Here is a trip down memory lane, highlighting five early 20th century Jacksonville parks that don’t exist anymore.
East Jacksonville Park and Fairfield Park
For decades before the rise of Jacksonville’s Sports & Entertainment District, the neighborhoods of Fairfield and East Jacksonville thrived east of Downtown and Hogans Creek. These communities were home to two of the city’s earliest public parks: East Jacksonville Park and Fairfield Park.
East Jacksonville Park served residents of East Jacksonville, a former independent city annexed by Jacksonville in 1887. Developed in 1910, the park occupied a full city block bounded by Adams, Monroe, Van Buren, and Georgia streets. Known also as Palm Square, the 2.8-acre space featured a central water fountain and stood as a defining public amenity for the neighborhood. Over the 20th century, however, East Jacksonville was gradually erased as more than 30 blocks were cleared to accommodate expansion of the sports district and its surface parking lots. In 2003, VyStar Ballpark was constructed on the former site of this early municipal park.
A few blocks to the east lay Fairfield Park, a four-acre green space stretching across several blocks in the heart of Fairfield between Adams, Church, Weare, and Victoria streets. Fairfield, incorporated as a town in 1880, hosted Jacksonville’s first fairgrounds in 1876 and joined the city through annexation in 1887 with a population of 543. The park’s defining features included pedestrian promenades and a picturesque pond with an island and fountain located between Monroe and Duval streets. Fairfield Park ultimately disappeared as the Gator Bowl expanded and Gator Bowl Boulevard was constructed. Today, the site is occupied by EverBank Stadium.
Mason Park
On August 22, 1903, the North Jacksonville Street Railway, Town and Improvement Co. launched streetcar service for Jacksonville’s Black community. Organized by prominent Black leaders R. R. Robinson, H. Mason, F. C. Eleves, Walter P. Mucklow, George E. Ross and Frank P. McDermott, the system became known as “The Colored Man’s Railroad.” Hundreds attended the grand opening to ride cars operated by Black motormen and conductors…