Atlanta residents seek to preserve historic Black hospital
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Only one of three buildings that comprised McLendon Hospital stands at the corner of Bernard Street and Chicamauga Avenue. Photo: Courtesy of Atlanta Preservation Center
A grassroots effort is underway to preserve what's left of a hospital that served Black patients at the height of Atlanta's Jim Crow era.
Why it matters: McLendon Hospital, which Dr. Frederick Earl McLendon opened in the mid-1940s, was one of two places in Atlanta where Black people could get quality medical care with dignity and respect.
- The other facility was Harris Memorial Hospital, which opened in the 1920s for Black patients.
What they're saying: Lisa Reyes, president of the Historic Hunter Hills neighborhood association, told Axios she has reached out to the property owner with the hopes of starting a discussion on how the former hospital can be recognized.
- "It was a place of hope for people," she said. "They knew that they could go somewhere to get care, no matter the color of their skin and they could be treated well."
Of note: Axios reached out to the property owner by phone, text and email and he did not respond to requests for comment.
Catch up quick: McLendon was housed in three buildings across the Hunter Hills and Mozley Park communities. Only one structure at the corner of Bernard Street and Chicamauga Avenue stands.
- It offered services like general medicine, surgery, pediatric care and obstetrics and gynecology.
- According to a 1946 article in the Atlanta Constitution, the clinic had 30 beds and was "equipped with the finest surgical apparatus available" when it opened.
- It closed in the early 1980s.
Context: Myrtle Davis — a former Atlanta City Council member and wife of Dr. A. M. Davis, who delivered babies at McLendon — told Axios that the clinic was "huge" because Black people faced substandard care when they went to segregated facilities such as Grady Hospital.
- "There is a certain pride that people had to say that they were born at McLendon or Harris," she said, noting her two daughters were born at the former facility.
The bottom line: David Mitchell, executive director of the Atlanta Preservation Center, which has been communicating with residents on preservation efforts, told Axios that historic spaces like the clinic signify "so much of Atlanta."
- Mitchell also said the organization hopes to start a conversation with the property owner "so we can create something that not only you know, respects his ownership of the property, but also to acknowledge the experience that space represents for that community in the city."