The Cuban YouTuber JSant TV released a video showcasing the dilapidated state of the former Havana Yacht Club, located at the roundabout by the Playa bus stop in Havana, through stunning aerial shots and a walkthrough of the abandoned building.
Founded on October 27, 1886 on the beaches of Marianao, the Havana Yacht Club was one of the most prestigious nautical clubs in Cuba and the world, frequented by Havana’s elite and international personalities.
Over time, the club moved its headquarters to Fifth Avenue in Miramar, where an impressive three-story neoclassical building with ornate balconies, well-kept gardens, and a dock was constructed.
Their sailing team won multiple world titles in the 1930s, and one of its members earned the silver medal at the London 1948 Olympics.
The club was notoriously exclusive: it did not allow the entry of Black people, and it is documented that even Fulgencio Batista himself was denied entry, which—according to popular narrative—motivated him to build the Barlovento Marina, now known as Marina Hemingway.
JSant TV infiltrated, along with some friends, the old structures to document what remains of the site.
"Nothing remains of the place's former glory. The old baths, the ballrooms, the yacht dock—everything is in ruins," the YouTuber recounts in the video.
"The view is definitely stunning, as from here you can see all the old beach clubs, such as the Spanish Club and the former Nautical Club."
After the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, the Havana Yacht Club was nationalized and transformed into the Workers' Social Circle "Julio Antonio Mella."
During the seventies and eighties, the place maintained some social activity, but the Cuban state was unable to sustain the expensive building and let it deteriorate progressively until it was closed to the public.
The pattern repeats in other historic spaces in Havana: the Club Social Marcelo Salado de Jaimanitas, the Hipódromo de Marianao, and the discoteca of the Hotel Comodoro share the same fate of neglect and ruin.
Los comentarios al video reflejan la indignación de quienes conocieron el lugar en su etapa como círculo social.
"In the 70s and 80s, quinceañeras were still celebrated there; it was beautiful. However, since it cost the communists nothing, they didn’t care that it came to be destroyed like many other places throughout the capital," wrote a follower.
Another person who visited the place in their childhood remembers it as "a very distinguished club in the Cuban capital, where there were many activities for all tastes."
The question that encapsulates the feelings of many was posed by another follower: “Instead of building new hotels, why didn’t they invest in repairing these public facilities? They were majestic, comfortable, and accessible to everyone. How can one be more destructive?”
"Unfortunately, this place is on the verge of disappearing, but this video remains as a digital footprint of what this forgotten building once was," concludes JSant TV.
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