Hollice T. Williams Park aims to restore Pensacola neighborhood severed by I-110

For decades, Interstate 110 has been a physical scar across Pensacola's landscape—a reminder of a thriving neighborhood that was dismantled to make way for the highway. Now, Hollice T. Williams Park is working to reconnect residents with the history and community that once defined the area before the interstate cut through it.

According to reporting in InWeekly, the park represents an effort to honor what was lost when I-110 was constructed. The area that now surrounds the park was once home to a vibrant neighborhood with residential streets, churches, and local businesses—the kind of interconnected community spaces that gave the area its character and identity.

The initiative signals a shift toward acknowledging Pensacola's past and the impact that mid-century infrastructure decisions had on established neighborhoods. By reclaiming and reimagining public space, the park offers a chance for residents to rebuild some of the connections that were severed when the highway divided the community.