JACKSONVILLE, Fla — The old Stanton High School building in Downtown Jacksonville has a storied past.
From renowned graduates to its place in history as the first all-Black high school in the state.
Poet James Weldon Johnson who wrote the lyrics to the song “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” was a student at the school and later its principal.
In recent years, the building has fallen into disrepair, but there is an effort underway to save it.
“It’s a treasure, not only for Jacksonville but for the nation, if not the world,” Mamie Davis, chairwoman of Historic Stanton Inc. said.
The iconic building in the LaVilla neighborhood has years of wear and tear.
Stephen Solliday and Eric Dillard, members of the Jacksonville Jaguars fan group Bold City Brigade, took notice of a tweet describing efforts to save that building.
“We’ve lost so many buildings in that area. That was a thriving African American community 100 years ago, like a thriving community. And if you go down there now, they’re building it back up but we’ve lost so many historic structures especially in that neighborhood,” Solliday said.
“It’s significant as far as Jacksonville history as far Black history, Jacksonville history, it’d be a real shame to lose that one,” Solliday added.
The current Old Stanton High School replaced the original which had to be demolished after a fire and structural failings.
The three-story building on West Ashley Street still stands in disrepair. Its roof collapsed last year before the start of the pandemic.
Solliday and Dillard heard about efforts to save the building on Twitter.
“This is something that happened recently with this particular building that the time is now, if it’s going to get saved, we got to jump on it,”
Solliday and Dillard who both have a large social media following shared the message.
In one day, they raised more than $6,500 warming the heart of Mamie Davis, chairman of the Historic Stanton group.
“That was a validation of what we thought: the world is interested in this building,” Davis said.
Davis estimates the cost of repairs could reach $12 million, but the group is applying for grants and is hoping to get city funds to return the building to its former glory.
“We’re looking at over 150 years of history,” Davis said.
“[The Board’s vision is] to renovate it, to have a museum and a culture center there to bring all of the rich history there to allow the world to see,” Davis added.
The Old Stanton Building is described as a treasure and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The new and current Stanton, the third high school with that name is on West 13th street, where Solliday went to school.
Although Solliday never stepped foot in the old building, he knows the significance it has in Jacksonville and beyond.
“To me, it’s more the local Jacksonville tie,” Solliday said.
Solliday and Dillard simply shared a tweet and say it's great to see others donate to a cause.
“Overall, the better feeling comes from knowing that everyone in the community, not even people local, but just people who have been in Jacksonville or just enjoy the Jaguars, you know, really are invested in the cause as well so it’s really cool to see,” Dillard said.
The Historic Stanton group says volunteers are welcome to join community cleanups at the building.
Starting this weekend, and every second and fourth Saturday of the month, volunteers are welcome to help clean up the building.
The building is located at 521 West Ashley Street, two blocks behind the Duval County Courthouse.
Davis is encouraging anyone who wants to donate can do so through this PayPal link.
For more in-depth coverage about the building’s history, check out this story from the Florida Times-Union.