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| Home: Travel & Accommodations: Jacksonville Facts |
| Jacksonville Facts |
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Money Magazine has consistently ranked Jacksonville as one of its "Top 10 Best Places to Live."
- At 840 square miles, Jacksonville is the largest city in the continental United States.
- Jacksonville residents recently approved a $2.2 billion comprehensive growth management plan called the Better Jacksonville Plan that provides road and infrastructure improvements, environmental preservation and targeted economic development, and new and improved public facilities
which includes a new sports and entertainment arena, equestrian center and baseball stadium.
- 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.
- Newcomers to Northeast Florida will discover that this region offers a blend of artistic,
cultural and historical experiences that enrich our quality of life. We are often called Florida's First Coast. It was here the first European set foot on Florida soil, the new world's first European generation was born, the first fortress was built, the first river explored, and the first railroad established.
- Jacksonville is host to many events throughout the year, including free public festivals celebrating jazz, blues, country music, shrimp, seafood and the arts. For a listing of area special events, visit the City of Jacksonville's Web site.
- Home to over 68 golf courses, Northeast Florida is a golfer's
paradise with nearly 1,300 holes of golf to challenge players of all skill levels. The region's courses are designed by the world's best including Dye, Fazio, Nicklaus, Palmer, Ross and Weed and host world renowned tournaments such as the Tournament Players Championship (TPC) at Sawgrass.
- 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. For more information on Jacksonville's park system, visit the City of Jacksonville's Web site.
- The Timucuan Indians were the actual first inhabitants of the Jacksonville area. In 1513, the Spanish, led by Ponce de Leon, arrived on Florida's first coast in search of The Fountain of Youth.
- The Spanish built a settlement in nearby St. Augustine in 1565. St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States, established 55 years before the Mayflower landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
- Jacksonville has an average of 220 sunny days a year!
- Because Jacksonville is further west than coastal points to the north and south, it is Florida's least hurricane-prone coastal city.
- Lynyrd Skynyrd and Limp Bizkit started their bands in Jacksonville.
- Ray Charles, who sang America the Beautiful at Super Bowl XXXV, was born in Jacksonville.
- 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.
- Seven players in the AFC and ten players in the NFC graduated from Jacksonville high schools.
- 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.
- 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.
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