POLK COUNTY, Fla. — An effort to completely revitalize Lake Wales’ historically Black northwest neighborhood is underway.
The northwest neighborhood was once a booming Black business district.
“We had five different restaurants. We had our own drugstore, and then there were five churches, and everyone was getting stronger and stronger because they were building off each other,” said Dorothy Scott Wilson, Executive Director of Lake Wales Genealogy 101.
Dorothy Scott Wilson grew up in Lake Wales during a time when Blacks and whites were segregated.
“Anything across the railroad track in Lake Wales was white. That's where they lived and how it was set up,” Wilson said.
She said northwest Lake Wales was a popular stop for major Black musicians, including Ray Charles, Eta James, Ella Fitzgerald and B.B. King. They all performed in the area known as The Quarters in northwest Lake Wales.
The Quarters was part of the Chitlin’ Circuit, a collection of venues throughout the United States that hosted African American entertainers during the era of racial segregation.
“They would bring these people into town, and it would be a huge event all weekend,” Wilson said.
Over the years, businesses shut down, and property values dropped. To revitalize the neighborhood, the City of Lake Wales began doing free home repairs for seniors through its Legacy Housing Rehabilitation program.
“The painting, windows, they did the sidelines. They did from front to back. It’s beautiful,” said Patricia Pittman.
Expanding affordable housing is also part of the city’s plan to revitalize the northwest neighborhood, and that’s not all.
“There are not a lot of sidewalks in the community. We were able to get that grant, and now we’ll be putting down sidewalks to beautify the area. We’ll be adding trees to beautify the area as well, a new water system,” said Darrell Starling, Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency Project Manager.
“We’re doing a comprehensive revitalization to this historic Black neighborhood,” he said.
The Lake Wales Connected Plan will better connect the northwest neighborhood to downtown.
