Eat and drink on St. Johns Avenue, Avondale’s walkable commercial strip

One benefit of living in a region as geographically diverse as Jacksonville is the opportunity to explore different neighborhoods, each with its own sense of place and culture. Avondale, with its popular commercial strip, St. Johns Avenue (called the Shoppes of Avondale), offers what s perhaps the region s most-walkable and inviting cluster of restaurants, boutiques and specialty shops. A planned development started in 1920, Avondale is now a historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Infrastructure for the community, including sidewalks, sewers, city water, gas, electricity and telephone lines, was installed before lots were for sale and restrictions were placed on where commercial development could occur. The small-scale buildings of St. Johns Avenue in particular, including a 1927 edifice designed by Henry Klutho, were intended to blend with the residential neighborhood. The St. Johns Avenue business district saw some renovation in 2010 under Jackson