bennett Memorial Bridge leads to the Beaches.

Images for kids

Regency Tower is an office building in the Regency area.

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