Washington Park, Roanoke, Virginia
History
Taking its name from the park that lies at the corner of Orange Avenue and Burrell Street, Washington Park developed between 1920 and 1960. The area where the park is now located was a landfill in the 1950s, but was subsequently capped, with the park being established by the early 1960s. The area is also the location of the Lincoln Terrace public housing project, dating from 1952, which has since been refurbished and renamed the Villages at Lincoln.
The Roanoke city landfill was placed in the middle of this black neighborhood. The trash dump became a scene of confrontation between the white city government and the black residents. "At one point in 1963, the Rev. R. R. Wilkinson, then president of the city's NAACP, talked of organizing a 'baby carriage brigade' of young mothers with carriages to block the entrance to the dump and prevent trash trucks from entering." To avoid confrontation, the city closed the landfill.
References
- ^ "Explore Roanoke Neighborhood Map: Washington Park". City of Roanoke Department of Neighborhoods. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
- ^ "Harrison & Washington Park Neighborhood Plan: Introduction" (PDF). City of Roanoke Planning Division. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
- ^ "Washington Park." The Roanoke Times. February 17, 2017. Page 8, "Opinion".
External links