1829 East Long Street
Franklin Park Medical Center

The building was the subject of a Columbus Dispatch article on February 8, 2015. "Group fights to save historic Franklin Park Medical Center building - Medical center among entities listed in report as African-American landmarks worthy of preservation - The Franklin Park Medical Center building, which is just off E. Long Street within a whistle of a railroad underpass, has been empty for years.

The 53-year-old building, with its distinctive Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired architecture, including a flat roof and stone and wood elements, once teemed with doctors and patients. But its story is one that many don’t know.

The now-deteriorating structure was the first of its kind in Columbus. Five African-American medical professionals opened the office at a time when medical services remained, for the most part, segregated.

“You couldn’t get offices at hospitals. You were not allowed to be on staff at hospitals,” said Dr. Harold McDaniel, a dentist and one of the founding members.

The medical center is one of several buildings listed in a new Columbus Landmarks Foundation report that aims to raise awareness of, preserve and commemorate African-American heritage. More than a dozen black communities also are in the report... As for the Franklin Park Medical Center, an effort is underway to try to save it. Lloyd Clark, the son of one of the five founding physicians — Dr. Arthur L. Clark, a pediatrician — is exploring how to put the building on the National Register of Historic Places and restore it using tax credits.

“I’d love to see that building come back,” Clark said.

Barb Powers, deputy state historic preservation officer, said she heard about the building at a recent discussion about the report. She said the building would be a strong candidate for the National Register.

The building did not sell at a Jan. 30 sheriff’s sale. It has been appraised at $172,137. It had been in receivership from 2007 to 2009, and the owner is still listed as Porter Laboratories."