Mannie Jackson Center opens its doors in Edwardsville

Visitors enter the Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities at the historic former Lincoln School on Main Street in Edwardsville Monday. The building has undergone a complete renovation. John Badman | The Telegraph

Ed Hightower, left, greets visitors Monday, welcoming them to the open house of the Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities at the historic former Lincoln School on Main Street in Edwardsville. John Badman | The Telegraph

EDWARDSVILLE — Long before it was a cultural center, James Krapf used to shoot hoops in the basement of the Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities.

Krapf, of Edwardsville, lived near the former Lincoln School building as a child and would often use the school’s basketball court to practice his shooting. As an eighth-grade student at nearby St. Boniface Catholic School, Krapf played his home games in Lincoln School’s gym. One day he even had the fortune of sharing a court with Mannie Jackson.

“I have a lot of history with this place,” Krapf said.

Krapf was among those who turned out to marvel at how far the building has come since those days, as the Lewis and Clark Community College development opened its doors to the community Monday afternoon to show off a renovation more than a year in the making. From 1 to 6 p.m. guests were invited in to see the redone building, many sharing stories like Krapf’s of their memories of the building from a former life.

“I think it’s absolutely awesome to see the excitement from the folks who are going through,” Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities Foundation Executive Director Ed Hightower said. “So many of these individuals attended school, remember this building when it was back in the ’50s or the late ’40s. They are just so excited to see how it has been renovated and revitalized — and protected. That is just so gratifying to see.”

Successful businessman and Edwardsville native Mannie Jackson announced the creation of the Mannie Jackson Endowment and Center for the Humanities, as well as $200,000 toward the endowment, in April 2012. A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the Lincoln School, located at 1210 N. Main St. in Edwardsville, on Oct. 16, 2014.

The center’s website says it “will bring together diverse audiences and humanities programming through lectures, readings, dialogues, public service opportunities and humanities programs.” It currently offers a 140-seat ballroom and 60-seat conference room, among other amenities.

Recently, the center announced big plans for the site’s future, as well. By 2017, a 1,200-seat conference center, hotel, parking garage and STEM Center will all be part of the development. The conference center and hotel are slated to be built along North Main Street just northwest of the current building, and an existing brick building along North Main will be utilized for the STEM Center, which will aim to incorporate math, science, technology and engineering into the humanities, according to a release from the center. The parking garage is expected to be constructed at the site of the former Rusty’s restaurant.

“The whole idea, the concept here is tremendous,” Madison County Board Chairman Alan J. Dunstan said in attendance at the open house. “The other side of Edwardsville has been doing very well. For this side of Edwardsville, it’s going to be good.”

The center will hold its inaugural dinner on March 31, 2016, with former Secretary of State Colin Powell lined up as the featured speaker at the event. The next phase is expected to be completed sometime in 2017.

Reach reporter Nathan Grimm at 618-208-6451 or on Twitter @GrimmTelegraph.