GoLO Jacksonville

If you are looking for a suitable place to hold your wedding reception or other celebration, look no further! The Springfield Woman’s Club, 210 W. 7th Street in Historic Springfield is the perfect place for a gathering of up to 125 people. Just a short distance from downtown, North Main Street, and Interstate 95, it is easy to reach from any part of Jacksonville or the surrounding areas. The fountain and gardens make a beautiful background for perfect wedding photographs. The lovely Klutho Park and Bandstand is close by – just a carriage ride – which could also be a perfect setting for a wedding ceremony.

The century-old building, originally the Springfield Presbyterian Church, has been carefully restored to preserve its ambiance. It has polished wood flooring, with a real cathedral ceiling, and an understated decor with a hint of Victorian style. This allows your florist and wedding planner to decorate according to your wishes.

There is a fully equipped kitchen for food preparation and renters are able to bring in their choice of caterers.

A lovely setting for perfect receptions – at a price that makes this unique venue a real treasure.

Monday through Thursday —$350.00
Fridays and Saturdays —$550.00
Sundays —$400.00
Additional Consecutive Day—Half Price

Hourly Rates
Monday—Thursday Only
$75 First Hour
$50 Each Additional Hour

Daily Rental Hours —9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Midnight

Call and reserve your special event: 904-633-9308

E-mail: siawc@yahoo.com

The Springfield Improvement Association and Woman’s Club also has a busy event calendar with outstanding activities.
Put “A Vintage Evening at the Club” wine tasting on your calendar:

Saturday, April 14, 2012
From 4:30 to 7:30 pm at The Woman’s Club
210 West 7th Street
Historic Springfield 

For further information and to purchase tickets: Click here.

This public event includes a wine education – how to drink it, not how to make it. Six to ten vintage natural wines from all over the world will be offered for tasting by PRP Wine International, a full service boutique wine company. Springfield residents and friends have been raving about a recent PRP Wine tasting – even beer drinkers said they learned tips and info that made them not only enjoy wine, but made them purchase their own bottle.

    In an interconnected workplace, it’s becoming easier to connect, collaborate, and socialize. After all, two (or three) heads are better than one. While the workplace is becoming more interactive, mobile workers are looking for ways to connect easier and more efficiently. A mobile worker can face issues not known to the cubicle crew. For example, it takes a mobile worker eight minutes from the time they sit down to become actively engaged in work. Laptop bags, coffee mugs, iPods, cell phones…it can take a while to set up shop. In addition, a mobile worker that calls Starbucks home faces a series of other issues…find a table, get a coffee, set up. What can be done to make this easier without a clear definition of space, and make working on the go more effective?

    Coworking is a style of work which involves a shared working environment, yet independent activity. This concept gives you an on-hand network of collaborators and fellow brain stormers, as well as workspace and collaboration areas. Downtown Jacksonville will have it’s own co-work space with the opening of CoWork Jax, scheduled to open by the end of the year. After scouring the downtown landscape for the perfect co-work venue, the organization decided on the second floor of the historic Woolworth Building at the corner of Forsyth and Main, upstairs from Perdue, Inc. CoWork Jax plans to offer memberships that allow individuals or small companies to utilize workspaces for the day or for an extended period of time. The company will also offer small office spaces, as well as conference rooms with HD web conferencing and whiteboards, along with a host of collaboration specific areas developed by Turnstone and Steelcase furniture.

    The need for co-working in Jacksonville’s urban core is clear. “Downtown is a great place to bring that passion and energy together in a vibrant core,” said Elton Rivas, co-founder of Zero Confines and CoWork Jax. “We are excited to provide a shared workspace for freelancers and small businesses to grow and believe the impact could be exponential in nature.” CoWork Jax plans to announce membership and pricing information information with an opening date soon.

     Research into the habits of mobile workers led to the development of the SOTO II worktools, a collection of organizational and productivity tools by Details, a division of Steelcase.  Designed to enhance the experience of mobile workers, the SOTO II collection by Details will be launching during the winter of 2011.  “Mobile workers want to connect quickly and get working fast.  SOTO II products encourage and allow this behavior by providing the right tools to welcome to the user to the workspace,” says Jody Hanson, general manager of Details.  “Connectivity, privacy, access to personal items and quick access to power are equally important to making a mobile worker feel comfortable.” Learn more about their new collection at http://details-worktools.com/sotoii.

    Meeting space, HD web conferencing, color printing- perhaps co-working works better for your business than the back table at your local coffee shop. All this for almost the same price as your cappuccino and muffin. This is a great opportunity to GoLo to support the local business landscape…and help your own business grow.

Thank you, Southern Living, for highlighting the terrific restaurants, boutiques and galleries of Riverside, San Marco and Downtown in your October 2011 issue. The article is billed as “a neighborhood-specific guide to the best places to eat, drink, shop and socialize in the River City,” and three of the four neighborhoods profiled are right here in our historic urban core.

Coincidence? We don’t think so. These are authentic neighborhoods with great architecture, beautiful public spaces and parks, tree-lined streets and interesting people. Our amazing locally owned, locally operated stores play a huge role in helping preserve the unique character of our compact, walkable communities, and the businesses highlighted in the article all operate at the highest levels of excellence.

