Cap's Place facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Cap's Place
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Outside tables with Intracoastal Waterway view
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 Location in Florida
Location in the United States
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| Location | 2980 NE. 31st Ave., Lighthouse Point, Florida |
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| Area | 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) |
| Built | 1928 |
| Built by | Knight, Cap; Hasis, Al |
| Architectural style | Vernacular frame |
| NRHP reference No. | 90001227 |
| Added to NRHP | 10 August 1990 |
Cap's Place, originally named Club Unique, is a historic site in Lighthouse Point, Florida, United States. It opened in 1928 as a speakeasy (with associated rum-running), gambling den and restaurant. It is the oldest extant structure in the City of Lighthouse Point and the oldest commercial enterprise in the area. It has operated as a restaurant since opening and is the oldest restaurant in Broward County, Florida. On August 10, 1990, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is located at 2980 Northeast 31st Avenue. There is no parking at the site; patrons take a boat shuttle to the facility.
Contents
Setting
Cap's Place is a collection of five wood-frame vernacular buildings, four of which are considered historic. It is located on a peninsula between Lake Placid and the Intracoastal Waterway, in a residential neighborhood in the City of Lighthouse Point, Broward County, Florida. The first building was erected in 1928 on a beached dredging barge. It has been described as having "no architecture, save Cap's own creative style, born of need and materials available in Florida in 1928." The site was expanded to its current L-shaped configuration in 1929. At the time of this construction the peninsula was very narrow and portions of the buildings extended over the water. In the 1960s the bay side of the peninsula was filled, raising the elevation of the land and extending the shoreline past some of the buildings that had been partially over water. The site is flanked by water to the east and west. A buffer of slash pine and Australian pine to the north and south retains much of the feel of the original setting. It was originally only accessible by water.
Layout
The structures making up the establishment are a restaurant (original building with expansion), a bar, a fish house, a dock and walkways and a boat house (not considered historic due to alterations). All of the buildings were constructed with native materials, including Cuban mahogany, bamboo, pecky cypress, and Dade County pine. Some of the building material was purchased from the recently established Pompano Lumber Company. The restaurant was built in two stages; the initial portion was constructed on a beached c. 1924 dredging barge which raised the structure above ground level.
The restaurant
The barge was stripped to provide a base for a one-story wood-framed building with a gabled roof. The interior and exterior wall of this portion are constructed of thick horizontal pine planks. The windows and doors are symmetrically placed and original wood casings and surrounds remain. The main entrance is on the east side and is flanked by multiple pane windows with wood sashing. The south side is covered with plywood for protection from water damage but windows are visible from the interior. This portion forms the east–west portion of the extant L-shape.
The restaurant addition is a long rectangular building sitting on concrete block piers and has wood floors and a horizontal board exterior. Built of Dade County pine, this building has a low-pitched asphalt shingle roof. The main entrance is on the north side, with another entrance on the east side. While aluminium windows have been installed on east and west sides, the original window woodwork remains intact. This addition had red carpet and became known as the "Poinsettia Room" or the "Poinciana Room". It was joined to the original building by a foyer in 1954. The Poinsettia Room was the principal site of gambling. The original building was divided into dining rooms, one of which was painted yellow and separated by 3/4 height walls, and a kitchen in the northwest portion of the building. Between the "yellow room" and other dining rooms there was a hallway lined with six nooks where slot machines were located. These nooks remain intact in size and shape but shelving has been added. A money counting room at the south end of the Poinsettia Room had a private exit to the east.
The bar
The bar located to the north of the restaurant is connected to it by decking with picnic tables. It is a rectangular building with windows that match those of the restaurant, and has a south facing door. Patrons in the deck area are served through a wood-shuttered opening east of the door. There is an additional door and a small projecting storage room on the west side. The interior decoration of the bar is distinct; a large bar of everglades bamboo topped with old ship decking and accentuated by a mirror is the dominant feature of the room. It is decorated with objects found washed up on the shore while the building was built. The floor and roof are Dade County pine while the ceiling beams and walls are pecky cypress. During the time there was gambling at Cap's Place, there was a Wheel of Fortune and curtained alcoves. The alcoves have since been boarded up but the outlines remain visible on the walls. The bar and restaurant are decorated throughout with flotsam and jetsam and memorabilia.
