Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities
Edwardsville
The Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities in Edwardsville is a recipient of a 2018 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Project of the Year Award for Leadership. Located at 1210 N. Main St. in Edwardsville, the project transformed the former Lincoln School, a historically African American school built in 1912, into a vibrant meeting space and cultural center in the Edwardsville community. Support for the extensive renovations at the school required a combination of fundraising, corporate giving and, most importantly, a unique public/private partnership that brought together Mannie Jackson, a successful local businessman, and Lewis and Clark Community College. Jackson, a former Lincoln School student, purchased the dilapidated building and donated it to the Lewis & Clark Community College for use as a community gathering space that would host lectures, readings, dialogues, public service opportunities and other humanities programming. The Center’s design focused on providing useable space to the community in the form of the 2,500-square-foot ballroom that accommodates up to 140 guests and the 1,250-square-foot conference room that can host up to 60 guests.
The Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities project has provided sustained cultural growth in the region, actively worked to build understanding between communities and served as a catalyst for further development in an area that has long been neglected.
Project Principals
Lewis & Clark Community College
Mannie Jackson Foundation
Lincoln School Alumni Foundation
Edwardsville Historic Preservation Commission
(Photo credit: Casey Weeks)
All 2018 Award Recipients