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Jefferson Davis Hospital At 1101 Elder St.


Montrose1100

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Then

jeffdav05.jpg

Now

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Here is a short history of the site:

Pre-Cemetery:

The area near White Oak Bayou and Buffalo Bayou may have been an obscure English settlement in the 1600s. During some excavation work done in the area, approximately 60 "Black Earth Graves" were uncovered. These were used by the English from about the 1550s to bury plague victims. After Houston was founded in 1836, the land was deeded by one of the Allen Bros. companies to the city for the sum of $750.00.

Cemetery:

In 1840, the first city cemetery was becoming too crowded. When the land was deeded in 1840, a 2nd public cemetery, called simply "City Cemetery", was designated. The cemetery was segregated, and some of the sections were designated for blacks, gunfighters/suicides/undesirables, Odd Fellows, Masons, and some lots for sale to the highest bidder. In 1867 Houston was hit by a plague of Yellow Fever, and many victims were buried in City Cemetery. The victims included Confederate soldiers, Union soldiers, and everyday people. In the late 1800s, the cemetery was so full that a third public cemetery was designated off of Allen Parkway. The third cemetery later ended up underneath Allen Parkway Village, a public housing project (I remember when that was re-discovered!). The City Cemetery received its last interrment in 1904 and was de-certified soon afterward due to neglect. It is estimated that there are 5,000-6,000 people buried there, with 3,000 under the Elder St. location of Jefferson Davis Hospital.

Construction:

Construction on the Hospital began in 1924. It seems that the Odd Fellows never used their section, and the Masons exhumed most or all of their dead prior to construction. During construction, a Mr. Super took a position over his family plot, and drove the construction foreman off with a few blasts from his shotgun. The three Super family graves are located on present day Girard St. Construction was opposed by various groups representing the interests of Confederate veterans, and they allowed construction to continue with the understanding that the hospital would be named after the President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis. Since the completion, a monument to the Confederate veterans buried there has been erected on the hospital grounds. The basement was built above ground to avoid disturbing the cemetery too much.

Hospital:

JDH served as a charity hospital from 1924 until 1938 when the new Jefferson Davis Hospital was built on Allen Parkway (now demolished). It has at times stood vacant, housed a venereal disease clinic, psychiatric hospital, juvenile detention ward, food stamp distribution center, Cenikor (drug & alcohol rehab), and served as records storage for the Harris County Hospital District.

Fire Department:

The fire department next door was constructed in 1968 on another section of City Cemetery. During a maintenance project in the mid-1980s, human remains were unearthed by the fire department and City Cemetery was re-discovered. There is indication that maintenance crews may have desecrated and looted some graves - taking sections of bone - before U of H archaeologists could step in.

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More Photos:

Jefferson Davis Hospital

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Entrance to lower floor of Hospital

jeffdavis3.jpg

(next photo courtesy of bluishorange.com)

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Door to lower level of hospital

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Hall of DEATH

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Elevator remains

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(next photo courtesy of bluishorange.com)

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Outside, old patient cards and machines

(next photo courtesy of bluishorange.com)

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The incenerator

(next photo courtesy of bluishorange.com)

13.jpg

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Wow, those are GREAT pics :) It is actually what the building looked like the first time i went inside, however over the past year SO MANY changes have happened...some HORRIBLE changes like the complete a-holes who decided to put their names all over the beautiful building (how UNIMPRESSIVE is that) and now the new construction that is going on........I cant wait to see it when it is finished, i only wonder how tolerant the new residents will be of the "old" residents :) Guess we will see!!! I only wish i could move in LOL!!!! I have been inside more than 30 times and i have ALWAYS loved the architecture and history of this beautiful building...I only wish the LOSERS who destroyed it would have stayed in their holes............ :angry:

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  • 2 months later...
Dear Houstonites:

If you need any info on the JDH renovation, just let me know. Our company, Artspace Projects, is the developer. I'll check the board every few days. Thanks! Dean Crowell

I thought it was a company called Duroteck or something like that?

