The original Jefferson Davis Hospital building has welcomed a cadre of new residents after being vacant for 20 years. Avenue CDC, in partnership with Artspace Projects Inc., recently completed the rehabilitation of this historic structure in the fall of 2005. The old Jefferson Davis Hospital has recently become the home to 34 families and is now known as Elder Street Artist Lofts.

The following groups supported this project in the proposal stage:

	Greater Houston Preservation Alliance
	National Trust for Historic Preservation
	Downtown Historic District
	Cultural Arts Council of Houston and Harris County
	Washington Avenue Coalition
	The Building

The Jefferson Davis Hospital was dedicated on December 2, 1924, and was the first city-owned permanent hospital that accepted indigent patients. At completion of the construction, the Old Jeff Davis Hospital was praised as one of the most modern hospitals in the United States. It incorporated ideas from New York's Bellevue Hospital, Boston's City Hospital, Massachusetts General, and Philadelphia's General and University Hospitals.

The neo-classical architecture is simple and straightforward, and echoes the belief of its builders in never-ending progress. It is one of few such structures left in Houston and recognized as a particularly good example of the style. Notwithstanding the imposing façade, the building's interior features convey an empathy and warmth seldom found in institutional architecture.

The ground floor held the pharmacy, the clinic and the "negro ward" as it was then known. The second housed the men's ward, the laboratory, the kitchen and living quarters for hospital housekeepers. The wards were connected by large open air balconies. The third floor held the women's ward, the obstetrical department and the psychiatric ward complete with padded rooms. The fourth held the operating rooms and the children's ward, which opened onto a rooftop garden and playground.

Within five years of the opening, the rapid growth in Houston's population made larger free hospital facilities a necessity. In 1937, the second Jefferson Davis Hospital (demolished in 1999) was opened. Over the years, the Old Jeff Davis Hospital building has had a variety of uses, including a clinic, a residential addiction treatment facility, and records storage; it has been vacant for approximately the last twenty years.

The building has been vandalized, but it still retains its smoothly crafted elegant façade and entryway. This building has played a significant part in Houston's history and since renovated will continue to do so.

The Old Jefferson Davis Hospital site is registered as a State Archeological Landmark. The Hospital was built on the site of a historic graveyard donated to the city by Houston's founders, Augustus and John Allen. The graveyard has been the final resting place of many early Houstonians from all walks of life including city aldermen, former slaves, victims of the yellow fever and cholera epidemics of early Houston Civil War veterans (both Confederate veterans and Union soldiers from the occupation of Houston).

There are conflicting reports of whether remains were disinterred prior to the construction, but some graves were marked until the 1980's and bones were found during construction of a utility trench at the adjacent Fire department maintenance facility also in 1986.

The cemetery may have had even earlier use. An archeological dig in the 1980s uncovered a type of grave known as black earth graves. This type of grave was known to have been used by early English colonists as a result of a law passed by the London Common Council in 1563. Excavations in 1990 found evidence of construction techniques that support the notion that the site was the location of an early English settlement. Historical sources identify the Carolana Patent given to Sir Robert Heath in the 1600's may have been located in this area.

This proposal includes a monument recognizing the historic cemetery to ensure that those buried there are honored and remembered. This redevelopment will minimize any disturbance of existing graves.

The Old Jeff Davis Hospital is located at the corner of Elder and Girard, in the First Ward, directly northwest of Houston's Downtown. The location of this historic structure creates the opportunity for this site to serve as the connection between Houston's growing Theatre District and the eclectic First Ward neighborhood. The restoration of this building will complement the revitalization of Downtown, which includes the restoration of numerous historic buildings in the central business district.

The First Ward is an ethnically diverse, mixed-use neighborhood, which is being revitalized slowly by individual landowners. Historically, the First Ward was a working class neighborhood, which was built along the railroad tracks, and was primarily inhabited by Italian and African-American ethnic groups. Today, the population includes Hispanics, African-Americans, and Anglos. There is a small theatre and a growing population of artists and galleries located in the neighborhood. Avenue CDC has developed 15 homes in the First Ward through the innovative Move Home program, through which donated houses are moved to vacant lots in the area, rehabilitated, and sold to low-income families.