Jacksonville and St. Augustine Interesting Facts
Jacksonville
is consistently ranked in the top 10 places to live by money magazine.
Jacksonville is the largest city in the contiguous United States in terms of land mass (758.7 sq. miles).
Jacksonville is the largest city in Florida by population.
Jacksonville is the westernmost city on the east coast. Because Jacksonville is further west than coastal points to the north and south, it is Florida's least hurricane-prone coastal city.
Jacksonville is just a 2 hour drive from the number 1 tour destination in the world, Orlando, Florida.
Jacksonville was once the "Hollywood" of the silent film era with more than 300 silent movies made here in the early 1900's. The first ever Technicolor film, The Gulf Between, was filmed in Jacksonville in 1917.
Jacksonville averages 220 sunny days a year.
Jacksonville was selected as one of only seven cities to debut an automated, elevated, mass transit system. Jacksonville Skyway
ST. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States.
Gatorade was named for the University of Florida Gators where the drink was first developed. It was originally named "Gator Aid".
Completed in 1989, the Napolian Bonepart Broward Bridge (a.k.a. Dames Point Bridge) in Jacksonville
became the longest cable-stayed bridge in the United States,
and the third in the world, with a main span of 1,300 foot long center span and side spans of 650 feet each.
The St. Johns river is Americas longest north flowing river at 310 miles. The total drop of the river from its source in swamps south of Melbourne to its mouth in the Atlantic near Jacksonville is less than 30 feet, or about
one inch per mile, making it one of the "laziest" rivers in the world.
Jacksonville has 20 miles of wide and beautiful public beaches.
Out of the top ranked High Schools in the country, Jacksonville has 2 in the top 5 in the nation according to Newsweek. (Stanton and Paxon)
Entrepreneur magazine ranked Jacksonville second in its "Best Big Cities for Small Business.
With a median age of 34.4 years, Jacksonville is the "youngest" major city in Florida.
In its January 2002 issue, Expansion Management magazine ranked Jacksonville as the #1 "Hottest City"
in America for business relocation. Jacksonville has ranked in the top ten for four straight years
and is the only city to be ranked #1 twice.
The city of Jacksonville operates the largest urban park system in the United States, providing services at more than 350 locations located on more than 6,000 acres.
In 1513, the Spanish, led by Ponce de Leon, arrived on Florida's first coast in search of The Fountain of Youth.
Lynyrd Skynyrd and Limp Bizkit started their bands in Jacksonville. Ray Charles grew up in the Jacksonville area.
Charles E. Merrill, founding partner of the Wall Street brokerage house Merrill-Lynch, was born in Jacksonville.
On November 22, 1901, Jacksonville hosted the first college football game to be played in Florida.
The Jacksonville International Airport is the 4th fastest growing airport in the US (based on the 100 largest airports) and the fastest growing airport in Florida.
The seal features an equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson, the man for whom Jacksonville was named. The statue depicted stands in Washington, D.C. and a duplicate now stands in downtown Jacksonville.
Andrew Jackson, the namesake of Jacksonville, never visited Jacksonville.
Florida was named by Ponce De Leon on April 2, 1513. He named it "Pascua de Florida," meaning "Feast of Flowers" and claimed it for Spain.
