Brewster Hospital to finally be occupied by the Historic Land Trust

[Cheshire Cat]

       

Over a decade of my personal heart and soul effort along with that of former Councilwoman Glorious Johnson went into saving this building and the heritage of the first "Black Hospital in the South". So very pleased that finally she will be occupied. I wish my dear friend and long time president of the Brewster Alumni Nurses, Vera Cruz was still alive to see this dream made real after so many years of struggle. This is now the oldest fully restored historic structure in LaVilla.

From the article:  After cycles of delays and political squabbling about the property, the nonprofit trust's interest in the building is drawing some encouragement.

"I would be thrilled. The nurses would be thrilled" by the agreement the trust offered, said Diane Melendez, an activist who worked for years with an association of former Brewster nurses who wanted to preserve the hospital's history.

For full story click the link.
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2017-06-13/long-vacant-jacksonville-s-historic-brewster-hospital-could-get-new-tenant

[heights unknown]

I was born not in the original Brewster Hospital, but in the more modern red brick building on Jefferson Street I believe.

[Cheshire Cat]

I was born not in the original Brewster Hospital, but in the more modern red brick building on Jefferson Street I believe.

You were part of the Brewster legacy. I do believe all the buildings associated with the Brewster are now gone except this one. 

[RattlerGator]

Congrats, Diane.

And heights unknown: I, too, was born in the updated Brewster. What a shame it could not have been saved and celebrated.

[remc86007]

Great work!

[thelakelander]

Congrats Diane!

Congrats, Diane.

And heights unknown: I, too, was born in the updated Brewster. What a shame it could not have been saved and celebrated.

This particular demolition hurt.  I remember taking pics for a construction update one day in Springfield.  I looked across the park and saw the building and the row of nice Sugar Hill homes, just south of it being demolished.  If they were literally across the street, they'd all still be here today.

[vicupstate]

Kudos to Diane and EVERYONE involved in this long struggle. The building looks great.

[heights unknown]

Wow; didn't know that the modern Brewster Hospital I was born in on Jefferson Street had been demolished. Oh well, nothing ever stays or remains the same. Sad to hear, and see that; when I lived in Jax I used to always drive by just to "look see" at the old hospital I was born in back in 1956.

[thelakelander]

Deal appears to be in trouble:

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/land-trust-having-second-thoughts-about-brewster-lease

[KenFSU]

Permit issued, Danis doing the renovations.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/historic-brewster-hospital-renovation-issued-permit-magellan-transport-hq-renovations-are-approved

[Tacachale]

And all it took was a year and a half!

[Cheshire Cat]

The time has finally come.  The "Historic Brewster Hospital" will now be occupied after a fight that lasted years and then after it's complete restoration took several more years. For me it was a labor of love aimed to preserve what little history remained of Jacksonville's "Harlem of the South, LaVilla"  The public can tour the inside of the building tomorrow, Thursday 4/5/2019 between the hours of 12:00 and 4:00 PM. It is located at 843 W Monroe Street, Jacksonville. For those who may remember, I spearheaded the drive to save this historic structure in the beginning of 2003 while John Delaney was still mayor, through the Peyton reign and the first term of Alvin Brown.  In July of 2003 then councilwoman Glorious Johnson and I teamed up and fought heart and soul to save that structure. I personally devoted over a 14 years years to this effort.  For those who are counting, it took 16 years to save the structure and finally see it occupied. For those who don't know, The Brewster is the only city owned building in LaVilla to be fully restored, back to it's original architectural style inside and out.  It will have space for "The Brewster Alumni Nurses" to display their artifacts in the front parlor keeping the history of the building and those who worked there intact.  There is a very long story to the struggles surrounding the efforts to save this building in a community that was nearly completely demolished.  That was no easy feat in the "City of Jacksonville".  Perhaps one day I will share the background story about all that it took to save the "First Black Hospital" in a country where Blacks were not allowed to be treated in white hospitals.  This one was the first in the southeastern United States founded in the Harlem of the south  a/k/a "LaVilla" community of Jacksonville Florida    For some updates, click this link that will appear in Thursday mornings Times Union.



https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20190403/long-closed-jacksonvilles-historic-brewster-hospital-reopening-as-offices

[vicupstate]

Congratulations and THANK YOU!, Diane, for all your hard work. It looks great.  I am sure there were many times you were close to throwing in the towel, but thanks to you and no doubt many others, this beautiful and historic building will be around for a long time to showcase the history of LaVilla and the nurses. So much of LaVilla was lost but this very important piece is not part of that lost heritage, thankfully.

