HOLLYWOOD — One of Hollywood’s famous nightclubs has been in a dispute with the city of Los Angeles over the future of the venue. The Florentine Gardens nightclub previously faced destruction to make way for a new fire station. The city now wants to acquire the Florentine Gardens building and the surrounding land to incorporate it into a plan for a 16,000 sq. ft. regional fire station, a 6,000 sq. ft. apparatus storage building and a 2,500 sq. ft. multi-purpose room. 

The club, located at 5951 Hollywood Blvd., was built in 1938 and became famous in the 1940s and 1950s with stage performances that attracted Hollywood directors, producers and actors, including Marilyn Monroe who had her wedding reception there. During WWII it was also a popular gathering spot for recent war heroes. These cultural values mark Florentine Gardens as a monument of the Golden Era of Hollywood. Despite its history, the nightclub now faces acquisition.

The proposed fire station is planned to replace Fire Station 82 on Bronson Avenue, built in 1951 and now determined to be too small for efficient operation. The existing station has one fire engine and rescue ambulance to serve two square miles of residential and commercial units, including television studios, expensive homes, Griffith Park and heavy brush areas. 

The L.A. City Bureau of Engineering has noted the station having many space, seismic, electrical, plumbing, and building code deficiencies. A community planning census also estimated by the year 2010, the number of responses for apparatus assigned to this station will increase by 9.2 percent and the population of Hollywood will increase by 19.2 percent, reinforcing the need for an adequate fire station.

The new station will be located in L.A. City Council District 13, represented by Eric Garcetti.

The city previously concluded that the Florentine Gardens building was not historically significant. The California Register determined the building to be “ineligible for local listing,” meaning it could only warrant special consideration for local planning if it was located in a historic district or Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ). However, the nightclub does not meet these requirements, and the city determined that demolition would not present a significant impact on historical resources.

However, due to public opposition and continued claims of the building’s significance, the city of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering revised the project plan to state that the Florentine Gardens building will be “adaptively re-used instead of demolished” for the project.

Josh Kamensky, spokesman for councilmember Garcetti, stated, “The city is able to meet historical preservationists’ request to incorporate the building into the development plans. We feel comfortable moving ahead given that protection and we believe the long needed fire station will help save lives of Hollywood residents.”

The Board of Public Works granted the Bureau of Engineering’s request to approve the revised fire station project on Aug. 5. While the Florentine Gardens building will be preserved, the development of the new fire station will still result in the closure of the nightclub.

The owner of the club was not available for comment.

-