PARKLAND NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY

The Parkland neighborhood is one of the city’s oldest. Incorporated in 1874, it was originally a suburb called Homestead, renamed Parkland in 1884, and then annexed by the city of Louisville in 1894.

As early as 1871, development in Parkland was big news in Louisville. Developers subdivided 342 acres into 1072 lots for sale at auction. The tract, which had been farmland owned by the Canby, Fiedenberger, and Davidson families in the 1860’s was platted for development by Morris and Southwick about 1870 and later incorporated in 1874. The original boundaries ran from the city boundary of Louisville on Twenty-Sixth Street (Shippingport Road) on the east, to the Gaar property on the west (Thirty-Second Street), 200 feet north of Garland Avenue on the north, and Cane Run Road and Gibson Lane on the south.

The widely advertised event drew some 2,000 potential bidders and was so popular that businesses closed so employees could attend. Lots measured fifty feet by two hundred feet (twice as deep as the average western Louisville lot). Although Grand Avenue was an imposing one hundred forty feet wide, no provisions for parks or green strips were made.

The sales pitch was directed to speculators, out-of-town buyers and the middle class. Lots originally sold for $350.00 with $50.00 down. The depression in the mid- 1870’s caused early development to be slow due to lack of roads and infrastructure. However, by the mid-1880’s development was brisk, and the decade following saw the growth of a tight-knit community.

The social and economic status of Parkland residents was varied. Large, elegant homes occupied by several families listed in the Blue Book lined Virginia Avenue and Catalpa Street, while the Masonic lodge anchored the commercial district. In fact, the Mayor and town council were all Masons. More modest homes were built on adjoining streets. In 1879 the Parkland Improvement Company built ten cottages and forty two-story houses.

Prosperity was aborted by the Great Tornado of 1890, an F4 tornado, which dealt a severe blow to the area, cutting a swath six blocks wide and devastating the town. When rebuilt, many large Victorian homes were built in ‘White Parkland’ along Virginia, Cypress and Hale; ‘Black Parkland’, which was also called ‘Little Africa’, reached from Woodlawn and Hale Avenues as far west as the river.

Four years later, in January 1894, Parkland was annexed by the City of Louisville, but it remained a prestigious neighborhood for years and retains its identity to this day. Parkland was described in 1918 as, “bright green lawns checkered with sunshine and shade, the most modern and improved styles of cheerful homes, bungalows, cottages and palatial residences with substantial garages in the background to some of them.” Charming and whimsical Victorian houses still line Virginia Avenue today, many in sad disrepair, yet still wearing the grace and dignity of their past.

Streetcar access and the automobile promoted Parkland as a commercial hub. At its height, investment opportunities in 1930 led W.B. Washburn, a prominent African-American dentist, to hire Samuel Plato to design his building at the corner of South 28th Street and Dumesnil Avenue. Plato was the most noted African- American architect of the time and enjoyed a national reputation. The thriving six-block business district included theaters, bakeries, hardware stores, a bank, a record store, and a Gulf station. It was said to be one of the busiest spots in Louisville.

An increase of the African-American working class in the years following Reconstruction led to the growth of all-black neighborhoods like Smoketown and California and the portion of Parkland known as Little Africa. Housing policies and plentiful industrial jobs throughout the war years led to continued growth of Little Africa up through the 1950’s and 60’s. Much of Little Africa was demolished by urban renewal starting in 1946 – one example was Cotter Homes in 1953.

On May 27, 1968, a massive demonstration was held at 28th and Greenwood to protest an incident involving alleged police brutality a few weeks earlier. Speaking from the roofs of automobiles parked at the intersection, a number of young activists criticized police actions towards black citizens. Others declared that Stokely Carmichael, a well-known national figure, was en route, but that local officials would not permit his flight to land in Louisville. As the rally was ending, the sound of a bottle breaking was mistaken for a gunshot and chaos erupted. Police, already stationed nearby, arrived in minutes, promoting a major confrontation between them and the angry crowd. Over the next few days, a major urban riot engulfed much of West Louisville. Two young African Americans died, 472 were arrested, millions of dollars in property was destroyed and the community was haunted by searing images of police and the National Guard units patrolling local streets... Following the disturbances, many businesses and residents moved out of the neighborhood. Forty years later, the area remained one of the most neglected and economically depressed in the city.

Over time, local residents, property owners, and city leaders have made attempts to revitalize the commercial core of Parkland. It was the subject of an Urban Renewal Plan, destroying most of Little Africa while solidifying the Parkland center as a local Preservation District in 1984 and redeveloped the corner of 28th and Virginia as a 24,000 squarefoot grocery store in 1996. [now the new Dare to Care Food Bank headquarters]