The Last Days of LaVilla

[fieldafm]

LaVilla was once Jacksonville's great black neighborhood before the wrecking ball sealed its demise.

Full article:
https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/the-last-days-of-lavilla/

After just having returned from a few Rust Belt cities... this article really hit home for me (pun intended). Looking at images of the Crane and Newsome buildings makes you wonder what LaVilla would be like today if those buildings had the opportunity for reuse in a present-day market that values adaptive reuse of buildings just like these.

The homes around West Duval Street (page 2) is the site for an auto demolition business along with surrounding vacant lots.

West Forsyth Street (page 2) is a series of vacant land and parking lots.

Looking at Broad Street (page 1), how many of those storefronts and signs could have been reused today to re-establish a pretty cool commercial district?

[thelakelander]

I just returned from Pittsburgh. If Railroad Row were around today, I think West Bay Street would be every bit just as vibrant as the Strip District. It was essentially the same thing as the Strip District's Penn Avenue.











With that said, although we can't get back what was lost, we do have a real opportunity to do something special with the three continuous blocks of warehouses and storefronts still standing between Forsyth, Jefferson, Adams and Lee Streets.  That setting is just as dense as what's on Penn Avenue and the older buildings date back to LaVilla's red light district days, so some really authentic Jax lore could be worked into their re-use. Myrtle Avenue and Dennis Street area, west of the CSX A Line, in the Rail Yard District also offer similar opportunity. The key for Jax is not knock down the little of what's left.

[thelakelander]

Another area I think still has tremendous potential is Broad Street between the courthouse and State & Union Streets. It was LaVilla's largest business district and a few blocks of old storefronts are still intact. It also crosses Ashley Street, which includes a few buildings still standing where Ray Charles, James Brown, Louis Armstrong, Billy Holiday, Jelly Roll Morton, Blind Blake, Coot Grant and Ma Rainey once performed. In addition, Clara White Mission is where Booker T. Washington, James Weldon Johnson, A. Philip Randolph, Eleanor Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, Jr. once stayed. On one side of the corner of Broad and Ashley is where the first documented performance of the blues on a public stage took place. On the other side is old Stanton High School. This little stretch offers every bit as much opportunity for a Memphis Beale Street-like rebirth where a mix of housing can be integrated into cultural, retail, dining and entertainment uses. Again, the main issue here it to work with what's left and fill in the gaps with complimenting infill development.


Beale Street after urban renewal in 1978.....Kinda looks like present day LaVilla's Broad Street.








https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/memphis-beale-street-an-example-for-lavilla/