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Register Recognizes 1911 Building

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By JOSE PATINO GIRONA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 9, 2008

TAMPA HEIGHTS - Kay Morse began a campaign in 1993 to save the former Jefferson High School building on Highland Avenue.

The 1911 building was saved and restored, and since 2002 it has been home to the D.W. Waters Career Center. Now it has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"I am proud of our school and proud of everybody that worked with me," said Morse, who graduated from Jefferson in 1943 and initiated getting the school on the national register.

"It is a legacy that we are passing down to others," said Morse, who lives in Tallahassee.

The national register listing, which the school district announced last week, doesn't protect the building but gives it recognition. The building was named a local historic building in 2004, which offers protection.

The school opened as Hillsborough County High in 1911. It became a junior high in 1928 and then was Jefferson High School from 1939-67.

The school was closed because it was considered a fire hazard but reopened in 1968 as George Washington Junior High. About 1980, it was converted to school district offices. The district spent $9 million in 2002 to restore the building and make it the Waters center.

"I am thrilled to death," said Wynelle Gilbert, curator of the center's Jefferson Alumni Museum.

Gilbert graduated from Jefferson High in 1944 and attended Jefferson Junior High when it was located at the Highland Avenue building.

"It is the most important high school building in the county," said Gilbert of South Tampa. "It's the oldest one still standing and in use."

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 835-2110 or jpatino@tampatrib.com.

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