Neighborhoods of Jacksonville: Monterey
Monterey is the area of Arlington bounded by the St. Johns River, Jacksonville University, University Boulevard and the Arlington Expressway. Although home to two historic communities dating back to the 1880s, the Monterey we see today is a direct Mid-Century result of the opening of the Matthews Bridge in 1953.
Arlington Heights (Old Arlington)
In 1911, Frederick Bruce and H. L. Sprinkle established the Alderman Realty Company. Older residences along Arlington Road between the boat ramp and University Boulevard were developed as a part of their early 20th century Arlington Heights community.
1321 River Bluff Road was completed in 1914.
Arlington Elementary School was completed in 1921 at the cost of $40,000.
The Crossroads is an early commercial district that materialized at the intersection of Chaseville Road and Arlington Road. Chaseville Road was renamed University Boulevard after Jacksonville University relocated to Arlington in 1950.
The Arlington Road Boat Ramp was the location of the Alderman Realty Company’s ferry service to downtown Jacksonville between 1913 and 1939. The ferry was initially established to make Arlington Heights more attractive to prospective buyers. After the opening of the Mathews Bridge, it was converted into a boat ramp by Duval County.
The Arlington Marina is a locally owned and operated marina adjacent to the Arlington Road Boat Ramp.
Situated at the foot of Arlington Road, Cross-State Towing Company, Inc. was founded by Marvin Lane in 1964. After working for Merrill-Stevens Shipyard, he quit and opened his own tugboat company. With named inspired by the Cross Florida Barge Canal, Cross-State now operates a fleet of tugboats and barges.
1209 River Bluff Road was completed in 1904.
Monterey
A new mural on the former theater wall of College Park. Seven years before Sam Walton opened his first Walmart, Benjamin Setzer and his partners opened the first Pic ‘N Save in Arlington’s Town & Country Shopping Center, a Setzer real estate development in 1955. Pic ‘N Save would go on to grow into a 40 store chain employing over 3,000 before filing for bankruptcy in 1995. During the shopping center’s best days, it had a movie theater, beauty salons, clothing and shoe stores. In 2019, the shopping center was sold to JWB Real Estate Companies, LLC. Now called College Park, JWB plans to renovate and upgrade the property.
The Arlington Expressway is a part of State Road 115, which was developed by the Jacksonville Expressway Authority as an alternative to US 1 during the 1950s. Prior to its construction, what is now known as Arlington, was a network of small rural communities by the names of Floral Bluff, Eggleston, Clifton, Chaseville, and Gilmore.
The Arlington United Methodist Church on University Boulevard.
Constructed in 1975, 900 Arlington is one of many office buildings along the Arlington Expressway corridor.
The former Atlantic Coast Bank at 930 University dates back to 1961. The building is an excellent commercial example of an architectural style found in abundance in Arlington.
Riverton Tower Senior Center is a 12 story building at the foot of the Mathews Bridge. For many years, it was also occupied by Jones College. Established by Ann Harper Jones in 1918, the private college held its last classes in August 2017.
The St. Johns River as viewed from Riverton Tower.
The La Palma Apartments were originally developed as the Monterey Manor Apartments by William R. Cesery in 1959. Cesery was one of the developers largely responsible for Arlington’s growth after the opening of the Mathews Bridge. His company built more than 2,000 homes and hundreds of apartments in Arlington.
Firestone Complete Auto Care at the intersection of Los Santos Way and University Boulevard.
Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com