Inscription on historical marker: “Organized in 1901, the German-American Club was one of the few non-Latin ethnic clubs in Tampa. Club members laid the cornerstone for a building on the northeast corner of Nebraska Avenue and 11th Street on February 23, 1908, followed by a grand opening on January 1, 1909. Fine classical details and proportions marked the three-story building, with concrete bock molded to appear as tooled stone masonry. With a stage for speakers or theatrical productions, a swimming pool and a bowling alley, the building served Tampas German and Jewish population until its sale in 1919. From 1919 to 1924, it housed Tampa’s Labor Temple Association. The Young Men’s Hebrew Association bought the building in 1924 and remained until 1944. Focusing on education and recreation for Tampas Jewish community, the association held gym, art, and music classes, and outdoor sports and leisure activities. Various groups including an insurance company and the Hispanic organization, Los Caballeros de la Luz, occupied the building after 1944.”
“The historic marker leaves out a dark moment in the German-American Club’s history. In 1918, on Armistice Day at the end of World War I and fueled by anti-German sentiment, locals stormed the Club and defaced it. The event marked the end of the building’s affiliation with the German population in Tampa. Tampa’s German-American Club chapter moved to a new location on Rome Avenue. Shortly thereafter, in 1919, the building was sold and passed between several owners over the following decades. In 2019, the building took on a new purpose once more. The building was purchased by area non-profit organizations, Metro Inclusive Health and CAN Community Health, in partnership with the Capitano family.” (Wikipedia)
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