JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If you’re out at Klutho Park in Springfield, you might notice a modern-style giraffe statue overlooking the green spaces.
It’s there to mark the site of Jacksonville’s first zoo, which was built in the early 1900s.
It was called the Municipal Zoo, and it opened after a fawn was gifted to the city.
MORE: Complete coverage from our 4 Your Neighborhood visit to Springfield
The zoo was popular, but there were concerns about flooding and complaints from nearby homeowners about the smell.
In 1924, 10 years after the Municipal Zoo opened, it moved to the Northside, where it has remained for more than a century.
Since its initial move, the zoo has roughly tripled in size, growing in popularity and prestige.
In February, the newly renamed Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens was nominated for Best Zoo in USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards.
Pearl Street street cars
Jacksonville is home to a number of walkable corridors, many of which are a direct result of the city’s former electric streetcar network.
It operated from 1880 to 1936 and passed through Springfield’s Pearl Street.
The streetcar line was extended to the Springfield neighborhood in 1916.
The fixed transit system never made it north of Springfield, but it was successful in stimulating growth in the community, leading to affordable housing and mixed-use storefronts.
It was also a prime spot for some of the city’s earliest gas stations.
Klutho Park
Originally part of Springfield Park, a portion of the green space was renamed after Henry Klutho in 1985.
Klutho helped redesign the downtown area after the Great Fire of 1901.
His high-rise buildings and architecture transformed Jacksonville.
Klutho Park also features a Venetian-style promenade, which Klutho designed for The Hogans Creek Improvement Project in 1929. The promenade is still there today, but is largely rundown.
The park offers a number of activities, including a disc golf course, walking paths, a baseball diamond, basketball and tennis courts, a playground and lots of green spaces.
Springfield Park
Springfield Park has a story as lively as the community around it.
Originally called Dignan Park, it opened in 1907 as Jacksonville’s very first supervised playground.
That means it had extra safety features, along with people there specifically to help keep an eye on kids during playtime.
Fast forward to 1914, when thousands of former Confederate soldiers gathered there for a huge reunion — and soon after, the park was renamed Confederate Park.
During both World Wars, nearby troops used the playground for drills and camps.
Today, you can shoot hoops on the basketball court, walk your dog in the park, or play on the playground.
