1055 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood, FL, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Joseph Wesley Young House (Zeller Residence;8BD162)

Statement of Significant:

SUMMARY

The Joseph Wesley Young House is significant under Criterion A for Community Planning and Development as one of the first residences of Hollywood, a meticulously planned city; under Criterion B because it was the residence of Joseph Young, the founder/designer of the city of Hollywood, Florida; and under Criterion C because it embodies with a high degree of distinction the classic characteristics of a Mediterranean Revival style dwelling. The residence is distinguished by its architectural integrity, rich detailing and the artistry of its original craftsmen-builders.

HISTORIC CONTEXT:

Florida Land Boom

The onset of the First World War in Europe forced wealthy Americans to curtail their overseas travel and look to domestic lands for travel and vacation destinations. Florida's tourist trade prospered as many of these who would have traveled to Europe headed to Florida for summer vacations and winter residences.

After the War, reports of large profits in real estate brought thousands of speculators to Florida. Huge tracts of land were bought and sold overnight at enormous profits. Adding to the furor for new land was the staggering undertaking of draining the Everglades to produce marketable lands for cities, towns, cattle ranches, citrus groves, and agricultural farmland.

The state was soon inundated with speculators and winter residents. Between 1920 and 1925, the population of Florida increased four times faster than any other state in the nation. As real estate demands increased, so did demands upon the state. Lumber was a precious commodity, particularly in South Florida; because Florida had very few manufacturing centers in the 1920s, the majority of all building materials had to be imported from other parts of the nation or other nations. Railroad, land, and water transportation networks were unable to keep up with the enormous demands on the systems. By 1926, the City of Miami was so pressed to control the flow of ships in their bay, it limited ships' cargoes to agricultural materials and food supplies.

Added to these transportation problems were economic and financial difficulties caused by bad publicity. The practice of buying on margin, causing financial problems across the nation, was rampant in Florida. Reports of over speculation in Florida land were reported in the press in graphic detail. The Florida Land Boom was having serious financial problems. In 1926, the sinking of a cargo ship in Miami's Biscayne Bay forced the closing of the port to all water traffic. The resulting blow to Miami's economy heralded the beginning of the end of the Florida Land Boom in South Florida. Compounding the strain caused by the closing of the port was the overextension of the railroad lines. Railroads, already taxed by the excessive demands of a boom economy, were forced to issue their own shipping embargoes, creating more hardship on industries already overextended.

Two devastating hurricanes in 1926 and 1928 added further problems to the already financially strained state. A mid-September 1926 hurricane swept across the state destroying houses, businesses and in some cases, entire communities. A second hurricane in September 1928 killed 1800 people and left the same number injured. Damage estimates were in the hundreds of thousands. Unable to recover, many communities went bankrupt, and the Florida Land Boom came to an end.