Pictured above is the Ivy House Restaurant (formerly Govindas Indian Cuisine) in the City of Alachua

I love old architecture: Victorians, Cracker Style - anything that speaks of time's past.  I came across a home for sale on the Gainesville, FL MLS that was apparently in the historic district, and there was a link to the histroric guidelines.  There are certain restrictions when remodling homes in the historic district.  These guidelines are in place to encourage the owner to keep renovations with the integrity of the structure and area in mind. 

I was trying to find this link to the guidelines online, when I came across a really excellent catalog of Gainesville and Alachua County Historic Homesites and buildings, such as the well known Univeristy of Florida Historic Campus and homes in the Duck Pond area of Gainesville: Historic Preservation Website

By clicking the Historic Towns tab, you are given a little map in which you can click the cities within Alachua County to gather historical information and view a map of what sections make up the historic districts in those towns.  For Gainesville, you will find unique links covering the following areas:

History of Downtown Gainesville and Related Structures
Historic Downtown Structures

History of the Northeast Historic District (Duck Pond area)
NE Historic Sites

History of Pleasant Street Historic District
Pleasant St. Historic Homes

History of Southeast Gainesville Historic District
SE Gainesville Historic Homes

About University of Florida Campus Historic District
UF Historic Buildings

These links have a lot of Valuable and interesting information.  Next time you're driving around the Downtown area, try to locate some of these historic buildings.

Looking for Cracker, Victorian, or Traditional old homes/real estate in Alachua County?  Contact me and I'd be happy to send you available properties.  One of the homes in the Duck Pond area/Northeast historic district registry is even currently available (info current as of 5/28/2008)! 

Angela Elliott is a licensed Florida REALTOR® with Century 21 Classic Properties in Gainesville, FL. Please visit my profile for more about me and browse my Gainesville, FL real estate website for additional Alachua County information and listings. Your phone calls are always welcome at (352) 256-7038 as are your e-mails to angela.elliott1@century21.com.  A portion of all my closed sales will be donated to the Alachua Co. Humane Society (View my mission statement).