Frankie Pace Park, Crawford-Roberts: 901 Centre Avenue
The history of the lower Hill District is robust, diverse, and worthy of many books across myriad disciplines. Like the challenges faced in other Black neighborhoods, depopulation, economic disinvestment and exploitation, corruption, and racism are long-term, complex problems.
And while knowledge of the neighborhood’s history may help explain the uneasy relationship residents often have with developers and city officials, it’s not necessary to enjoy Frankie Pace Park, which offers a pleasant, safe way to approach Downtown. There’s ample seating, native plant landscaping, public art, and amazing views. The park also features interpretive displays of Frankie Mae Pace’s advocacy for equitable housing and education in the 1950s, and of Martin Delany, an abolitionist, journalist, and education advocate in the Civil War Era.
Change continues throughout the neighborhoods that comprise the Hill District, with more housing and commercial buildings on the horizon. How distant that horizon lies is unclear, but in the meantime, Frankie Pace Park is a nice addition to the landscape.
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