It substantially encompasses the street plan of the city as contained within the bounds of walls (no longer standing) built between the 16th and early 19th centuries.

The district is bounded by Cordova, Orange, and St. Francis Streets, and Matanzas Bay.

Roughly half of the area's buildings were built before 1925, with a substantially large number in either Spanish Colonial or Moorish Revival styles.

Construction of the Castillo de San Marcos, located at the northeastern end of the district, began with the community's founding, and the central plaza was also an early defining feature.

Further south in the district stand a cluster of some of the city's oldest surviving residences, including the c. 1723 González–Alvarez House (a.k.a.