Davis Avenue was once a world unto itself, where Jackie Robinson shook hands and spoke before crowds of onlookers, including a young and impressionable Hank Aaron.
It’s where a young Ray Charles played in the lounges, Fats Domino and Ella Fitzgerald lit up ballrooms, and the night air was filled with music, laughter, the scent of hot dogs on outdoor grills, and movie houses playing feature films.
Urban renewal from the 1950s to the early 1970s dimmed the lights along Davis Avenue, and time has quieted the moments. But the avenue — once named after the president of the Confederacy and now called Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue — is experiencing a revival of its old heartbeat…