Southern Living, we’re sending you some love!

Great video of 2011 4th of July – and Historic Springfield community.
Score keeping for the 4^th Annual Springfield Heritage Throwback Baseball: East vs West,  will be on a newly restored scoreboard – thanks to Springfield resident, Andrew Macris. This 4th of July special neighborhood event is being held at the newly named (thanks to Andrew) “Heritage Field” in J. Henry Klutho Park. Game begins at 4:30 following a children’s parade around the bases.

Springfield Preservation and Revitalization (SPAR Council) and the Springfield Mommies’ Group are sponsors of this popular event and are pleased to announce this is the first park use with access to restored bathrooms in the base of the historic Klutho Bandstand.
The Springfield Mommies’ Group is also throwing a birthday party for the USA! They’ll have a huge birthday cake and will be selling the slices along with ice cold drinks. Kids can cool off with some fun water activities including water balloons, a water gun filing station and a sprinkler to run through.

Come watch downtown fireworks from Klutho Park in Historic Springfield.

Bring your picnic and lawn chair and spend a wonderful 4^th of July – “heritage” style – in one of the coolest neighborhoods in Jacksonville.

It’s a great rivalry – east vs west – of Main Street – and there’s always room for team members. Andrew is the organizer for the eastside team. Westside organizer is Dan Blanchard – dblanch100@gmail.com (also game/teams co-founder and downtown parks advocate). Contact Dan for information or the SPAR office: 904-353-7727 – sparoffice@sparcouncil.org.

Click here for great article and photos from past games on metrojacksonville – and check out this photo gallery from 2010.  Don’t forget to wear your red, white and blue.

Just for fun… check out this video: http://youtu.be/1KF59txLZlU

Here at Downtown Vision, Inc. our mission is to build and maintain a healthy & vibrant Downtown and promote Downtown as the place to be. As an intern at this organization, I was tasked with creating a post about the various bars Downtown, also known as The Core. This is my story.

It’s Friday night. I find myself off work and needing to relax after a hectic week. Deciding that a few drinks would help my cause, I set off into the night. Normally my route might take me to the Southside or perhaps if my patience is high, the beaches, but tonight I’m headed off to a different direction.

Word on the street is Downtown has some pretty awesome nightspots. Crossing the Mathews Bridge, I glance off into the distance and notice how Downtown illuminates the night sky. I pull over and with the aid of my GPS, punch in “Bars” and am surprised by how many dots populate the screen. Eager to start the night, I poke my finger at the closest dot and up pops Dos Gatos.

Cruising down Forsyth Street I spy a red brick façade. “Destination on right” speaks Jenny, my loyal guide. A whole 30 seconds passed until I found a parking spot; I always thought parking was an issue Downtown. Stepping out of my car I am immediately greeted by the humid night. I arrive to Dos Gatos and file myself to the back of the line. Not too long but not too short either. The kind of line where you know it must be good. My turn comes around to enter and a quick show of my ID gets me in.

My eyes are quickly drawn to the bar. It gives off a rustic feel with brick work lining up the wall. The center attraction is a painted woman, one that has the look of the pin-up girls who graced many World War II planes. Ever inquisitive, I continue inside. If only others were with me, the half circle leather booths would be inviting. I order one of their signature drinks, El Verano, which is a heavenly mixture of cucumber, agave nectar and tequila. I go over to some tables where a few people are happily chatting away. A half hour passes as do some exquisite conversations. Knowing that more dots await, I leave behind Dos Gatos.

I whip out my mobile Jenny and find my way to Dive Bar. I learn that this bar has recently changed its image and become a live music venue. “New Attitude, New Look, New Music, New Scene” reads a poster. Passing through the line and bouncer, I enter. My first impression is “wow.” The ambiance of darkness with candles lighting various areas intrigues me. I walk by a circular lounge seating area, which is very cool. I approach the bar and see a BIG chalkboard with custom creation drinks. My eyes go directly to a drink called The Pirate. I don’t even read what it is, I just know that any drink called The Pirate must be good. Let’s just say I was not disappointed. A local band does their thing, and the mood is very relaxing. Out of nowhere I spot some friends coming in. We greet each other and see this as an opportunity to seize that VIP lounge which is black lit and lined with band posters. As if around a campfire we sit and chat, music in the air and drinks in hand, a perfect night.

Now that I have a posse, it’s off to the next one. Will it be Mark’s Downtown Club/Lounge, LIT Downtown, Mavericks Rock N’ Honky Tonk, Burro Bar, De Real Ting Café, ClubTSIDiscotheque, Ivy Ultra Bar, Zodiac Bar & Grill, Café 331? At the moment, I’m not sure. But I do know one thing, the night is young. These bars fill the arteries of Downtown. The Core is where nightlife entrepreneurs are creating a new vibe in the epicenter of Jacksonville.  From Bay, Forsyth and Adams Streets to the Jacksonville Landing, the nightlife and entertainment scene is happening in The Core. A collaboration between Downtown Vision, Inc. and local business owners are making the dream of having a vibrant nightlife in Downtown Jacksonville a reality.