(https://photos.moderncities.com/History/Memphis-Beale-Street/i-8tqd7XG/0/110c4df3/L/Looking_East_on_Beale_Street,_Memphis,_Tennessee,_June_2014-L.jpg)
Known for blues and barbecue. and home to popular attractions such as the Orpheum Theater and W.C. Handy House Museum, Beale Street has become one of the most famous urban entertainment streets in the country. Visiting today, it may be hard to believe that it was once as destitute as LaVilla currently is.
Full article: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/memphis-beale-street-an-example-for-lavilla/
Articles like these make me pound my head against a wall. All of the rich history of Lavilla that should be should be celebrated is JUST now finally starting to get some attention. Could you imagine how amazing of an area it would be today had we followed the same blueprint as Memphis. Ugh.
I find the parallels between Memphis and Jacksonville historical African-American communities fascinating but short of that this article seems more like a cautionary tale of what happens when we neglect and refuse to embrace our past rather than a vision of what La Villa could be. I would love to see Ashley St. be revamped like a Beale St. or Auburn Ave. but the fact that there is this big-ass middle school smack dab in the heart of the district on top of what history had succumbed to the wrecking ball doesn't get my hopes up. Any serious coordinated efforts of revitalization of what's left would be so scattershot hampering walkability or as culturally antiseptic as the new plans for Berkman 2.
I know there are countless examples of how areas like this in worse shape arose from the ashes, but I'm begging for any specific suggestions or proposals that can help La Villa regain its vibrancy and celebrate its history.
Along with Adrienne Burke (both of us are Trustees of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation), I co-authored a pretty extensive article in the most recent J Magazine edition that answers what you're looking for.
Also, focus less on the school and more in the historic context. Ashley had theaters and bars but Broad was the main business street. There's still enough left, that along with respectable infill, a walkable district could easily line Braod between the courthouse and State & Union.
I grew up in LaVilla (1965 - 1968) before we moved to Fort Myers, and I think it would be a super awesome idea to have two entertainment strips...Bay Street downtown, and bring back LaVilla (somehow), but this time make it not exclusive only to blacks, but for the whole city. A couple of movie theaters, dining, shopping, retail, bars, nightclubs, along the theme of Ybor City in Tampa; wouldn't that be a gasp? (for Jacksonvile). LOL. Just makes me happy thinking about it. Would be a super shot in the arm for downtown and the surrounding and nearby neighborhoods.