1396 Park Avenue

The “Colonial Revival” style building on the corner of Park & Holden was built around 1905 and has lived a storied past as a hotel, gambling establishment, bar and bordello.

A 1925 news clipping references the building as the St. Julian Cigar Store during Prohibition when famed District Attorney Earl Warren waged war on Emeryville and its reputation as a den for vice.

Warren’s office raided the place which was apparently operating as an underground lottery joint.

In the 1940-50s it was the Horse Kollar Restaurant run by proprietor Joseph Lucero who lived on the second floor which was billed as an apartment but was actually a well-known brothel.

In the early 1950s, it operated as “The Shanty” which was an eclectic bar and grill with Frank Dillon as the proprietor.

In the 1960s, Richard Lemos took over ownership of the bar and it became “Rick’s Shanty.” The club had two pool tables and featured live music.

Lemos lived upstairs among the six bedrooms (at least four of which were filled with his collections (or “junk” according to one regular patron).

The bar was posted for sale in the 1970s and the building was in a state of disrepair. It remained vacant for more than a decade.

The building was renovated in 1996 for office space and ownership changed hands to Howard Varinsky and Leslie Gould. Gould was a former Planning Director for the city of Oakland and Varinsky is a notable “trial consultant” for the court system.

Varinsky maintained an office upstairs until his recent retirement. The ground floor of the building has been occupied by Amato Architecture since 2014.

The building reportedly still boasts a “secret” exit that allowed the sex-workers to hide in the event of a police raid.