JaxParks

Cortez Park resides in the Ortega neighborhood of southwest Jacksonville. In 1909, the Ortega Company, founded by John N. C. Stockton and Charles C. Bettes, began development of Ortega, designed by the prominent architect Henry J. Klutho. It was one of four circular parks created along Park Avenue (now Baltic Street) and named for New World explorers, including Hernando Cortez (1485-1547), the Spanish conqueror of Mexico. An electric trolley traveled via the Grand Avenue Bridge to Cortez Park, where it turned around for the return trip to downtown. And a charming commercial area known as the The Village (which still exists) evolved near the park. Set amidst numerous oak trees, the quiet park becomes the site of merry-making during the annual Fall Festival at Old Ortega, which was designated a Historic District and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.