Dr. Samuel H Johnson X-Ray Clinic

Dr. Samuel H. Johnson constructed the X-Ray Clinic in 1939. Johnson arrived in Miami as a child in 1903 and eventually became the first black radiologist in South Florida. Black residents were denied access to x-ray facilities at Miami’s City Hospital, and Johnson created his clinic to serve the area’s black population. 

Dr. Johnson’s brother, John, practiced law from the X-Ray Clinic between 1947 and 1955; in 1949, he hosted Thurgood Marshall, then legal counsel for the NAACP, at the clinic. Dr. Johnson continued to operate the clinic until 1967. He donated his former office building to the Black Archives in 1981. The X-Ray Clinic is an example of Streamline Modernestyle architecture, which can be seen in the building’s rounded corners, horizontal band of windows, use of glass block, and central relief details. The building is an excellent example of 1930s Miami architecture, and an important historical site reflecting the city’s history of segregation and black activism. 

Source:

//civic.miami.edu/_assets/pdf/housing-initiatives/housing-reports/List_of_Historic_Properties.0.1.pdf

Catalyst Storymap

This is stop number 14 on the Historic Overtown Legacy Trek! Download the map here, or click here to see the next stop: L.E. Thomas Building.