Historic Duckpond Neighborhood

A Defining Neighborhood of Gainesville

Located on the traditional land of the Seminole and Timucua peoples, The Duckpond is Gainesville’s oldest and best-preserved neighborhood and contains the Northeast Historic District. Human scale tree-shaded streets invite pedestrians to stroll past our historic homes to visit neighborhood amenities like the Historic Thomas Center gallery and gardens, the Thelma Boltin Center, Tom Petty Park, Roper Park, and the spring-fed Sweetwater Branch with an iconic island in the 1926 retention basin pond that gives the neighborhood its name. In 2019, Gainesville magazine identified the Duckpond as a Defining Neighborhood of Gainesville.

Gainesville’s original square mile

Gainesville’s ‘original square mile’ only spans 292 acres, but was originally platted out of an expanse of citrus orchards as 8 separate subdivisions with a narrow gridded street pattern and sidewalks on nearly every block. There are 290 historic homes in the historic district, representing an eclectic mix of architectural styles prevalent in Florida from the 1880s to the 1930s – colonial, Victorian, Greek revival, Queen Anne, Mediterranean, Tudor, craftsman cottages, Florida cracker houses, and fieldstone style houses – many sporting plaques from Historic Gainesville, Inc. identifying them by name. First United Methodist Church and Roper Park are located on the former campus of the East Florida Seminary, the predecessor to the University of Florida.

 

Duckpond Neighborhood Association

The Duckpond Neighborhood Association was established in 1989 and is an independent association that represents residents (both homeowners and renters) of Gainesville’s Northeast Historic District. For more information about the DNA and its activities, please visit www.duckpondneighborhood.org.

Peaceful Setting,
Close to the Action

Although it’s a quiet residential neighborhood, the Duckpond is only a short walk to the nightlife of Downtown Gainesville and attractions like Bo Diddley Plaza, The Hippodrome Theater, the Federal and County Courthouses, the Alachua County Headquarters Branch Library, Depot Park, and more.

 

West
If you walk a few blocks to the west of the neighborhood, you will find the bustling 10th Avenue Grove Street district, which is home to breweries, book shops, the Working Food Community Center, restaurants, and a farmers market.

East
A little way to the east of the neighborhood, you will find the Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center, Citizens Field, and the Dwight H. Hunter Northeast Pool.

North
To the north of our neighborhood, you can find more quiet residential streets in the Highland Court Manor and Debra Heights neighborhoods, home to the Library Partnership Alachua County and several schools.

South
Directly to the south of our neighborhood you can walk the pleasant streets of the Bed and Breakfast District and find the up-and-coming Power District on the way to our city’s gorgeous Depot Part. The University of Florida, Shands Hospital, and the Malcolm Randall Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center are all a short bike ride across down the Depot Avenue Rail Trail and across the Helyx Bridge.