TAMPA, Fla. — Standing proudly on East Scott Street in Tampa are a few remnants of the city's incredible Black history.
"The only two buildings that was part of the over 600 houses, residential development," said David Iloanya, the director of real estate for the Tampa Housing Authority (THA).
More specifically, these 100-year-old homes provide a lasting connection to Tampa's thriving Central Avenue district and the housing area known as "The Scrub," where the then-segregated Black community lived.
"The lemon meringue cake was first made in one of those restaurants there. And the twist, that you know of, the dance the twist was first performed on Central Avenue," said Iloanya.
Related Story: Tampa Housing Authority to restore historical 'Scrub' homes, add affordable housing
But Iloanya adds that the end of Jim Crow, Urban Renewal, and the construction of the I-275 left the area desecrated.
"You know the driving factor to this is racism," he said.
In 2022, they bought these two houses—known as the "Johnson Brother's Homes"—from the Johnson family, who'd owned them for decades, to try to preserve them.
Thursday at a city council meeting, the THA took the first of a few final steps to have these homes designated as historic landmarks in the city.
And the council voted unanimously to approve that designation.
"Every time that I go on 7th Avenue, I get angry that Central Avenue is no longer here. It is just one of the unfair things that happened in our community," said councilwoman Gwendolyn Henderson.
According to the THA, they're now developing plans to put several businesses on one end of the lot these homes sit on and affordable homes on the other. Ultimately, they plan to turn the Johnson Brother's Homes into a museum.
"That history should not be lost. It should be told," said Iloanya.
Thursday's council vote was one of two that the city council has to make before that landmark designation is finalized.
That second vote is slated for a council meeting in October.
