DTJAX Riverfront Loop Preview

Tucker Cycles is the world-wide headquarters of Art Bikes Jax! The world's only Art Bikes! Holt Tucker is Jacksonville's most sought-after bike mechanic and helps to keep our Art Bikes fleet in top shape. Come in for bikes, accessories, service and awesome Tucker Cycles merch! You can also pick up historic Jacksonville merch!

We love our public parks! The neighborhoods of Avondale and Riverside have 26 public parks and several of them, like this one, are along the St Johns River. This is where the river is at its widest point, as it takes an easterly turn toward downtown as she tumbles slowly to the Atlantic Ocean. Looking at the river and to the right, you will see historic neighbood of Ortega. Beyond that you can see the water towers at Navy Station Jacksonville, NAS Jax. The St Johns Riverkeeper is a lead advocacy group to help protect this precious asset.

John Murray Forbes was an abolitionist from Boston who was riding on a steamboat on the St Johns RIver in 1868, he was admiring the bluff of land on the north bank of the river, Dell's Bluff, so he bought it for $10,000. The park has recently been enhanced with planters and trees. Continue behind the hospital along the riverwalk path and admire the beauty of the river, you can see San Marco on the south bank of the river. Keep riding along the path behind the hospital as you head to your next stop. (GPS will catch up with you once you get to Stockton Street)

During the 1920's, revivals of European architectural styles were common. Among the popular English derivatives, the Tudor Revival style with its distinctive half-timbering was most often used for residences. Jacobethan Revival was another style borrowed from the English, and its monumental appearance made it well suited for educational and ecclesiastical buildings. It was often adapted to residential structures as well, however, and this house is Jacksonville's foremost example of this style. This style shows some of the trappings common with the Tudor Revival style, such as massive polygonal chimneys, a slate roof, leaded glass windows, and Tudor style arches over windows and doors. The most prominent feature of the main facade is the 3 ½-story tower with a crenelated parapet, which contributes to the castle-like quality of this house. TThe dramatic scale and riverfront siting make this one of Jacksonville's most significant mansions. It was built in 1928-1929 at a cost of over $100,000 for Leon Cheek, head of the Cheek-Neal Coffee Company, which later became the Maxwell House Coffee Company. The remnants of Cheek's huge private boat dock can still be seen in the river in front of the house.

Memorial Park is a 5.85-acre public park with a the grand sculpture "Spiritualized Life" by Charles Pillars. This is the third-oldest park in the city, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017, it was dedicated on Christmas Day 1924. The park was designed by famed lanscape architects, the Olmstead Brothers. The same Olmstead's who did Central Park in New York, the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and nearly 6,000 public parks around the country.

The Riverside Arts Market is a weekly celebration of all things local. There are area artists and artisans, farmers and makers, offering a dizzying selection of food and drink, crafts of all kinds, art, jewelry, fragrances, you name it. And it happens every Saturday, rain or shine, under the Fuller Warren Bridge across the St. Johns River.

The market is produced by Riverside Avondale Preservation, which started it in this very spot more than 30 years ago. Today the market attracts people by the thousands, who come not only to browse the vendors’ offerings, but to participate in an array of events and activities.

Continue to the river and stay on the Riverwalk all the way to downtown. The GPS may tell you to go back to Riverside Avenue, but don't do that, you will now stay along the river for several miles. Enjoy and keep an eye out for dolphin.

You are riding into into downtown on Jacksonville's largest mural! Created by Springfield artist Dave Nackashi, this gateway to downtown Jacksonville has been repainted at least 2 times. Dave is an incredible artist and you will be treated to another one of his pieces on the other side of the bridge. The bridge takes you over the newly restored McCoy's Creek, a wonderful urban waterway filled with native plants and wildlife, come back and kayak along the creek. To your right you will see a historic bridge, built in 1925 by the Strauss Bridge company, the same company that created the Golden Gate Bridge. This is a very active railway (just ask our friends in San Marco!)

"Cows of Cowford" by artist Dave Nackashi

“The Cowford Cows” was commissioned by Downtown Vision and the Downtown Dwellers to enhance Corkscrew Park. This mural was completed in November of 2022 by local artist David Nackashi. The artist wanted to use this opportunity to highlight some of the original roots of the city. Before Jacksonville was Jacksonville it was known as “The Cow Ford”. When the Spanish Conquistadors came to Florida they brought a small breed cow with them, known now after becoming wild again in central Florida as “Florida Cracker Cattle”. Natives and settles would then herd these cows north through the Cow Ford.

