Some good news for those who celebrate Tampa’s African-American history:
The 100-year-old Jackson House, a former boarding house where such greats as Ella Fitzgerald stayed in the early 20th century, finally received its designation as a National Historical Landmark. Willie Robinson, the owner and sole resident of the Jackson House, called me this week to tell me the good news. (I profiled the Jackson House earlier this year.)
The two-story wooden house at 871 E. Zack St. has seen the rise of the prominent African-American Central Avenue neighborhood. It survived the demolition of the same neighborhood during Tampa's urban renewal in the 1970s. And most recently, the 24-room Jackson House has cautiously watched the area's most recent resurgence, as condos spring up in place of old buildings and vacant lots. It is widely regarded as the last free-standing residential structure in downtown Tampa.
The building already received city landmark status in 2004; Robinson says the national marker completes his mother’s dream of preserving the house for Tampa’s future generations.
Robinson and the Jackson House will be recognized at the Sept. 20 Tampa City Council meeting.
This article appears in Sep 5-11, 2007.