Offensive tackle Tony Boselli was the first player drafted by the Jaguars, who selected him second overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. He was so popular that Jacksonville-area McDonald's restaurants offered the "Boselli Burger" in his honor.

Formed in 1994, Limp Bizkit became popular playing in the Jacksonville underground music scene in the late 1990s. The band achieved mainstream success with Significant Other (1999) and Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water (2000), although this success was marred by a series of controversies surrounding its performances at Woodstock '99 and the 2001 Big Day Out festival.

Jacksonville's prominence as a winter resort was dealt a blow by major yellow fever outbreaks in 1886 and 1888. During the second outbreak, nearly ten percent of the more than 4,000 victims died, including the city's mayor. Inbound and outbound mail was fumigated in an effort to reduce contagion, and nearly half of the city's panicked residents fled despite the imposition of quarantines.

Friendship Fountain opened in 1965 as the world's largest and tallest fountain, and has been one of Jacksonville's most recognizable and popular attractions ever since. Designed by Jacksonville architect Taylor Hardwick, the fountain's three pumps can push 17,000 US gallons (64,000 L) of water per minute up to 100 feet (30 m) in height and features a musical light show each evening.

Originally a village green, Hemming Park was established as a public square in 1857 by Isaiah Hart, founder of Jacksonville. The first Wednesday of every month, the park is converted into the centerpiece of Jacksonville's Downtown Art Walk, and the third Thursday of every month, it hosts a night market called Jaxsons Night Market.

On May 3, 1901, a kitchen fire started in downtown Jacksonville. It spread to a nearby mattress factory which was soon engulfed in flames. In a mere eight hours, the fire swept through 146 city blocks, destroyed over 2,000 buildings, left about 10,000 homeless and killed seven residents. It is said the glow from the flames could be seen in Savannah, Georgia, and the smoke plumes seen in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In the 1910s, film studios headquartered in New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago were attracted to Jacksonville's warm climate, exotic landscapes, and cheap labor. More than 30 silent film studios were established over the decade, earning Jacksonville the title of "Winter Film Capital of the World". However, the emergence of Hollywood as a major film production center ended the city's film industry.

Perched outside the main branch of the Jacksonville Public Library is a 25-foot-tall bronze owl. It was cast by sculptor Larry Kirkland as an homage to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, knowledge, and reason, whose symbol is an owl.

It is the seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968. Consolidation gave Jacksonville its great size and placed most of its metropolitan population within the city limits.