About the Song "Calm Cows"

The music was created by Ryan DeBuys. Looking at the mural DeBuys felt a calm mellow vibe from the colors and wanted to make something that matched that feeling of these gentile giants in the water.

The waterfront of the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts is now an engaging, dynamic park that celebrates Jacksonville’s rich musical heritage. Check out the Riverfront Music Garden, which honors local musicians and composers through interactive art elements and a dedicated Walk of Fame. You can literally play in the park with children’s musical play equipment and a cutting-edge outdoor projection venue.

Walk along The Walk of Fame, a pathway embedded with the names of artists and composers who have ties to Jacksonville, ensuring their contributions are permanently celebrated within the park’s landscape.
Art Bikes was among the group of historians, authors and local music legends who worked on curating the first members of the Walk of Fame. The inaugural class of inductees for the Jacksonville Music Walk of Fame is as follows:

1. 38 Special
2. 69 Boys
3. 95 South
4. Allman Brothers Band
5. Blind Blake
6. Charlie “Hoss” Singleton
7. Classics IV
8. Frederick Delius
9. Glenn Jones
10. Gram Parsons
11. Jahaan Sweet
12. JJ Grey & Mofro
13. Johnson Brothers (James Weldon Johnson & John Rosamond Johnson)
14. Lil Duval
15. Limp Bizkit
16. Longineu Parsons II
17. Lynyrd Skynyrd
18. Ma Rainey
19. Mae Axton
20. Marcus Roberts
21. Molly Hatchet
22. Pat Chappelle
23. Quad City DJs
24. Ray Charles
25. Shinedown
26. Tedeschi Trucks Band
27. Tim McGraw
28. Ulysses Owens, Jr.
29. Walter Orange
30. Yellowcard

Riverfront Plaza is already a hit! The park is multiple parks all in one, starting with the interactive playground and several connecting walkways to take you along the river and to new parts of the park which will open in the months to come. Eventually, the enitre riverfront will be connected with parks, muesums and adventures from here all the way to the stadium. Jacksonville is on the rise, just like the center of this glorious playground.

Welcome to downtown Jacksonville and Visit Jacksonville's office on the corner of Laura and Forsyth. Next to VIsit Jacksonville are the historic buildings called the Laura Street Trio, we are hopeful that these once proud buildings will return to their glory. The buildings were created after the great fire of 1901 by famed architect Henry Klutho, you can still see the ornate features at the top of the building. Hopefully, the road to restoration will be complete for the trio, until that time, you can pause here at The Pour House and grab a cold beer. Continue along the sidewalk, cross Bay Street and access the sidewalk to the Main Street Bridge as you head back across the St Johns River.

Friendship Fountain is back! After 3 years of renovation, the fountain resumed delighting people with dancing water and magical lights in February of 2024. When the park opened in 1965, the Fountain of Friendship was the world’s largest and tallest fountain, capable of spraying 17,000 gallons of water a minute to a height of 120 feet. Accentuated by colored lights at night, it soon became a popular tourist destination and local recreation site. The Museum of Science and History is closing as it prepares to move to a new location on the other side of the river. Friendship Fountain has a brand new playground and has all kinds of events including live music, yoga and light shows. Click Here to see whats happening in the park! The park provides a wonderful view of downtown Jacksonville and access to the Southbank Riverwalk that opened in 1985. There are nightly light shows at the fountain every half hour starting at 7 PM

Mirrored River is part of the City of Jacksonville and the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville’s Art in Public Places Program (APP) that seeks to add public art to the city’s new construction projects. As the Southbank Riverwalk undergoes renovation, integrating public art into the redesign will, according to the Art in Public Places Committee (APPC), “bring…vibrancy and increased walkability to Downtown Jacksonville.”

RiversEdge Park is an incredible multi-use park with more than 4 acres of space to discover and enjoy. From the massive central park playground, to the winding boardwalk through the tidal marshes to the interactive games and an cozy riverfront seating, this park is a crown jewel for the city of Jacksonville. The park is a partnership with RiversEdge Development, the new heart and soul of downtown Jacksonville. Enjoy this park! Ride through along the Riverwalk to the end then go on the boardwalk which will wind you through the tidal marsh, then get back on the Riverwalk and ride to the next destination, the mural under the Main Street Bridge (the blue bridge). The construction you see across the river, next to the stadium is the Four Seasons Hotel, as you can see, things are really moving along!

This space designed by San Diego based artist Kendrick Bangs Kellogg is one of the founders of the modern organic architecture movement. The restaurant looks like a sea creature, perched along the Riverwalk. The Florida chapter of the AMerican Institute of Architects named it one of the top 100 buildings in the state of Florida. (they have a killer happy hour too!)

