Black Acres
In 1912, Robert Lucas Black, Sr. purchased a large tract of undeveloped land west of what was then the Gainesville city limit. A prominent local businessman who served on the Gainesville City Council, Black was later elected to the Florida House of Representatives and then served two terms in the State Senate prior to his death in 1940. Following the Second World War, Black’s son (also named Robert) decided to develop a parcel of land immediately adjacent to the Black family home as a new neighborhood.
Black Acres was built primarily during the 1950s and 1960s on land that had previously been used to grow watermelons and graze cattle. The neighborhood was bounded by Hogtown Creek on the north and west, University Avenue to the south, and NW 29th Street on the east. The first houses were built along NW 1st and 2nd Ave. and along NW 32nd St. The large lots along NW 32nd St., which back up to Hogtown Creek, were especially sought after and became the location of several unique architect-designed homes. Eventually the neighborhood was extended to encompass NW 28th Terr. and NW 28th St. and a “South Black Acres” was also constructed across University Ave. The Black family continued to occupy their longtime residence, located on a hilltop on NW 4th Lane at the northeast corner of the neighborhood, for some years after development got underway.
Early residents included community professionals as well as University of Florida faculty and staff who enjoyed the neighborhood’s proximity to campus. Ray Graves, for instance, lived in Black Acres while serving as head football coach at the University of Florida. Professor F. Blair Reeves of the UF School of Architecture designed and built an innovative home for his family which still stands on NW 32nd St. The University Methodist Church, the Episcopal Chapel of the Incarnation, and the University Avenue Church of Christ purchased houses in Black Acres for use as pastoral residences, and the practitioner for the local First Church of Christ, Scientist, made her home here.
Today Black Acres remains a treasure trove of Mid-Century Modern architecture. Features typical of the time such as the use of cream-colored “Ocala block,” straight-set or “stack bond” brick, clerestory windows, carports, Lally columns, ornamental concrete block, flat roofs, terrazzo floors, glass doors, and awning or jalousie windows can still be glimpsed in many well-preserved neighborhood homes.
To propose changes to your neighborhood’s page please contact neighbor@gainesvilleneighborhoodsunited.org