Laura Street, the north–south spine under your feet, takes its name from the daughter of Jacksonville’s founder, Isaiah D. Hart. Here you feel why downtown people have long called this the city’s financial district: a high concentration of office blocks lines the corridor, and the street has historically functioned as a preeminent shopping and financial avenue. The contiguous segment runs from 12th Street in the historic neighborhood of Springfield, south through downtown, terminating at Independent Drive.
South of State Street, Laura Street runs through the core of downtown’s Northbank and is one of the busiest pedestrian streets in the city. It has remained an important economic and cultural epicenter for the region. Take in the institutions that anchor the block: Jacksonville’s oldest park, designated along Laura Street in 1856 and now known as James Weldon Johnson Park (formerly Hemming Park); the Riverfront Plaza; the Main Public Library; the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville; and City Hall.
Imagine the flow of shoppers, workers, and civic life that has kept this street at the heart of the city, with the park, the library, and the museum just down the block.