LUBBOCK, Texas — During a routine check of public records this week, EverythingLubbock.com found a demolition permit for the Godbold Center in the 2600 block of 19th Street. The City of Lubbock confirmed that the demolition permit covered the 1936 and 1940 additions of the building. The area which houses Café J is not up for demolition according to the city.
The building was a doctor’s clinic, then it became St. Mary’s Hospital according to the Lubbock County Historical Commission. St. Mary’s later moved and eventually merged with Methodist Hospital to become Covenant. It was also home to the University City Club. Carlton M. Godbold purchased the building in February 1993, according to tax records and it became the Goldbold Cultural Center. It was then purchased by Generator I LLC in 2021.
Related story: Lubbock City Council votes against zoning change for proposed student housing near Tech Terrace
Inside the Goldbold (Courtesy Darcey Achin) 
Inside the Goldbold (Courtesy Darcey Achin) 
Inside the Goldbold (Courtesy Darcey Achin) 
Inside the Goldbold (Courtesy Darcey Achin) 
Inside the Goldbold (Courtesy Darcey Achin) 
Inside the Goldbold (Courtesy Darcey Achin) 
Inside the Goldbold (Courtesy Darcey Achin) 
Inside the Goldbold (Courtesy Darcey Achin) 
Inside the Goldbold (Courtesy Darcey Achin) 
Inside the Goldbold (Courtesy Darcey Achin) 
Inside the Goldbold when Chrome was there (Courtesy Darcey Achin) 
Inside the Goldbold when Chrome was there (Courtesy Darcey Achin) 
Inside the Goldbold, Wade Parks and the 806 Icon (Courtesy Darcey Achin) 
2600 block of 19th Street (Pedro F.) 
2600 19th Street (Nexstar/Staff) 
2600 block of 19th Street (Pedro F.)
Previous plans to tear down the building in 2014 were met with protests and even a Facebook page called Save the Godbold. More recently, the Lubbock City Council rejected a zoning change that would allow for a privately-owned student housing development called Up Campus. Residents in the neighborhood spoke out against the zoning change.
“I’m heartbroken. It’s beautiful,” said Darcey Achin, who previously lived in the building. She said Carlton Godbold became her Godfather when she was 4 years old.
“It was well kept,” Achin said. She described a theater in the building which is three-stories tall.
“The pretty part of the building is the theater. I don’t want it torn down. It’s just really, really sad,” Achin said.
Achin also described gorgeous woodwork and brand-new skylights.
The city council rejected the Up Campus request on February 28. The demolition permit was requested and issued on March 2. It expires on August 29.
EverythingLubbock.com reached out to a representative of the current ownership. We will provide an update if he accepts our invitation to comment.
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