Bordered on the east by Division Street and on the west by Orange Blossom Trail (OBT), the Parramore began as an agricultural community. Parramore was historically a segregated African-American community and now comprises three separate downtown neighborhoods: Lake Dot, Callahan, and Holden-Parramore.<\/p>\n
Once an economically thriving area and the home of many prominent black businesses and institutions, including the Wells\u2019 Built Hotel, South Street Casino, and Wallace\u2019s Beauty Mill, Parramore suffered under Jim Crow segregation, and has lost 65 percent of its population in the last 50 years. It is now one of Orlando\u2019s poorest neighborhoods, with an unemployment rate of 23.8 percent in 2015. However, neighborhood institutions like the Well’s Built Museum of African American History and Culture, housed in the historic Wells\u2019 Built Hotel, have worked to preserve memorabilia from Orlando\u2019s African-American community and the local civil rights movement. Current plans to revitalize the Parramore area focus on maintaining its black heritage and culture while building new businesses, schools, and improved housing.<\/p>\n