Continue along the Riverwalk along the expansive Rivers Edge Park. You will pass several playgrounds and gathering spaces as you glide along the river. On the northbank, you will see the continued construction on tthe Jaguar's "Stadium of the Future" as well as the Four Seasons Hotel which is owned by Jaguars owner, SHad Kahan. Continue along the boardwalk which winds through a beautiful marsh. As you exit the boardwalk, continue on the green bike lane to Prudential Drive and then to King Street. Now would be a good time to select the next destination, Kava and Company, to guide you along as you continue the Riverfront Loop. You will be off the river for a mile or so before returning to The sUP, the Shared Use Path across the St Johns River.

Kava and Company is a lovely kava bar (if you have never tried kava, its a wonderful alternative to alcohol) that is also a canvas for murald curated by our friends at Hearts 4 Minds, a not-for-profit agency whose goal is to elevate mental health awareness in our community. The mural was created by Heartspace Art, who also created the Rainbow bike that is in the Art Bikes Fleet. You can learn more about all of these wonderful people through links on this page. In the meantime, continue along the Loop by taking a right on Nira Street and follow Nira all the way to the river behind Nemours Children's Hospital. There is a bike path available for you to enjoy. The next stop is The sUP over the St Johns River, access The sUP behind Nemours.

The sUP opened in April of 2023 connecting the Southbank of the St Johns River with the Northbank to Five Points and Riverside. This is an incredible piece of infrastructure that was over 10 years in the making, the Shared use Path is amost a mile long as it spans across the St Johns River. There are several pull-outs at the top of the bridge where you can pause for photos and scan the river for dolphin. Locate the enterance to the sUP behind Nemours Children's Hospital, follow the path up and over the St Johns River and then head toward your next destination.

The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is the largest fine arts museum in Northeast Florida. Come celebrate the holidays with the Cummer on Luminaria with live music and special holiday libations in teh cafe. Be sure to step inside to do some holiday shopping in the Cummer gift shop, an amazing collection of fantastic gift ideas!

Lucius T. Smith, a real estate developer, was the first owner of this house. Although its architect is unknown, the overall design was obviously influenced by Klutho's George W. Clark Residence at 2059 Riverside Avenue (built in 1911 and now demolished). Smith's house originally had a red brick first story, like the garage in the rear, which further emphasized the horizontal flow of the exterior. In 1946 the house was converted to an osteopathic hospital, and a highly unsympathetic addition was added to cover much of the front of the house. Thirty years later it was dramatically restored to become a residence again, but the brick of the lower story could not be salvaged. The identity of the architect of this house has never been officially documented.

Celebrating 100 years, this park exists because of William Elijah Boone, a prominent Jacksonville businessman and a great-nephew of the legendary Daniel Boone. In the 1920s, Boone donated much of this land to the City of Jacksonville with a powerful condition: it must remain a public park forever. Not sold. Not developed. Just open, shared space for the community. That promise still holds today and this memorial honors his donation to future generations. This is Boone Park South, head north and cross Hershel street into Boone Park North. Here you will discover the old Girl Scouts cabin, public tennis courts and another newly renovated playground. Enjoy the lush canopy of trees or follow Fishweir Creek as the natural border for the park. If you are lucky, you may spot a river oetter!

Since the beginning local volunteers have worked to create the Park you see today. Prior to the 1990s, other than the tennis center on Park Street, the park was largely undeveloped, only occasionally mowed, and dark at night. Many older residents recall climbing trees, catching frogs, and enjoying this ‘wild’ place. In the 1990s, several neighbors, spearheaded by local architect Richard Skinner, started a decade-long series of improvements of Boone Park and the Shoppes of Avondale. Access to the park was enhanced with an asphalt pathway, ornamental lighting, benches, and a playground on the St. Johns Ave end. The design focused on maintaining the ‘wildness’ of the park by avoiding a more formal design, like Memorial Park or Riverside Park.

In recent years, the Clontz Family Foundation helped fund and design a new innovative playground at the St Johns Ave end. Other recent improvements include installation of pickle ball courts, a very new playground at the Park Street end, and planting of trees and pollinator gardens.

Tucker Cycles is the world-wide headquarters of Art Bikes Jax! The world's only Art Bikes! Holt Tucker is Jacksonville's most sought-after bike mechanic and helps to keep our Art Bikes fleet in top shape. Come in for bikes, accessories, service and awesome Tucker Cycles merch! You can also pick up historic Jacksonville merch!