Touring Jacksonville's S-Line Urban Greenway
A product of the Rails-to-trails Conservancy's Urban Pathways initiative, the S-Line Urban Greenway is Jacksonville's first dedicated urban bike path.
Map of S-Line Urban Greenway. Greenway multiuse trail illustrated in green.
The Urban Pathways Initiative links community-based advocates and professionals across the nation working to encourage physical activity, active transportation and recreation options in neighborhoods surrounding urban pathways.
The S-Line Urban Greenway is a 4.8-mile rails-to-trails multiuse path that connects New Town and Durkeeville with Springfield and Brentwood. It runs from Myrtle Avenue, just north of Beaver Street, to Norwood Plaza, near Gateway Mall, at the intersection of Norwood Avenue and 44th Street. The opportunity to create this multiuse trail came as a result of the City of Jacksonville gaining possession of an abandoned length of CSX railroad Right-of-Way, appropriately in the shape of an "S".
Kings Road crossing the S-Line in 1942. Courtesy of State Archives of Florida.
Partners of the project included the City of Jacksonville Parks and Recreation Department, the Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida and the Durkeeville Historical Society. Funding was provided by the Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida and the Kresge Foundation. The goal was to create an linear urban park that could serve as a catalyst to improve the surrounding neighborhoods by connecting schools, parks and other community assets. If future local transportation initiatives become reality, a commuter rail line connecting downtown to the airport will one day be added, offering many Northside communities true access to economic revitalization.
Looking towards the Aetna Iron & Steel Company from the Liberty Street S-Line railroad crossing in 1943. Courtesy of State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, https://floridamemory.com/items/show/52953
Next Page: S-Line Urban Greenway Photo Tour
S-Line Urban Greenway Photo Tour
The S-Line Urban Greenway begins near the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Union Street in New Town. This area is an early 20th century industrial district just west of downtown and Interstate 95. The buildings of United States Natural Resources (USNR) dry kilns plant stand out in this section of the greenway. The 103-year-old plant originally started off as the Moore Dry Kiln Company in 1910.
USNR in the background.
S-Line Urban Greenway at Kings Road.
The former rail loading docks of the H R Lewis Petroleum Company can be seen behind heavy natural growth, just north of Kings Road. The building was originally constructed by John D. Rockerfeller's Standard Oil Company.
The S-Line penetrates the neighborhood of Durkeeville north of Kings Road. Durkeeville is an early 20th century African-American streetcar suburb. Just as architecturally and culturally impressive as any other neighborhood in Jacksonville, it is a community that has been largely overlooked by preservationists.
Between Interstate 95 and Boulevard Street, the trail travels through an area known by many as the "bloody block". Highlighted in a 2007 Florida Times-Union article, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, during a three-year period from July 2003 to June 2006, the Lincoln Court and Venus-Mars area ranked highest in the city with 154 incidents of felony violence. Despite this area's struggles, the main campus of UF Health at Jacksonville lies within a stone's throw of the trail. With vision, there is no reason that this section of the urban core can't become on of the Northside's most desired locations.
The first segment of the S-Line ends at Boulevard Street in Springfield. Signs direct cyclist to utilize West 12th Street through the neighborhood. West 12th is dominated by industry and the campus of Andrew Robinson Elementary School. As an alternative, one can get a good taste of Springfield's character by traveling on West 11th Street between Boulevard and Main Streets.
Due to the presence of several active rail lines in the area, after traveling through Springfield a network of turns navigates the cyclist through the Springfield Warehouse District and New Springfield. Both architecturally significant districts are early 20th century Telfair Stockton & Company developments.
Located at the junction of the Seaboard Air Line (SAL) and St. Johns River Terminal Company (SJRT) railroads, the warehouse district became an ideal distribution hub for a number early automobile, food and beverage companies, Auto related companies that once operated in the district included the Chevrolet Motor Company, Studebaker Corporation, and Fisk Tire Company. Food and beverage companies included American Bakeries Corporation, Dorsey Company Bakery, Ward Baking Company, Coca-Cola Bottling Company, and Mavis Bottling Company. The district was also the home of the National Merchandise Company, the parent company of long time Jacksonville chain, Pic N' Save. Today, Swisher International is the district's largest manufacturing plant. Located here since 1924, the cigar factory is the world's largest, covering nearly 700,000 square feet, employing 1,100 and producing as many as 8.5 million cigars a day.
New Springfield is an overlooked urban district sandwiched between railroads and expressways. It's streets are lined with a diverse amount of housing stock that includes a mix of architecturally significant single family, multifamily, and commercial properties.
After navigating the streets of New Springfield, the S-Line Urban Greenway starts up again on East 21st Street near the junction of CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Talleyrand Terminal railroads. Here, it follows the path of the abandoned S-Line railroad through Brentwood to Norwood Plaza, which is located near Gateway Mall at the intersection of Norwood Avenue and 44th Street.
The neighborhood of Brentwood was marketed in 1913 by the Brentwood Realty Investment Company. It was the terminus of a streetcar line that traveled through New Springfield and Springfield to connect the neighborhood's residents with downtown Jacksonville. Amenities within this neighborhood include the 16.69-acre Brentwood Park (Catherine Hester McNair Park) and an abundance of Bungalow style residential structures.
Longbranch Creek
The most picturesque segment of the trail parallels Longbranch Creek near Evergreen Cemetery. Evergreen Cemetery is the oldest fully operating cemetery in Jacksonville, with the first burial occurring in 1881.
The cemetery is comprised of 170 acres and over 70,000 burials. When the cemetery opened, remains were moved there from a downtown area near State Street and from the Old City Cemetery. At one time there was a train depot at Evergreen for visitors from the city and holding vaults nearby awaiting bodies for burial.
Over the years, as families brought plants and trees to plant graveside, a large assortment of non-native plants have accumulated throughout the cemetery. The University of Florida has tagged all of the different species of plants and the cemetery had plans to also become an arboretum, but it was discovered that an arboretum and a cemetery do not have the same tax status, so the idea was dropped. Despite not having an official designation, the wide assortment of plants remain and every tree on the property has a numbered marker.
In Brentwood, west of Main Street, the trail follows the path of the abandoned railroad to a commercial district anchored by Gateway Mall in Norwood. The original plat of Norwood was filed in 1912. However, its greatest period of growth would coincide with the growth of suburbia after the end of World War II and the opening of Gateway Shopping Center.
Developed by Sam Morris Spevak, Gateway was one of the first regional suburban malls in Jacksonville when it opened in 1959. It remained Jacksonville's largest shopping mall until the expansion of Regency Square Mall in 1981.
S-Line Urban Greenway tour by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com