The Belmont-DeVilliers district, sometimes known as West Hill, is a historic neighborhood in Pensacola, centered around Belmont and de Villiers Streets. Belmont-DeVilliers is historically a center of Pensacola's African-American community, due largely to Florida's "Jim Crow" laws which took effect in 1905. It was a bustling commercial district in the early twentieth century, until a number of factors led to an exodus of both businesses and residents in the 1950s.
The Belmont-DeVilliers Neighbourhood Association defines the district as bordered by Cervantes Street to the north, Gregory Street to the south, A Street to the west, and Spring Street to the east.[1] The neighborhood occupies about 35 city blocks, or roughly 100 acres.[2]
The City of Pensacola's Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) initiated a revitalization project called the "Future Land Use Plan" that installed new sidewalks, brick crosswalks, historic streetlamps and landscaping to the area's four-block core. The project has also set guidelines for future residential and commercial development that will preserve the historic flavor of the neighborhood while promoting growth.[3]
The district recently hosted the first annual Goombay festival.
Demographics
As of 2004, the neighborhood was roughly 67% black, 30% white, and 3% various other ethnicities. 25% of the population was 65 years of age or older, with 12% between the ages of 50-64, 16% aged 40-49, 11% aged 30-39, 10% aged 22-29, 3% aged 18-21, 17% aged 5-17, and 6% under the age of five. The Belmont-DeVillers neighborhood has higher percentages of both black residents and residents over the age of 65 than does the City at large, which has a 31% black population and a 17.2% 65+ population, respectively.[4]
Landmarks
References
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