8,078
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
no edit summary
The '''Belmont-DeVilliers''' district, sometimes known as '''West Hill''', is a historic neighborhood in Pensacola, centered around [[Belmont Street|Belmont]] and [[De Villiers Street|de Villiers Street]]s. 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.<ref>[http://www.ci.pensacola.fl.us/upload/PDFs/CommunityDevelopment/ResourceGuide.pdf Pensacola Neighbourhood Resource Guide 2007]</ref> The [[City of Pensacola]]'s [[Community Redevelopment Agency]] (CRA) considers the neighborhood boundaries expanded south to [[Garden Street]] and excluding that which is north of [[La Rua Street]] and east of [[Reus Street]]. According to the CRA, the neighborhood occupies about 35 city blocks, or roughly 100 acres.<ref>[http://www.pensacolacitygov.com/upload/images/CRA/PDFs/final%20report%20-%20part%201.pdf CRA Future Land Use Plan for Belmont-DeVilliers]</ref>
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.<ref>http://www.ci.pensacola.fl.us/live/pages.asp?pageID=2065</ref>
The district recently hosted the first annual [[Goombay]] festival.