Anyway I have lot of of Pics from the insides as they renovate the old girl and bring her back here are just a few if you are interested!

New Blue Prints

Artist drawing

The Building when new

Front shot in begining of revovation

Archway on side of stairsRear of old HospitalSide by Fire department

Old fire escape and garabage chute Opposite side.

Grill work under stairs

Another view of the old Hospital today.

Downtown from the top of the stairs

I hope you all like these. I have many more of you are interested.

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I thought I would share some of my most recent photos of the Place. These are of the boiler house in back of the hospital. As you can tell like the Hospital this place has been pretty gutted as well. It is still a wonderful place to look at.

Front exterior of Boiler House

West corner of boiler house.

West side of Boiler house

Looking at the back of the boiler house.

Right rear entrance of the Boiler house building

Exhaust Stake in back of building #1

Exhaust stake in back of Boiler house Building #2

Left rear of Boiler house.

Standing in back of main room looking at the front towards Hospital.

Standign in front looking at the back of the boiler house and stack.

Main room shoot #2

Left side room of the Boiler house.Standing on the West sdie of Building.

Well that all for now. I will get the rest up as soon as possible. As far as I know now there is no plans to do any work on this building at this time.

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  • 3 weeks later...
I thought I woudl share soem of my most recent photos of the Place. These are of the boiler house in back of the hospital. As you can tell like the Hospital this place has been pretty gutted as well. It is still a wonderful place to look at.

Front exterior of Boiler House

West corner of boiler house.

West side of Boiler house

Looking at the back of the boiler house.

Right rear entrance of the Boiler house building

Exhaust Stake in back of building #1

Exhaust stake in back of Boiler house Building #2

Left rear of Boiler house.

Standing in back of main room looking at the front towards Hospital.

Standign in front looking at the back of the boiler house and stack.

Main room shoot #2

Left side room of the Boiler house.Standing on the West sdie of Building.

Well that all for now. I will get the rest up as soon as possible. As far as I know now there is no plans to do any work on this building at this time.

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some time ago, I heard that the old Jeff would become artists lofts, which is just a fancy name for.........just more apartments. Is this true? I died inside. I died. It seems such a horrible and unfitting end to this historic and sacred place. Haven't enough graves been paved over and destroyed in this city? Can't "they" create instead, a wonderful museum to the past and its archeological worth? Must it be just another "witches hat" and fouled by overcrowding and progress? Please let me know what is happening!

Sincerely GINNIPIG

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  • 4 weeks later...

I went there with my soon to be girlfriend at the time, now fiance a few months ago and there were probably 8 to 10 hispanic kids there when we got there. We had to help eachother under a chainlink fence and it was late and dark. The doors were boarded up, so we...ahem... helped them along... it was already cracked a little anyway- going inside a dark mostly empty building, there's tagging all over the walls. There was a room to the right full of what seemed to have been wooden/metal shelves, about 2-4 rooms full. And we went upstairs, through a lot of dangerously sharp debris, kicking beer bottles and condom wrappers out of the way- we were just in a large open room, it was eerie and most of the boys there didn't stay long... there was another building we could see from behind that one... right next to the Fire Department actually [which we saw firemen out there staring at us- which- seconds after leaving, cops drove into the hospital "parking area"- so it wouldda been the wrong place to be at the wrong time] the other building was hella boarded up- we wouldn'ta been able to get inside anyway- but it was mostly dangerous [i worried we'd probably be attacked or raped just being INSIDE] not scared so much of ghostly spirits, as I was the LIVING ones... Anyway, it took a LOT of effort to see a little bit of nothing... soo, there's your experience- you didn't miss much ;)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was just wondering if anyone else has been following the reconstruction of this historic old building? She is such a wonderful building it was such a shame to see her sit empty for so long. Now she is really taking shape. I posted a bunch of photos of her in the thread posted below if anyone is interested in looking at them. There is also another link that will bring you to more photos.

