the TallyCast archive

Is it the old FAMU hospital.
 

Dave, it sure looks to me like what I know as the old Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, corner of Gadsden & McDaniel. If it is, Joe Guttman, whose parents owned Richards Luggage downtown, was the first person born there, he once told me. He's Jewish, probably born just before TMH was opened, and Forsyth was probably the closest hospital to wherever they lived. (His wife Lori, wrote for the Democrat for many years; they're now in Denver.)

The building's still there, but without going by, I don't know what's in there now, so even if I'm right, I'll have to forfeit the prize.

Then again, I may be completely wrong.
 

Couldn't resist, drove by, rain and all. Yep, it's 805 N Gadsden St, Tallahassee. Moore-Bass Consulting (www.moorebass.com) now occupies it. The chimney's gone, at least two windows, on the south side, are no longer there, but it's quite recognizable. Note the asymmetric three windows on the upper north end front. ... The brick building to the north still looks quite the same.

I do believe more than one person told me it was, at least at one time, a Seventh Day Adventist Hospital; I've not before heard of Forsyth. Live and Learn. Thanks, but save the prize for another time.
 

Here's one: there are at least four "points" in Tallahassee: southside four points, realigned and now gone; five points, that midtown examplar of traffic engineering; what are the names of at least two more Tallahassee points, and where are they?

Bonus Question: Is there a Railroad tunnel in Gadsden County?
 

You're just waiting for a better prize ... next time it will be lunch for two at Shingles or something. Of course you got it totally right. I don't know the entire history of the building but it was a hospital and more recently, a womens clinic.

I google-earthed the CSX lines in Gadsden but didn't see no stinkin' tunnels. I'm guessing it would be close to the river but who knows. I'll check with my CSX buddy the next time I see him.
I miss Tuckers at 4 points and their 'lish AYCE fried chicken, and at 5 points, Mutt and Jeff. I'll be pondering points for the next few days. Do the other two points have food associations?
 

I think I found the tunnel in Quincy. It's on the spur line that goes to the Fuller's earth plant. You can't actually see it on Google Earth but I remember a trip to the plant during a "learn about Gadsden county" event designed for local teachers. If I'm right, it goes under another 5 point intersection -- here's my best guess:

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=30.593899,-84.585623&spn=0.001152,0.001754&t=h&z=19&om=1
 

You got it! Congratulations!
 

There is no food association with the two other points I know of.

One of the points is close to Forsyth.
 

Dave, one is McCord Point, one block west of Forsyth, between Thomasville Road and Calhoun Street; the other is College Point, where W Call Street begins off of W Tennessee Street.

Regards, Charless
 

Hey y'all,

Where has this here blog been all my bloggin' days? Dang!!!!

That building y'all're talking about there -- Was it the hospital before TMH was built? What's the scoop on it?

I gotta know these things, you know.

BFF,
Miss T
 

Hi, Miss T! All I really know is that Joe Guttman told me it had been a Seventh Day Adventist Hospital and that he had been born there. TMH was built in 1947-48, I believe, and Joe was born before then, so it was a hospital before TMH, but whether it was THE hospital, I don't know.
I'd not heard of Forsyth before Dave wrote about it.
Then there's the FAMU hospital that was closed; when or really why I don't know.
I do recall reading that Black Plaintiffs lost a lawsuit over the fact that they had to pay taxes that in part went to TMH but they couldn't be treated there then.
I've found Gerald Ensley (gensley@tallahassee.com) usually quite knowledgeable; you might try him.
Dave-thanks for allowing this.
Cordially, Charless
 

I've lived here since 1970 and by the time I got here, the hospital was closed. I've heard a bit about the medical history of Tallahassee. TMH opened about 1952 or so. Friend who grew up here talk about the old hospital at Dale Mabry Field (where TCC is now). I know a few people who were born there.

I also know several people who were born at the old FAMU hospital. It was indeed forced to close when TCC opened. I believe that there was a bit of anger at the time. One friend told me that the FAMU Hospital administrators tried to have the patient records transfered to TMH, but the administration there didn't want them. Instead, my friend says, they were burned.

My guess about the Forsyth Hospital is that it was a TB Sanitarium. If you google the name of the hospital, you'll find a financial report fromt the Ford Foundation, where Forsyth was given some money in the 1950's.

I had not heard about the connection with the Seventh Day Adventist, but do remember a health food store that the church owned in the basement of a nearby house back in the early 1970's.
 

Wow ...

Thanks, guys...

I need to check with my mom on this. When I saw this discussion and the photograph, I recalled driving by a building similar to it with my mom somewhere in Tallahassee, and she told me that it was the hospital before the current TMH was built. Mom was born in the older building in 1939, but I'm not sure if it's the same building that's pictured here. Now I'm curious. Gotta find out.

Love this local history stuff!

BFF,
Miss T
 

I checked with my mom and she says she was born at this hospital and that she also had her tonsils taken out there. She was around 5 years old when she had the tonsilectomy, and she said she remembers that she received a silver dollar as a gift from the hospital. She also remembers the Jell-O. Lots of Jell-O.

Thanks for posting this really neat blog entry!

BFF,
Miss T
 

I was born in this hospital in June 1945. My mom said the name of the hospital at that time was "Johnson's" or "Johnston's" Sanitarium. Later, it was the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital and the Forsyth Hospital. I'm not sure if the Forsyth name was used when the Seventh Day Adventist ran the hospital or if there are two different management periods with two different names. I do remember visiting with my parents a friend of the family there in the late Fifties and my brother-in-law was admitted there in the early 60s for severe sunburn. Since I was born there, I would like a confirmation of the official name of the hospital where I was born!