Part of the second-floor wall of the historic Jackson House collapsed on Monday, leaving a portion of the interior exposed.
It marks just the latest damage to the century-old building, which has sat in disrepair for years, awaiting renovations.
Built in 1901, The Jackson House, served as a boarding house for African Americans during segregation. The Jackson family hosted famous individuals including Martin Luther King Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and James Brown.
It closed in 1989 and was designated a historical landmark.
Plans to restore the building and turn it into a museum have been delayed partly because of disagreements between contractors and the Jackson House Foundation, the organization that owns the building.
Strict requirements governing the restoration process have also prolonged repairs.
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"We can’t just tear it down and rebuild it because it has grant funding from the city, state, and the state governs the local National Register of Historic Places," lead architect Jerel McCants told “Florida Matters Live & Local” in a recent interview.
The two-story, 24-room boarding house is the only remaining building from Tampa’s oldest Black neighborhood, the Scrub.
Fingerprints are etched into the plaster walls, according to one of the descendants of the Jackson family.
Community members are intent on preserving this part of Tampa history, but timing matters.
Emergency repairs had to be made in 2025 when the wood panels of the wall fell away.
Weeks ago, the Tampa city council approved a $1 million grant for restoration efforts.
Council member Bill Carlson told Spectrum Bay News 9 that remnants of the building should still be salvageable.
"They will have taken it completely apart, and then they'll analyze which pieces can be saved and which ones can't, and then they'll rebuild it," Carlson said. "Whatever state it's in, as long as it has pieces that can be used, that will still work."
McCants previously said restoration will likely take more than the initial goal of two years.