Reconstruction of the old Jefferson Davis Hospital

Link to thread containing more pictures of the reconstruction.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Ive visited the hospital at least 4 times... reconstructing this place is not a good idea. lol. Sorry, but while I was there with my 8 friends each time all our batteries died within seconds, flashlights and cameras. I felt things I could never explain in words, and I dont see how ppl living in this building is a good idea. I guess it is common to rebuild a place like this, but those spirits might be a little annoyed. I wouldnt live there is it was free.

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I am not to sure about the ghosts and all and how mean or other wise they are but I do know that the only time my camera malfunctioned was when they were digging in the basement and uncovering the bodies that are buried underneath the structure. It worked fine before that day and has worked fine ever since. It was just that day and that day only that my camera has ever malfunctioned.

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I went there with my soon to be girlfriend at the time, now fiance a few months ago and there were probably 8 to 10 hispanic kids there when we got there.  We had to help eachother under a chainlink fence and it was late and dark.  The doors were boarded up, so we...ahem... helped them along... it was already cracked a little anyway- going inside a dark mostly empty building, there's tagging all over the walls.  There was a room to the right full of what seemed to have been wooden/metal shelves, about 2-4 rooms full.  And we went upstairs, through a lot of dangerously sharp debris, kicking beer bottles and condom wrappers out of the way- we were just in a large open room, it was eerie and most of the boys there didn't stay long... there was another building we could see from behind that one... right next to the Fire Department actually [which we saw firemen out there staring at us- which- seconds after leaving, cops drove into the hospital "parking area"- so it wouldda been the wrong place to be at the wrong time] the other building was hella boarded up- we wouldn'ta been able to get inside anyway- but it was mostly dangerous [i worried we'd probably be attacked or raped just being INSIDE] not scared so much of ghostly spirits, as I was the LIVING ones... Anyway, it took a LOT of effort to see a little bit of nothing... soo, there's your experience- you didn't miss much ;)

So what would happen if you were caught in this building by the fuzz. Would they arrest you, write you a ticket, or just send you on your way. I would absolutely love to walk through the building, but I do not have the balls to tresspass and rape sounds like the makings of a bad day.

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I would absolutely love to walk through the building, but I do not have the balls to tresspass and rape sounds like the makings of a bad day.

The only way you will ever get to walk through this building now is if you either bacame a memeber of the construction crew or were granted permission to rent a place in it after the work is completed. Believe me when I say that it looks nothing like it use to. They may even have to take it off the Houston Haunted tour soon.

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Well I was born at Jefferson Davis Hospital and i never figured it to be haunted. Since it is I guess that would probably be apart of my infertility. It was probably a curse or something, because my mother witnessed that when she was having me no doctor was in the room and the lights went out on her. She said that about time the doctors came i was already delivered and evil spirits dwell on new borns especially if they were there to witness a birth. I'm not blaming my infertility on the hospital, but there is no logical explanation to why and I link it back to that hospital. How could the lights just go out only in my mother's delivery room?

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Well I was born at Jefferson Davis Hospital and i never figured it to be haunted.

I doubt that you were born at that hospital unless you are in your late 70's to 80's

You were probably born at the other Jefferson Davis hospital that use to be on Allen Parkway. It was built on top of an old cemetary as well. As for the rest of your story? Well it is possible.

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I doubt that you were born at that hospital unless you are in your late 70's to 80's

You were probably born at the other Jefferson Davis hospital that use to be on Allen Parkway. It was built on top of an old cemetary as well. As for the rest of your story? Well it is possible.

Does anybody have any additional information regarding the refurbishing of the old Jeff Davis Hospital into artist's lofts? I corresponded with Dean Crowel with Artspace a few months back, but he did not respond to my most recent emailing. Any info out there?

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  • 5 weeks later...
Guest KOKON Steel

i went there once and i think it was haunted because i stepped into the doorway and this homeless man jumped out at me and threw a tomato can in my general direction so yeah i guess yeah I'd say it's haunted with the homeless sort and whatnot peace im outta here

:ph34r:

KOKON Steel

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i went there once and i think it was haunted because i stepped into the doorway and this homeless man jumped out at me and threw a tomato can in my general direction so yeah i guess yeah I'd say it's haunted with the homeless sort and whatnot peace im outta here

It may be haunted but not with the homeless anymore.

