Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida, and is the county seat of Duval County. Since 1968, as a result of the consolidation of the city and county government, and a corresponding expansion of the city limits to include almost the entire county, Jacksonville has been the largest city in land area in the contiguous United States. Consequently the majority of Jacksonville's metropolitan population resides within the city limits, making it the most populous city proper in Florida and the twelfth most populous in the United States. Jacksonville is the principal city in the Greater Jacksonville Metropolitan Area, a region with a population of more than 1,313,228.[6]

Jacksonville is located in the First Coast region of northeast Florida and is centered on the banks of the St. Johns River, about 25 miles (40 km) south of the Georgia border and about 340 miles (547 km) north of Miami. The settlement that became Jacksonville was founded in 1791 as Cowford because of its location at a narrow point in the river where cattle once crossed. In 1822, a year after the United States acquired colonial Florida from Spain, the city was renamed for Andrew Jackson, the first military governor of the Florida Territory and then-future President of the United States.

Architecture

Downtown Jacksonville has a memorable skyline with the tallest building being the Bank of America Tower, constructed in 1990 as the Barnett Bank Center. It has a height of 617 ft (188 m) and includes 42 floors. Other notable structures include the 37-story Modis Building (once, with its distinctive flared base, the defining building in the Jacksonville skyline), originally built in 1972-74 by the Independent Life and Accident Insurance Company, and the 28 floor Riverplace Tower which, when completed in 1967, was the tallest precast, post-tensioned concrete structure in the world.

Tourism

In 2008, Jacksonville had approximately 2.8 million visitors who stayed overnight, spending nearly $1 billion. Research Data Services of Tampa was commissioned to undertake the study, which quantified the importance of tourism. The total economic impact was $1.6 billion and supported nearly 43,000 jobs, 10% of the local workforce.

Airports

Airports in Jacksonville are managed by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA). The commercial passenger facility is Jacksonville International Airport on the Northside. Smaller planes can fly to Craig Municipal Airport in Arlington and Herlong Airport on the Westside. The JAA also operates Cecil Field, the former NAS airfield at Cecil Commerce Center that is intended for the aerospace and manufacturing companies located there.

Neighborhoods

As the largest city in land area in the contiguous United States, Jacksonville’s official website divides the city into six major sections:[22]

Sections of Jacksonville

  * Greater Arlington (Arlington) is situated east and south of the St. Johns River and north of Beach Blvd.

  * North Jacksonville, (Northside) officially considered to be everything north of the St. Johns & Trout Rivers and east of US 1.

  * Northwest Jacksonville is located north of Interstate 10, south of the Trout River.

  * Southeast Jacksonville (Southside, Mandarin), referring to everything east of the St. Johns River and south of Beach Blvd.

  * West Jacksonville (Westside) consists of everything west of the St. Johns River and south of Interstate 10.

  * Urban Core (Downtown Jacksonville) includes the south & north banks of the narrowest part of the St. Johns River east from the Fuller Warren Bridge and extending roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) north and east.

Jacksonville is divided into several sections; Northside, Southside and Westside, with each section having several distinct neighborhoods.