Other buildings
Soon after the initial construction a fish house was built on pilings over the water. This small rectangular building was used for fish cleaning and dish washing; dirty water and fish scraps were dumped into the water. Over time the shoreline has silted in, and this structure is now used for storage. The pilings that had elevated it above the water remain visible. The buildings of Cap's Place are connected by a series of decks, piers and docks. While the shoreline has changed, these structures remain intact. A boat house where the owners lived on the site has been extensively repaired and reconstructed, and is not considered historic because of this. A six-room bunkhouse built to provide housing for restaurant workers no longer exists.
History
In 1928 Eugene Theodore "Cap" Knight and Albert Hasis beached a dredging barge on a small peninsula in the Hillsboro Inlet and built a restaurant on its stripped base. They named the restaurant Club Unique, but it was always known as "Cap's Place". Knight had operated a store and restaurant nearby since 1920. The location of the previous business was subject to severe weather, and the site no longer exists due to coastal erosion. He had also been engaged in rum-running for some time.
The barge, purchased for US$100 (equivalent to about $1,653 in 2022), was originally beached about a half a mile from its current location. It was moved due to expansion of the Intracoastal Waterway; the hawser ropes used are wrapped around a large piling in the bar.
From the beginning it was clear that Club Unique would be a speakeasy with gambling and dining. By the end of 1929, the club had expanded with the construction of a number of other buildings. Knight also operated a separate gambling barge nearby in the 1940s. Cap's Place is historically important locally, to Florida and the United States as an early local commercial enterprise run by one of the original settlers in the area, and as a part of the rum-running and gambling history of southern Florida and the US. Author Carmen McGarry wrote about Cap's Place, "A landmark comparable to no other in south Florida, it has withstood prohibition, mobsters, depression, wars, the ravages of nature, and many joyful and peaceful times for nearly a century."
One unique aspect of Cap's Place was that it was only accessible by water (until 1953). Patrons would drive to Hillsboro beach and flash their headlights, signalling an employee who would row across the water and take them to the restaurant. Cap's Place is now accessible by road, but only handicap parking is available on-site, and most patrons continue to be ferried by boat.
The restaurant had unusual items on the menu and a reputation for very fresh seafood. With its rustic setting, Club Unique has been popular and successful since its opening.
Modern times
Cap's Place enjoyed its peak popularity in the 1930s and 1940s when locals and tourists frequented the establishment to dine, drink, and gamble. At the time there was limousine service from the upscale Palm Beach County hotels. It continues to be popular with celebrities; artists, sports figures, movie stars, and the socially prominent patronize the establishment. Oral histories suggest Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt may have dined there one night while attending strategy meetings for World War II at the nearby estate of Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius. While the story of Churchill and Roosevelt's visit has been discredited, Churchill did visit, dining in the yellow room. A partial list of notable visitors includes Meyer Lansky, Al Capone, Humphrey Bogart, Myrna Loy, Jack Dempsey, Casey Stengel, Bill Clinton, George Harrison, Mariah Carey, Jim Belushi, George Wendt and Gordon Ramsey. According to author Philip Weidling, "all the society of Palm Beach ate there at one time or another." Patricia Hasis established a rule, still in effect, that staff is prohibited from bothering celebrities, violation can result in immediate dismissal.
New ownership
Since the 1970s the restaurant has been run by the Hasis' three children, Talle, Ted and Tom. As a child, Talle Hasis would sit outside the restaurant with her tea service, selling little cups of water to the patrons and collecting five dollar tips. She is named after the state capital. On August 10, 1990 Cap's Place was added to the US National Register of Historic Places.
Present day
The approach through narrow winding residential streets in Lighthouse Point, followed by a boat ride to the restaurant coupled with the rustic setting and decor create a unique dining experience. The ceilings are low and the floors crooked but Talle Hasis tells those who complain, "Just duck your head down. My father built a strong place, low on the land." The menu includes all types of fresh fish, crabs, lobster and grouper chowder. It has been updated from the past and now includes appetizers and even key lime pie for dessert. In the past green turtle steaks and turtle egg pancakes with guava jelly were also featured. In 1963 Knight was arrested for possession of illegal turtle eggs, of an endangered species. Knight had been known to keep thousands of turtle eggs frozen. Very fresh seafood is a hallmark of the restaurant. In 2005 they were still buying their fish fresh daily from Captain Murphy a local fisherman as they had for decades. All meals are cooked to order. A house specialty, hearts of palm salad is made with sabal palm from the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee. The hearts of palm have been supplied by the same Seminole family since the restaurant opened. Meals come with hot rolls and homemade Sea Grape jelly. Cap's Place has been positively reviewed from the 1980s to the present. Prices are moderately expensive. The restaurant relies mostly on word of mouth and doesn't advertise much. It has been called one of south Florida's most colorful landmarks.
