Talk:Elbo Room

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Elbo Room corrections from a family member of the founders

Latest comment: 1 year ago2 comments2 people in discussion

The family that established and developed the Elbo Room, Paul Eugene “Gene” Leonard (190-1960) and his wife Mary Erdine “Erdine” Johnston-Leonard (1908-1970) purchased Kauffman’s Sundries, a sundries store on the North Corner of Las Olas and Atlantic Ave. (Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd, where the Elbo Room is today), from the Kauffman family. The purchase came with a 99 year lease, dated 1938, with the D.C. Alexander family for the beach front land that the store occupied.

Gene and Erdine moved to Fort Lauderdale in the late 30s where they lived until Gene was drafted into the US Army Air Force for service in WWII. After the war they returned to Fort Lauderdale. In 1947, they purchased Kaufmann’s Sundries and took over the 99 year lease for the property. They converted the store into a restaurant, the Sea Breeze. At the same time, Gene started a construction company, Leonard Brothers Construction. His company built several of the beach-front hotels.

In 1948 Gene and his contractor friend, Earl Tucker, built a partition down the middle of the Sea Breeze restaurant and opened the original Elbo Room on one side. He partnered with Erdine’s brother, Wilson Maurice “Maury” Johnston (1904-1965), to help out in the Elbo Room as his construction company kept him too busy to run it alone. In 1956, Gene and Earl built the current Elbo Room building opening in January of 1957 with the Sea Breeze restaurant upstairs and the Elbo Room bar on the first floor.

When Gene passed away in 1960, Maury assumed full ownership at a time when the Elbo Room was becoming a special place in Fort Lauderdale’s history. The Spring Break crowd made it action central. It appeared regularly in the 1960 movie, Where the Boys Are. It served as a skin divers dive-bar and a surfers hangout. It had a bulletin board window for taped messages requesting roommates, travel sharing, etc. The Elbo Room is permanently ensconced in Fort Lauderdale’s history, and the collective hearts and hazy memories of those of us who may have happily spent some of our youth there.

Maury passed away in 1965 and his son, Lory Maurice Johnston (1927-2006) took over the family ownership. In the early 80s, Lory sold the Elbo Room to the Penrod family. The Penrods assumed the old 99 year lease with the original owners of Fort Lauderdale beach and are carrying on the rich traditions of Gene’s and Erdine’s Elbo Room. Baileywicke (talk) 15:59, 12 September 2023 (UTC)Reply

Ref: Lew Marshall, Gene and Erdine's Grandson — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1002:A110:4685:F57F:3922:A32A:2C18 (talk) 16:20, 12 September 2023 (UTC)Reply

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