Parramore prepares to be Orlando’s next Main Street
Parramore, the historic African American neighborhood west of Interstate 4, is poised to be Orlando’s newest Main Street, joining local hotspots like The Milk District, Mills 50, Thornton Park and Ivanhoe Village.
Main Streets receive city funding to hire an executive director, who helps market businesses in the area and promote a neighborhood’s identity. In Parramore, the city’s lone district on the National Register of Historic Districts, the district will try to amplify the neighborhood’s history and bring in new business.
“What makes this area so important is our history,” said Natasha Gaye, the Parramore Main Street executive director.
The city council is scheduled to vote on forming the new Main Street on Monday, which includes a $25,000 grant to cover its funding for the second half of the fiscal year. Typically, Main Streets are each allocated $50,000 in matching grants for a full year of operations.
Unlike other districts adopted into the program, Parramore’s story is well established.
“Everybody knows where it is, but I’m not sure everybody knows the really cool history there,” said Pauline Eaton, Orlando’s Main Street administrator. “We want to make sure the African American culture of the district, and its stories, are told.”
Parramore was built in the 1880s as a segregated community and was named for then-Orlando Mayor James Parramore, a former Confederate Army captain. At the time, African Americans weren’t allowed to live in Orlando’s white neighborhoods on the east side.
At its peak in the 1960s, Parramore grew to about 18,000 residents.
But Parramore fell into economic turmoil, in part the product of the construction of Interstate 4 cutting through the neighborhood, as well other development. By 2013, the population had fallen 65% to about 6,000 people.
Now it’s also home to several key city priorities, including the education core of Creative Village and two major venues, Exploria Stadium and the Amway Center. However, its median household income is roughly $18,000 — about a third of Orlando’s average of $44,000.
The new Main Street district loops in much of the area from just north of West Colonial Drive to West Anderson Street, from Westmoreland to Hughey. Its new
board, which elected attorney Morgan Lea as its first president in January, hopes to change its perception.
“I understand all too well how Black communities and historically Black communities kind of get thrown by the wayside,” she said. “I want to do the work to ensure that Parramore is just as desirable as other parts of Orlando.”
Work has already begun in the neighborhood, which was adopted about two years ago as an expansion of a neighboring Main Street covering Church Street, which was renamed the City District.
The group received a grant from Wells Fargo, which helped pay to pressure-wash sidewalks and plant nearly 800 plants in Parramore. Three murals were also commissioned showcasing
African American history in the area, which are expected to be unveiled during a walking tour Feb. 26.
Main Streets are sprinkled throughout the city and help develop branding for businesses. They often focus on fostering small businesses and marketing communities.
The program is called Orlando Main Streets, which is a branch of Main Streets America, a group focused on revitalizing historic and older commercial districts. If approved, Parramore would mark the 12th in Orlando. In all, more than 1,200 districts exist nationwide.
Orlando began using the program in 2008, which has grown to include some of Orlando’s most recognizable districts, from neighborhoods like College Park, to trendy bar and restaurant areas like The Milk District,
Thornton Park and Mills 50, to developing identities like Curry Ford West.
“It brings awareness that there’s a city in Orlando and not just a theme park, and I think we’ve highlighted communities that make Orlando unique,” Eaton said. “We didn’t make them; they were already here and were cool. We just highlighted them.”