ASAP Plumbing

Things to do in

Jacksonville, Florida
presented by

ASAP plumbing and Drain Cleaning.

904-346-1266

Friendship Fountain

When this fountain was unveiled in its namesake park on Southbank in 1965, it was the largest and tallest in the world.

The Friendship Fountain still has epic dimensions, with a basin more than 60 meters in diameter and three rings of sprays, the centermost shooting water 30 meters into the air.

A maximum 16750 gallons (76,147 liters) of water a minute is discharged by the Friendship Fountain three rings.

By the 2000s the Friendship Fountain’s pipes had been corroded, but this sparkling monument was returned to its former glory with $3.2m renovation in 2011. There’s a program of performances all day long, but the fountain is at its best after sunset, when the jets are illuminated by 265 computer-controlled lights.

————-

Ft Caroline National Monument

A short-lived French colony was established by the Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion on the north bank of the St. Johns River in 1564. Fort Caroline was immediately in the sights of the Spanish, who founded St.

Augustine in 1565 and set about wiping out the Huguenot settlement.

Fort Caroline was named in honor of King Charles IX, and during its short existence was ridden with illness, attacked by the Timucuan Indians and ultimately sacked by the Spanish who executed several hundred Huguenots.

The Fort Caroline National Memorial, in the Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve, is somewhere to ponder the early years of European exploration, first contact between Europeans and Native Americans and the territorial conflict that beset America in the Early Modern Age.

The fort’s ditch and earthwork ravelins are intact, and this is also the setting for the visitor center for the whole Timucuan Preserve, open seven days a week.

—————

Jacksonville Beach pier

Like most piers, the Jacksonville Beach Pier is in a constant struggle against the elements.

The first pier from 1922 was destroyed in 1999 by Hurricane Floyd.

This was rebuilt within five years, but then Hurricane Matthew came along in October 2016, and Irma a year later, causing new damage.

In November 2019 repairs were ongoing, but the pier was accessible, and lets you step out over the breaking waves to see the coastline stretching out for miles to the south.

Just over 190 meters long, the pier is a haunt for anglers, and even has its own bait shop.

———-

The Ritz Theatre

The Lavilla neighborhood west of downtown was a pulsating place to be between the 1920s and 1960s, when it was referred to as the “Harlem of the South”. That time was quickly forgotten when crime and other social problems pushed entertainment aside.

But in the 1990s the Art Deco venue that captured Lavilla’s mid-century essence was renovated in a multimillion-dollar project, down to it emblematic corner sign.

The Ritz Theatre & Museum dates from 1929 and deals with African American culture in Northeast Florida.

In 2019-20 “Through Our Eyes” invited prominent artists to interpret the concept of “Revolution” in a range of different media.

As a stage there’s a lot going on, and the schedule bubbles with talent shows, comedy, plays, family entertainment and concerts.

————-

Huguenot park

Behind this park, just north of where the St. John’s River flows into the Atlantic is the enormous watery expanse of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.

This leaves Huguenot Memorial Park almost stranded on its 295-acre horseshoe-shaped peninsula, which is great if you want to return to the wild for a few hours.

According to the Audubon society this is the best place for birding on the First Coast.

The white sandy beach pitches gently into the Atlantic and has a dune system behind.

If you’re traveling in a 4WD vehicle you’re even allowed to park up on the beach next to the dunes.

The break is sufficient for surfing, there’s a brisk breeze for kiting and there are fishing spots all along the coast.

The park has facilities like a playground, picnic area and a 70-site campground, handy if you want to get up early to catch the sunrise.

—————-

Beaches town center

The Jacksonville Beaches have a mostly quiet residential atmosphere apart from little built-up areas like Beaches Town Center where Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach merge at the end of Atlantic Boulevard.

Roughly four blocks squared, this pedestrian-friendly district has palm-shaded sidewalks, little boutiques, yoga studios, galleries, shops for watersports, ice cream/frozen custard parlors, craft breweries, two palatial oceanfront hotels and a big helping of restaurants and bars (deep breath). Naturally everything is seconds from the ocean, and if you tire of the beach you can potter around these streets, doing some window shopping and trying to choose from pizza, sushi, Mexican, subs, seafood and more.

———-

Castaway Island Preserve

In from the Beaches and just off the 3,000-mile Intracoastal Waterway is a natural space on a salt marsh system rich with birdlife.

For young families the best part is the mile-long child-friendly interactive trail, with animal prints embedded in the path leading to interpretive boards.

The preserve’s boardwalk has a commanding view of the salt marsh for birding, and you can survey the Waterway from an observation platform.

If you have a paddleboard or kayak you could spend a few hours exploring the little channels, while there’s also a fishing pier, grills and picnic areas if you want to make a day of it.

———

Main Street Bridge

The most striking of Jacksonville’s nine bridges is a Jacksonville emblem, completed in 1941 and a mainstay of the city’s skyline.

Linking the South Bank with downtown, the Main Street Bridge is a steel lift structure, using trusses to allow traffic to pass along the St. Johns River.

As the other bridges have been reconstructed, this is now the only movable bridge in the city, and can also accommodate pedestrian traffic if you want a different perspective on the Jacksonville cityscape.

That steel frame, with two towers, is painted a sky blue, and opens on signal apart from in the morning and evening rush hours.

———

Veterans Memorial Wall

For a moment of reflection when you visit TIAA Bank Field there’s a 20-meter black granite tribute to Jacksonville’s fallen servicemen and women, a few steps west of the stadium.

The monument was unveiled in 1995 and is unique for honoring veterans from every conflict since WWI, from the country’s six service branches: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine.

The wall is also the venue for the solemn Memorial Day ceremony in May, when new names may be added to the wall.

By 2019 there were more than 1,700 inscriptions.

————

Here are photos from
Walter Jones Historical park
In Mandarin

 

 

Well, Pump, and, well drilling, Putnam, Coast, Pumps, East, Partridge, Wells, near, H20, well, companies, me, stay right, our ITE, RITE, STA, pump repair, shallow well, Water pump, deep well, can, kit, bladder tank, bladder, pressure switch, rebuild, first, COM, Myers, impeller, Wal, Ron, good, mart, irrigation, find, Lowe’s, enter Interlochen, Interlochen, Putnam well, the drilling, Putnam, East, Coast, Pumps, Wells, H2O, First, Coast, Nocatee, drilling, shallow, well, home, Rebuild kit, water, can you run two pumps off wine well, I need a deep well pump, septic, sewage, Lehmans, well, Pump, Duval, St. John’s,Saint Augustine, depot,Pool pump, filter for pool pump, pressure gauge, pressure switch, water storage tank, to pump system, sand filter, Valve, shut off valve, shut off, water meter, see PVC pipe, cpvc, Plastic pipe, yellow pipe, white pipe, cast-iron pipe,