Things to Do at Riverside/Avondale Historic District
Complete Guide to Riverside/Avondale Historic District in Jacksonville
About Riverside/Avondale Historic District
What to See & Do
Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens
The Cummer Museum sits behind a wrought-iron gate on Riverside Avenue, and most visitors walk straight past it. Their loss. The permanent collection is modest by big-city standards but punches above its weight — American art and European old masters that reward a slow look. The real draw is the formal gardens running to the river's edge: Italian and English sections, ancient oaks, lily ponds, and a view that makes leaving difficult. Go early on a weekday; you might have the whole place to yourself.
Memorial Park
A World War I memorial anchors the center, but most people come for the river access and the green space. On Saturday mornings, the Riverside Arts Market sets up under the Fuller Warren Bridge just a short walk away — local vendors, live music, food trucks, and cheerful chaos that tells you more about the neighborhood than any description. The park itself is low-key. Someone's always throwing a frisbee; a golden retriever is usually making a scene near the water.
Five Points Historic District
Three streets meet here — Lomax, Margaret, and Park. Worth finding. Chamblin's Uptown bookstore is a genuine rabbit hole: used and rare books spread across a cavernous space, and you'll lose an hour without noticing. The vintage shops rotate stock often enough to reward repeat visits. Five Points has held onto its character better than similar districts in comparable Southern cities — for now.
Avondale's King Street
A few blocks of independent retail and dining — unusually walkable for a city built around the car. The architecture is mostly 1920s commercial vernacular, with a few storefronts thoughtfully restored. Quieter than Five Points. Worth the short drive or bike ride south, if you're looking for a meal or a glass of wine without the noise. Saturday afternoons are the sweet spot: busy enough to feel alive, not so packed that you're fighting for a table.
Historic Residential Streets
Walk Riverside Avenue, Dancy, and St. Johns Avenue to understand this neighborhood. Craftsman bungalows with wide front porches, Colonial Revivals with graceful columns, Mediterranean Revivals with tile roofs gone pleasantly mossy — this kind of architectural variety only happens in neighborhoods built across decades, not all at once. People sit on their porches here. In the newer parts of Jacksonville, that is not the norm — and it says something about what this place considers worth keeping.
Practical Information
Opening Hours
The neighborhood is accessible at all hours. Cummer Museum: Tuesday–Saturday 10am–4pm, Sunday noon–4pm, closed Mondays. The Riverside Arts Market runs Saturdays 10am–3pm under the Fuller Warren Bridge — check locally for the off-season schedule. Most shops along Five Points and King Street open around 10–11am and close by 6–8pm; restaurants run later.
Tickets & Pricing
Cummer Museum: adults $15, seniors $10, students $6, children under 5 free. Free on Tuesday evenings 4–9pm — confirm hours before visiting, as they vary. Riverside Arts Market is free to enter. Everything else in the neighborhood costs nothing to walk through.
Best Time to Visit
Spring (March–May) and fall (October–November) are the clear choices — temperatures in the 60s and 70s, low humidity. Summer mornings before 10am can work; the neighborhood empties out enough to give you a more honest sense of it. Avoid summer afternoons. The humidity wins. Weekend mornings have the most energy; weekday afternoons are quieter but shops are fully open.
Suggested Duration
The Cummer Museum plus a walk through Five Points takes half a day. Covering both districts, the riverfront, and a meal or two — budget a full day. Don't schedule it tightly.
Getting There
Things to Do Nearby
Just east across downtown, the Southbank Riverwalk has a different view of the St. Johns — more urban, more active, with sightlines back toward the skyline. Good for an evening walk after a day in the historic districts.
About 15 minutes south by car. San Marco is another well-preserved historic neighborhood, with a square that runs a slightly more upscale commercial strip. Worth pairing with an Avondale visit if you want a fuller picture of old Jacksonville. The theatre district has decent live performance options.
The beaches are about 25 minutes east. Jacksonville Beach and Neptune Beach are among Florida's less developed stretches of coastline — real surf culture, less commercial than most. A logical pairing if you want beach time after a morning in Riverside.
In the LaVilla neighborhood near downtown, and worth a look even if you're not an art person. The building — a converted 1931 former Western Union office — is interesting on its own. A solid complement to the Cummer if you're building an arts-focused day.