Mack’s Auto Repair Garage

Mack’s Auto Repair Garage. . The concrete-block building that presently sits on the corner of Kennedy Boulevard and College Street was once the location of one of the "second-wave" business establishments within the Town. Beginning in the late 1930's, some businesses were separated from the house in which the owner lived. In 1946 Mack Robinson responded to the fact that more automobiles were traveling via the Town's main street. He purchased the property on what was then Lake Avenue, and built and operated Mack's Auto Repair and Gas. This property had multiple functions. Mack's was a popular after school gathering place, as Hungerford Students flocked there to buy sodas and snacks from Mrs. Robinson. The garage also housed the Town's first fire truck and serviced the school buses that were owned by Hungerford School., Since 1989, the refurbished building has been the headquarters of the Association to preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc. (P.E.C.), a non-profit historic preservation organization. Organized in 1987 to preserve the Eatonville community and the heritage it represents as a historical African American town, PEC. has focused on preservation strategies, educational programs, and cultural enhancement. Its signature event is the sponsorship of the Annual Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities. As a result of the festival and the other year-round programs, which celebrates the Town's heritage, and culture; and focuses on the economic development of the community, P.E.C. has become the catalyst for Eatonville's heightened visibility both locally and nationally. The building also houses the Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts, which provides a small gallery where the public can view the creative works of artists of African descent. , , (caption) , Customers pose beside a “new” car parked in front of Mack’s Auto Repair Garage. Photo c. 1955