In the late 1800s, a small but cohesive community formed a unique and predominately African-American neighborhood surrounding the main thoroughfare of Rondo Street. The community thrived until it was destroyed by the construction of Interstate 94. RAI was created to celebrate the legacy of Rondo.
REMEMBERING OUR PAST
HONORING OUR PRESENT
For the past 30+ years, over the third weekend in July, Rondo Avenue, Inc. has sponsored the Rondo Days Festival allowing over 30,000 past and present residents, to resurrect the memory of the old Rondo neighborhood, and to preserve this rich heritage and culture for future generations.
SOARING INTO THE FUTURE
To capture the memory of the Rondo neighborhood, RAI is designing and constructing The Rondo Commemorative Plaza (RCP). The plaza is envisioned as a space for education, contemplation, inspiration, and community building. Visitors will explore some of the major events of the Rondo neighborhood.
MY RONDO
Floyd George Smaller
Rondo had strong Black individuals in the community that held the people together.
Floyd George Smaller
Jr. Co-Founder
Marvin Roger Anderson
Growing up in the Rondo neighborhood, probably is as strong to me as going away to Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. Both of them provided me with the best education that a person could get.
Marvin Roger Anderson
Co-Founder
Richard Morris Man
Rondo was a gathering place and the people were just like a large family.
Richard Morris Man
Mary Kalleen Murray Boyd
In Rondo, there was education everywhere, all around me.
Mary Kalleen Murray Boyd
David Vassar Taylor
The schools, community center, religious institutions, businesses, church school, youth, what have you, playgrounds, all that we ever needed, including a Dairy Queen, was within walking distances