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Photo: Mathew105601, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Downtown Palatka is the central business district of Palatka, Florida. According to the Palatka Community Redevelopment Agency, the district is bounded by Main Street to the north, Laural Street to the south, the St. Johns River to the east, and Eleventh Street to the west, Historical Fort Shannon was located at the east end of downtown on the river, near what is today City Hall. Area transportation is conducted by Ride Solution and connects downtown passengers to other core areas in Putnam County.
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Housed in a 1920s architectural treasure, the center serves as an art and cultural resource for the community. Gallery showcases are held year round.
Built in 1854. For more information see the website of the Putnam County Historical Society & Museum.
A 59-acre Florida State Park, it was constructed by the Works Progress Administration, with cypress buildings, rock gardens and fieldstone terraces. Near the park entrance is The Court of States and a 64-foot obelisk dedicated to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Recreational activities include viewing the thousands of plants and shrubs, picnicking, jogging, hiking and biking. Amenities include interpretive exhibits, picnic areas, gardens, hiking trails, a 1.8-mile paved perimeter loop road, and a parcours trail. Visitors can rent a large covered pavilion, auditorium, and meeting rooms. The park is part of the annual Azalea Festival the first weekend in March, when the nearly 100,000 plants that the WPA planted decades ago bloom.
A Florida State Park 13 miles south of Palatka, on US 17 between Pomona Park and Satsuma. The park's natural communities include sandhills, covered with longleaf pines and wiregrass, and sand pine scrub. These communities protect several endangered and threatened species, such as the gopher tortoise, as well as a variety of other native animals. A picnic and hiking area is located on US-17, north of Pomona Park. The mile-and-a-half hiking and bicycling trail takes visitors to the pristine waters of Blue Pond.