February 2022 by Ariel W.
Hollywood Florida has done a great job of preserving their historic buildings. A lot of people know about their downtown art walks but did you know you can also do a self guided historic building walk? The Hollywood Historical Society has placed plaques on several buildings of historical note in the downtown area. On the Hollywood Historical Society's website is a printable map of the Historic Landmark Plaque Tour. The group also operates tours of the historic Hammerstein House open on the last Sunday of the month during the winter and spring from 1 to 4 PM and different historic tours. Check their website for details. As a fan of architecture I love to check out the different historic buildings when I am in Hollywood and this building has quite a storied past. City of Hollywood founder Joseph Young opened this building in July 1924 as the headquarters of the Hollywood Publishing Company, which published the Reporter and the Hollywood News. He used the papers to spread the word of his new city. Less than a year later he donated the building to the city at which time it became Hollywood's first City Hall, Police Station, jail, city meeting hall and the courthouse until 1928. From the late 1970s into the 90s, it was the restaurant and music venue known as World Famous Hemmingway's. In the following years the building has been bars, restaurants, heavy metal clubs, and possibly a bondage dungeon. It was The Continental, the Monster Rock Cafe, Club X, and in 2000 a gay bar called Mankind. In 1997 the building was declared a historical site by the City of Hollywood. Today, the building houses a Peruvian restaurant called Runa's, and an adjacent bar, called the Tavern which still contain the marble floors, high ceilings, crystal chandeliers, Tiffany stained glass, and mahogany bar from the buildings hey day.
