Jacksonville defines itself by its historic past and its location where the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean meet.

A key crossroads for more than 200 years, Jacksonville lured Northeasterners in search of winter sunshine. The city has gone to great lengths and expense to retain and restore its oldest homes and earliest settlements.

Trees line the avenues, lawns roll down to the river, and porch-rocking folks sit "of an evening" waving to passers. Such tranquil settings are part of the charm of this city billed as the largest metropolitan area in the nation, covering more than 840 scenic square miles.

Living at Riverside

In the late 1800s, prominent businessmen built homes in the Riverside suburb along the west bank of the wide St. Johns. Stately oaks that grew there then still exist.

As time passed, Riverside spread into a "new" development called Avondale, every bit as posh as Riverside. Now both are listed in the National Register of Historic Districts, not a designation that comes easily to a state that, by residential reckonings, is still quite young. The Riverside/Avondale Preservation Society offers a detailed walking tour brochure of important sites. Shopping is a lure here, and several annual events allow for a greater appreciation of the area, including a September Riverside Arts and Music Festival, a Christmas Luminaria celebration, and a Spring Home Tour.

Just south of Riverside, the community of Ortega occupies a peninsula between the Ortega and St. Johns Rivers and is lined with homes that have won it a ranking among the 50 wealthiest neighborhoods in the nation.

Bridging the gap

Jacksonville's bridges, five of them, cross the St. Johns River, connecting the city to its beaches.

The Acosta Bridge, built in 1921, began the development of the river's south bank. Once called the Villa Alexandria estate, the land south of the St. Johns is today called San Marco in salute to its central San Marco Square, where Mediterranean architecture dominates. Here, too, an active group, the San Marco Preservation Society, is devoted to conservation of the area's historic architecture. A map available from the organization leads you to primary points of interest, which include River Road Thrill Bridge, Colonial Manor Duck Pond and a variety of pretty parks. Along San Jose Boulevard, south of San Marco Square, are showy waterside estates, golf and yacht clubs.

On the first Friday in December, you can explore San Marco while attending the annual Holiday Magic in the Square celebration. In the spring private gardens are open to tours, and in the fall, the public can tour historic homes.

Historic outskirts

On the east side of the river, south of the downtown area, a little rural community called Mandarin once lured author Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the famed Southern novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, who settled here to raise a son. It also appealed to wildlife painter, Lee Adams. While Mandarin is no longer strictly rural, it's still a serene town with massive live oak trees draped with Spanish moss.

History lives on in the antique Mandarin Post Office and General Store built in 1911. A public pier offers a close-up view of the river.

On the west side of the river, Orange Park unites rural settings with subdivisions, shopping malls and a naval air base, while on the east side of the river, Baymeadows and environs is a complex of office parks inhabited by many national businesses.

Water, water everywhere is Jacksonville's lure and love. Coursing through the center of the city is the impressive St. Johns River. Along the eastern edge of the city, the Intracoastal Waterway stretches from South Florida, continuing far beyond the state's northern borders.

The key meeting of river and ocean was a deciding factor to the small colonies that formed here and prospered. Among the most important settlers were the French Huguenots, who established a tiny Fort Caroline on the banks of the St. Johns River in 1564. Today, that site and its reconstructed fort are part of a community known as Arlington, where you will also find the intriguing 46,000-acre Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, honoring the Timucuan Indians, believed to be the first dwellers along these shores. Today's Arlington offers many dining and entertainment spots, waterfront homes, boating access, and public and private golf courses.

Across the Intracoastal Waterway and along miles of sand are Jacksonville's beaches. Trimming a barrier island, the sands roll past four communities topped on the northern end by Mayport at the mouth of the St. Johns River. Rustic Mayport is the place for fresh seafood right off the shrimp boats seen bobbing at anchor just feet from many restaurants. A popular spot is Strickland's, a casual waterside dining retreat known for simply prepared, fresh-from-the-sea fish and shellfish. Mayport is also home to the state's last remaining full-time ferry, which boards cars and passengers for the short trip across the water to Jacksonville.

South of Mayport, the sandy villages of Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach are lined with simple seaside homes that seal lovers will covet. Atlantic Boulevard and First Street are the hub of shopping, dining and entertainment. An annual Dancing in the Street Festival is a high spot of summer calendars.

From May to early September, Jacksonville Beach is packed with sun seekers, many motoring from Southern states to enjoy the beaches, festivals, surfing, parasailing, swimming, fishing and boating. More occurs just south of Jacksonville at Ponte Vedra Beach, where many settle in to take advantage of the area's top golf courses.

A half-hour's drive south brings you to historic St. Augustine, renown for its historic sites and beaches lined with hotels, restaurants and entertainment facilities.

That's Jacksonville and its beaches which, allied with St. Augustine, remain since Christopher Columbus and Juan Ponce de Leon discovered it, a place for explorers.

Marylyn Springer