CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE FIFTH WARD

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1866: Fifth Ward was officially founded with an elected alderman

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1925: Forty black-owned businesses operated on Lyons Avenue

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1927: Phillis Wheatley High School opened as one of the largest African-American high schools in the U.S.

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The 1930s: New businesses opened around the neighborhood including the Club Matinee on Lyons Avenue

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1941: The DeLuxe Theater opened on Lyons Avenue

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1943: The Julia C. Hester House community center founded. It moved to Solo Street in 1946.

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1947: St. Elizabeth’s Hospital opened on Lyons Avenue

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1964: The Civil Rights Act passed and families began seeking opportunities outside of Fifth

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1965-1967: Interstate 10 construction completed, cutting the neighborhood in half

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1973: The DeLuxe Theater closes its doors

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1989: Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corp. founded to revitalize the neighborhood

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The 1990s: CRC gains funding for new single-family homes

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2014: Renovation begins on the DeLuxe Theater turning it into a community event space

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2016: St. Elizabeth’s Hospital sold and now under redevelopment by the Fifth Ward CRC

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2018: Fifth Ward Chamber of Commerce founded by small business owners

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