OUR MISSION
Parramore District is a nonprofit committed to bridging the gap between our rich history and progressive future, while encouraging the vitality of meaningful community engagement between residents and business owners.
OUR VISION
When the past informs the future, our main street understands the impact of preserving and embracing Parramore’s history, heritage, and heart. We aim to create a space where our stakeholders feel safe and empowered to develop their own legacy and future stories.
Parramore is the oldest and largest African-American neighborhood in Orlando, Florida. Founded in the late 1800s, Parramore formed the heart of the city’s Black community in segregated Orlando, Florida.
The original residents who comprised this community descended from individuals of many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds including African, Caribbean, Seminole Indian, and native-born African Americans. At a time when communities were defined by race, Parramore achieved its own distinct identity, characterized by its residential fabric and its social, religious, and commercial establishments. With such rich ancestry, the decades that followed developed Parramore into a home for several cultural icons and was the backdrop of some of Central Florida’s most important civil rights battles.
Today, Parramore is the only Commercial National Registered Historic District in Orlando, Florida. This designation is attributed to the rich African-American heritage and history of this community.
Parramore’s Main Street story is unique as, in the winter of 2019, Parramore was an expanded portion of The City District, an Orlando Main Street for the Central Business District in Downtown Orlando. The City District would mentor Parramore so that within a five-year time span, Parramore would have an opportunity to become its own Main Street. This process only took about two years and Parramore became the twelth Orlando Main Street District on February 21, 2022. This Main Street program is for the benefit of all Parramore stakeholders as the aim is to be a platform for business owners, property owners, and residents of Parramore to advocate for the type of vibrant community they wish to see.
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