NAPLES, Fla. — Naples is known for its wealth and seasonal visitors, but one neighborhood has been home to the city’s Black community for generations. River Park East, tucked away on the east end of 5th Avenue North, holds deep history, but longtime residents say it’s changing.
“There was a time when Black people couldn’t own real estate,” said Vincent Keeys, president of the Collier County NAACP. “But when that opportunity finally came in the ‘60s, that’s where they allowed them to purchase homes.”
WATCH TO SEE WHAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD LOOKS LIKE TODAY:
River Park East lies within the City of Naples. Developed in the 1960’s as a segregated neighborhood to house Black workers, River Park is one of Naples’ oldest neighborhoods and still home to a majority of its African American residents.
Audrey Anthony moved to River Park East in 1968 after years of segregation and having to relocate multiple times. She and her husband, an electrician, worked hard to save money for their home.
“My husband’s parents had a home. My parents didn’t,” Anthony said. “We never did. We just lived in River Park apartments until my husband and I got married in 1964, and we kinda saved our pennies because we wanted a home, and we ended up in this little place."
Back then, River Park was a community of working-class families.
“When we first got here, it was a neighborhood of what you would call blue-collar workers,” Anthony said.
Keeys said the city designed the neighborhood so people could live close enough to walk to their jobs.
“The city built smaller homes specifically for the African American community,” Keeys said. “That’s how River Park East and River Park West were developed—so people could live close enough to walk to work.”
Today, those same homes are selling for over $500,000.
“It’s a prime location—real estate there sits on a peninsula, surrounded by water,” Keeys said.
While some see opportunity in the neighborhood’s growth, longtime residents like Anthony worry that River Park’s history is fading.
“At that time, it was totally African American—I say Black,” Anthony said. “The entire neighborhood. But that’s not the case anymore. I don’t know my neighbors anymore.”
She knows change is inevitable but feels a sense of loss.
“I know things change—you can’t expect them to stay the same forever,” Anthony said. She added, “but like I said, I don’t know my neighbors anymore. It’s just not what it used to be.”