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Found a shot of the building undergoing renovation in early November of 2004. Looks like they've finished the roof and graffiti, and have knocked out all the old glass.

git yo renovate on

I haven't been by there lately, are they done renovating yet? I would love to rent there...

I drove by the building for the first time ever on Sunday. I was taken aback by how small it was. I thought the building looked cool, but I was expecting something a bit larger. It looks like they are making some progress.

What is an Artist Loft Anyways?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Some friends and I from my work went on a few occasions. The first time we made a video and audio recording with a mini recorder. Unfortunately there was a lot of background noise. We did get some strange sounds that did not make any sense there. The video cameras battery was only a week old and fully charged, yet went dead after just under half an hour. I got some interesting photos, 2 actually. However, most of the film did not come out. The enrgies in that building are in no way good. The lofts are beyond a bad idea. But, some must learn the hard way.

The last time I went was about 10 months ago. The security guard on duty, whose identity I will not give, allowed me and a friend to take some photos of the outside and record audio while we were there. Not one picture came out. Not one. The audio produced, after I said something most of you would not ever comprehend, wht appears to be a womans voice singing in a whisper. However, I can not tell what is said.

8-X

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
I thought I would share some of my most recent photos of the Place. These are of the boiler house in back of the hospital. As you can tell like the Hospital this place has been pretty gutted as well. It is still a wonderful place to look at.

Front exterior of Boiler House

West corner of boiler house.

West side of Boiler house

Looking at the back of the boiler house.

Right rear entrance of the Boiler house building

Exhaust Stake in back of building #1

Exhaust stake in back of Boiler house Building #2

Left rear of Boiler house.

Standing in back of main room looking at the front towards Hospital.

Standign in front looking at the back of the boiler house and stack.

Main room shoot #2

Left side room of the Boiler house.Standing on the West sdie of Building.

Well that all for now. I will get the rest up as soon as possible. As far as I know now there is no plans to do any work on this building at this time.

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I have a question for you...Last month A friend and myself snuck into the hospital and the old boiler room....I read that you do walk throughs so I was wondering if you knew what all the canal things on the floor of the boiler room were for? They go all through the room and I would think theres too many of them to be any kind of grooves the boiler its self made?

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I have lived in Alabama for 10 years but was born and raised in Houston. In 18 years I never really knew about JDH so I never got a chance to explore the structure, both for the haunted aspect and the pure beauty of the building. I want to see the progress on the lofts when I come into town in a couple weeks. I think preserving JDH is great. Just wondering if it is as haunted as it is suppose to be, what the tenate turn over rate will be...

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  • 3 weeks later...

I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I HAVE BEEN TO THE HOSPITAL ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO AND IT WAS A UNPLEASENT EXPERIENCE THERE WAS ABOUT 7 TO 9 OF US WHO WENT TOGETHER AS A GROUP WE WENT THROUGH THE BACK AND ALL HELD HANDS TO LEAD EACH OTHER THROUGH THE DARK STAIR WAY I FELT AN AWFUL PRESENCE SO I JUST CLOSED MY EYES WHILE MY BOYFRIEND LEAD ME ON WHEN WE REACH THE TOP THERE WAS A OTHER SMALL GROUP OF 5 WITH A CAMCORDER WHEN THE BOY WHO WAS HOLDING IT FEEL IN FRONT OF US HE SAID SOMEONE PUSHED HIM HIS CAMCORDER BROKE INTO PIECES HE ASKED HIS FREINDS WHO DID IT BUT IT WASNT ANY OF THEM SO I INSISTED THAT WE SHOULD LEAVE ASAP SO EVERYONE HEADED BACK DOWN THE STAIRS AND THE WHOLE TIME YOU FELT AS IF YOU HAD A BIG LOAD ON YOUR SHOULDERS