BTW, there is an effort underway right now, in my home of Greenville, SC to preserve a Jim Crow era A-A medical clinic. It is still in the planning phase but plans call for moving the building 70 feet and restoring it. A museum element is expected to be included.   

[Wacca Pilatka]

Yes, big thanks, Diane!

[Cheshire Cat]

Thank you Vic and Wacca and also I appreciate the congrats that I did not see after I first posted this thread earlier.  I appreciate all of your words, congrats and thanks.  Vic, you were not wrong when you imagined there were times I felt like giving up.  You folks know what it takes and how difficult it is navigating Jacksonville politics and often questionable developmental "ideas".  lol  There were many reasons that I did not give up on the effort but foremost among them was a promise I made to Professor Vera Cruse. Vera was the longtime president of The Brewster Nurses organization, may she rest in peace.  After a particularly gruesome round of political nonsense in a private meeting with city administration, she reached under the conference table and took my hand.  I looked to see tears in her eyes.   She asked me "Why is it that we are sitting at a banquet table and those doing the serving only want to leave us crumbs for our plate?" She then said, "Diane, please don't give up on us (Brewster Alumni Nurses) or Brewster Hospital. I promised her that I would not and I did not.  The building is standing now fully restored, a Historic monument to Black history in Jacksonville and the community of LaVilla a community "intentionally" and " willfully" nearly eradicated.  It would be councilwoman Glorious Johnson who upon my first inquiry to her stood side by side with me to see through the buildings restoration and it's future use.  Time after time plans for the building fell through.  Each plan carefully aimed at putting this structure to it's best use.  One would have had the building as a teaching clinic adjunct to Shands Hospital. That initiative was being put forth by Elizabeth Means who was a part of Shands leadership.  Before the building had been restored Ms Mean's passed away due to illness and there was no longer anyone at Shands with the power or influence that had the passion she did to get a clinic in the Brewster building.  There were many power struggles over the building which I will not go into because it will drive up my blood pressure and agitate me all over again. lol It was shove and pull all the way when it came to the Brewster and I knew it would continue from administration to administration.  So after yet another one of so many meetings with the powers at city hall over the buildings usage, I told them we were not going to let the building be snatched away after all the hard work that had been done.  It was at that time that the city reps agreed to a condition with regard to the building use.  That requirement was that whomever leased the building would have to provide a space for the Brewster Nurses and the Hospitals artifacts.  I had envisioned the front parlor as the perfect place for Nurses history (picture in the T.U. piece above).  Glorious was immovable on that request as well.  The city told us that the requirement will make the building harder to lease.  We told them if that was the case it would have to take longer then.  After having navigated three different mayoral administrations and departments we wanted to insure the building's heritage would be honored as well as all of the women who attended the Brewster School of Nursing next door. These intelligent, brave women would become the first black nurses in the first black hospital in the south and in Jacksonville itself.  The National Land Trust that is moving it's offices in have designated that front parlor space for the Brewster ladies and the hospitals heritage. That fulfills the dream.  The building could not have ended up with a better group than the North Florida Land Trust to become it's caretaker and perhaps even it's eventual owners.  This for all of us is a very happy "new beginning"!     I don't know how to post videos so I will just post the link to the mini video my eldest son Justin did which was the opening salvo to the saving of Brewster when shown at a full house city council meeting.  You can all see the failing condition of the building and how spectacular it's transformation.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T24Gix5dDCU