It opened as the Ritz Theater in 1937, then by 1953 it was operated by the Talgar Theatre Company chain until 1957 when it was renamed the Lincoln Theatre and was operated as an African-American Theater in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Fort Pierce along Avenue D. It is said to be one of only four African-American owned theaters in the country. (Aug. 9, 2020)

The abandoned Agape Seniors Recreation Center, formerly the St. Lucie Welfare Home, on 9th Street in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Fort Pierce, is where Hurston stayed after suffering a stroke and died in 1960. (Aug. 9, 2020)

The abandoned Agape Seniors Recreation Center, formerly the St. Lucie Welfare Home, on 9th Street in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Fort Pierce, is where Hurston stayed after suffering a stroke and died in 1960. It was approved last year by Last year the Lucie County Commission approved donating the home to the Zora Neale Hurston Florida Education Foundation for a museum and community center to honor Hurston. (Aug. 9, 2020)

I came across Anita Prentice’s work when I was in Fort Pierce following the “Zora Neale Hurston Dust Tracks Heritage Trail.” This Zora inspired mosaic bench, at the Zora Neale Hurston branch public library, was created by Anita in 2004 and is part of some 175 benches Anita has created with her colorful mosaic benches. (Aug. 9, 2020)

The closed Zora Neale Hurston branch public library in the Lincoln Park community of Fort Pierce, Florida begins the Zora Neal Hurston Dust Track Heritage Trail where this library is named in her honor. (Aug. 9, 2020)

Me in front of the closed Zora Neale Hurston branch public library in the Lincoln Park community of Fort Pierce, Florida, sitting on a bus bench of a Zora Neale Hurston mosaic by the well-known local mosaic artist, Anita Prentice. She is known for her mosaic series on Zora and for mosaic bus benches throughout Fort Pierce and St. Lucie County.

I had the pleasure of meeting and seeing Anita’s incredible mosaic portrait works of Zora (please scroll on to the end to meet Anita and see her Zora mosaics) after admiring them while I was in Fort Pierce.
(Aug. 9, 2020)

Me at the closed Zora Neale Hurston branch public library on Avenue D in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Fort Pierce, Florida, standing by the Zora Neal Hurston Dust Track Heritage Trail map. The map commemorates various locations of the final years of Zora’s life when she lived in Fort Pierce. The library is considered the #1 Trail Marker on the Trail map. The branch library, which is presently closed, was dedicated to Zora in 1991. The Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and other organizations provided collections of Zora’s works, posters, newspaper articles and videos for the public to use for research and enjoyment. (Aug. 9, 2020)

It is a modest single-story house, built out of concrete blocks stuccoed exterior and a flat tar-and-gravel roof built in 1957 built by Dr. C.C. Benton, a medical doctor, who had sold 10 nearby acres for construction of “a new negro high school” nearby. Originally located on School Court, the house was moved 500 feet north in 1995 to 1734 Avenue L to allow for the expansion of Lincoln Park Academy, the school at which Hurston briefly taught. Zora’s residency in this home ended when she suffered a debilitating stroke requiring hospitalization and nursing care. She died on January 28, 1960 at the age of 69. (Aug. 9, 2020)

Zora’s Home at 1734 Avenue L in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Fort Pierce, Florida, where she lived. The house, built in 1957, was owned by Clem C. Benton, a physician and humanitarian who befriended Zora and allowed her to live here rent free during the last years of her life. On Dec. 4, 1991, the house was designated as a U.S. National Historic Landmark. In 1995, it was moved 500 feet due north from its original location at 1734 School Court, to allow for expansion of Lincoln Park Academy where Zora briefly taught in 1958. The house is the #3 stop on the Zora Neale Hurston Dust Tracks Heritage Trail in Fort Pierce. (Aug. 9, 2020)

The Lincoln Park Academy is #2 on the Zora Neal Hurston Dust Track Heritage Trail in Fort Pierce, Florida. Zora taught English here as a substitute teacher.

Although Zora was a nationally known author and folklorist who had a prestigious college degree and had taught in college classrooms, she was only able to teach at Lincoln Park Academy for a short time in February 1958. When Zora came to teach English, she found that her education and extensive professional experience would not exempt her from obtaining an official State of Florida teaching certification.

Today, Lincoln Park Academy is a magnet school but the school’s roots reach back to 1921 when an ambitious group of black families worked to raise money and support for the area’s first 4-year black high school. When Lincoln Park was accredited in 1928, it was one of only four accredited black high schools in Florida. The school achieved its status in part thanks to Principal James A. Espy, who insisted that most of its teachers have college degrees, an almost unheard of requirement for this time. (Aug. 9, 2020)

The bronze and concrete columns of the Zora Neale Hurston Memorial bricked walkway created in 2010 by artist James Liccione leads to Zora’s headstone and gravesite slab at Sarah’s Memorial Garden cemetery in Fort Pierce. Liccione is known for his sculptures and art furniture. (Aug. 9, 2020)