United States · Florida · Jacksonville
LaVilla, Jacksonville — Area Guide & Where to Stay
LaVilla was a town of its own until 1887 and became the centre of Black Jacksonville, on the western edge of downtown.
About LaVilla
Where to stay in LaVilla
The right area depends on your trip — here's what each neighbourhood is best for.
LaVilla is downtown now. State Street closes the north and Broad Street the east, Interstate 95 runs down the western side and Brooklyn begins to the south, which makes the whole neighbourhood a short walk from the hotels of the centre. Ashley Street was the address that mattered.
Union Station takes conventions now.
About LaVilla
What are the main landmarks in LaVilla?
The Ritz Theatre opened in 1929. It became a stop on the Chitlin' Circuit, the Strand, the Frolic, the Globe and the Roosevelt worked the same streets, and Nick's Pool Parlor sat among them on the stretch north of Adams Street that people called the Harlem of the South. The Clara White Mission took over the Globe.
Union Station is a convention centre.
What is the history of LaVilla?
LaVilla was a town before it was a neighbourhood. It grew after the Civil War and Jacksonville annexed it in 1887 along with five other suburbs, among them Riverside and Springfield, and the Great Fire of 1901 that took most of downtown largely spared these streets. Stephen Crane met Cora here.
The River City Renaissance plan came in 1993.
Where is LaVilla?
LaVilla sits on the western edge of downtown Jacksonville, between State Street and Brooklyn with Interstate 95 alongside.
Good for
More areas in Jacksonville
Updated September 2026