Jackson Rooming House

This is a building that somehow survived the terrible riot fires and should be listed in every popular music history book. It was here, after watching teens dance at his nightclub show up Central Avenue, that Hank Ballard with the help of two of the Midnighters wrote the song «The Twist.» It was a minor hit for Ballard but the record publisher felt the song needed a younger singer actually doing the dance the entire song — thus Chubby Checker was made a star.

This is a beautiful historic residential building that was adapted as a boarding house for African American travelers during the era of segregation. It is located near downtown Tampa by Union Station (about a block and a half away). It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places but Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Tampa code enforcement officers have stymied efforts to save and restore the building, so it’s not expected to be around for long. Better get there soon!
The Old Union Depot Hotel by the station (featured in the Punisher movie) was lost in 2011. The city’s strategy seems to be to let these old historic buildings deteriorate until they can be demolished. Then it will likely become a parking lot like most of the surrounding lots.
Update: some private funding to stabilize the building will help keep it standing. at least for a while.