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San Marco, Jacksonville — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Three lions guard the fountain in San Marco Square, the commercial heart of San Marco, a Jacksonville district on the south bank of the St. Johns River.
About San Marco
Where to stay in San Marco
The right area depends on your trip — here's what each neighbourhood is best for.
San Marco puts its rooms at the northern end of the district, on Kings Avenue under Interstate 95, a walk of about ten minutes from San Marco Square. San Marco Boulevard, Atlantic Boulevard and Hendricks Avenue meet at that square and fan out through a low grid of shops, restaurants and the San Marco Theatre. Fourteen city parks dot the district.
You will want the quieter streets south of the square instead, around Largo Well Park and Lake Marco, if a residential block matters more than a short walk to dinner.
About San Marco
What are the main landmarks in San Marco?
The landmarks of San Marco gather around San Marco Square, the triangle where San Marco Boulevard meets Atlantic Boulevard. Balis Park fills its middle. Its fountain carries three lion statues copied from St. Mark's Square in Venice, and the streets nearby took Italian names, among them Largo Road and Sorrento Road.
The San Marco Theatre opened at 1996 San Marco Boulevard in 1938, and Theatre Jacksonville took the Little Theatre just along the same street at 2032 San Marco Boulevard, a building on the National Register of Historic Places since 1991. Southside Baptist Church holds the corner at 1435 Atlantic Boulevard.
What is the history of San Marco?
San Marco spent its first decades as South Jacksonville, a separate municipality from 1907 to 1932. The Acosta Bridge opened in 1921, replaced the ferry crossing of the St. Johns River, and set off a run of new subdivisions on the south bank. Telfair Stockton platted San Marco itself in 1925, across 80 acres of the old Villa Alexandria estate, the Mitchell family's 1870s winter place.
All 250 lots sold within three hours. The South Jacksonville Grammar School of 1916 survives on Flagler Avenue as flats, and the former city hall houses the San Marco Preservation Society, formed in 1975.
Where is San Marco?
San Marco lies across the St. Johns River from Downtown Jacksonville, between Interstate 95 to the north and Greenridge Road to the south.
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Updated September 2026