THATS THE BEST WAY I CAN DESCRIBE IT

EVERYONE FELT IT SO WE TRIED TO MAKE PACE WHEN SOME HOW OUR LEADER GOT LOST AND ALMOST FEEL INTO THE EMPTY ELAVATOR ALSO, IT WAS ABOUT 98 DEGREES OUTSIDE BUT SOME PARTS THE BUILDING FELT AS IF WAS 60 AT THAT TIME.THE SERCURITY WASNT VERY GOOD (HE WAS LAZY) HE SAW US ALL RUN OUT SCREAMING AND HE LAUGHED AND SAID ''I HOPE YOU KIDS LEARNED YOUR LESSON'' TRUST ME WE DID ALL OF STILL HAVE NOT GONE UP THERE EVER AGAIN

I HOPE THAT THE RENOVATION GOES WELL AND YOU DONT EXPERIENCE THE SAME AWFUL FEELING THAT WE ALL DID MAYBE WE'LL ALL DRIVE BY ONE DAY ITS FINISHED TO SEE A GREAT JOB THAT WAS DONE ;)

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Well besides my digital camera not working the day they were examine some of the graves in the basement area I have not experienced much. But lately a lot of the workers and especially the nighttime security guards have been experiencing a lot of activity.

Work on the building is nearly complete all of the new windows are installed and sealed and many of the rooms are nearing completion as well and they now have air conditioning running in the majority of the rooms. I was chatting with one of the security guards the other day and he was telling me that just a few days ago finished his rounds and the crew had just left for the day after shutting the old girl down and sealing her up. He was sitting in his car listening o the radio when he heard a noise. Stepping out of his car he noticed that every window on the hospital was wide open. How that happened he did not know. He called a fellow office over and they went through and re-closed all of the windows.

The only other story is pretty common and has to do with tools moving on their own. A worker will put down his tools to work on some thing reach back down to pick it up and it will be gone and. He may or may not find it and if he does it will be across the room where it should not be.

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hey everyone i have a story to tell i beent o JDH like 4 times the first time i went and everytime i went it was eather 12 in the morning or later first time i went i didn't hear nothing or see nothing the 2nd time i went nothing as well but when i went back to my homeboys car i was sitting at the back and i looked out the window and on the window i saw a kids skull and hand prints i tryed whiping it away but it wouldn't go away i told my friends they where like dang thats crazy cause we would go look for places that are haunted and the 3rd time i went i heard ladys screaming the 4th time i went it was weird i was scared man i went into that one hallway you have on top the photo and if ya know like if you bang on the walls it would be hard would barley make any noises i walked through there and i heard a man screaming like a deep voice and the walls started shaking i was like oh ____ did ya hear that and none of my friends heard anything or felt the walls shaking then we walked in deeper i looked in the restroom and i flashed my flashed light and i saw a shadow even with the flashlight the shadow was there i was scared so i didn't want to look at it so i looked down and the first time i went there we got scared cause the security gaurd saw us but they didn't go in but me and my friend was like lets leave but my other homeboy told him and his girl to go inside and i looked out and the close was clear so we headed over to the car then we waited for my other homeboy to come back out and when they came back out they where all scared they where like the saw globes and shadows in the one room and the ceiling started shaking i was like dang thats crazy and his girl said she even saw shadows where the light would shine out from the window and one other time when i wasn't there my homeboy went with his other homeboy he said he brought a camcorder and he heard stuff then he got scared and ran out then when they looked back at the footage every single time they stoped walking on the camra they would hear ladys high heels clicking and screams then when they walked the camcorder didn't have nothin thats creepy but if you ever went there you should know that if you go in groups you would sometimes hardly ever hear nothin but if you just split up and go with one other person you would most likely hear things for some reason

if you live in alief i know a haunted grave yard i think its a pet cemitary cause the twotimes i went there i heard screams and i saw shadows if ya wannak now where it is i can tell ya

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  • The title was changed to Jefferson Davis Hospital At 1101 Elder St.

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