Is a community-based cultural organization working to safeguard the legacy of The Ville and catalyze preservation. Its mission is to share the history of The Ville and inspire reinvigorated ownership of the neighborhood.
Founded out of a desire to reclaim the legacy of The Ville. How do you leverage cultural and historic assets to strengthen community brand, vision and economy?
Julia N. Allen, MSW, is a 2010 graduate of the George Warren Brown School of Social Work. Most recently, Julia graduated from the 2019-2020 cohort of the Neighborhood Leadership Program. At 73 years old, she is a lifetime resident of The Ville neighborhood and has been an advocate for the under-represented in her community for many years.
Since the late 1890s and The Great Migration, The Ville has been home to several African American institutions that have shaped black history in St. Louis and the United States. The Ville nurtured a self-sustained and highly successful community of African Americans from a range of socio-economic backgrounds. But like other historic Black communities, The Ville was subject to a decade of institutional racism that put extreme negative pressure on the neighborhood.
“I’ve lived, played, studied, worshiped, or worked in every major institution in The Ville. I was born at Homer G in1949. I attended Simmons Elementary, Turner Middle and Sumner High before returning to work at Homer G until it was closed.”
230
- Acres of emptiness 175 football fields.
30%
- Population loss over the past 20 years.
- Vacancy in The Ville and Greater Ville combined.
45%
- Vacant parcels. Largest concentrations in the City.
2,500
History of Neglect