The fascinating history of Hollywood Beach will be revealed by historians and pioneer residents and through a special photographic exhibit at "Memories of the Broadwalk," beginning at 6 p.m. Thurs., May 4 at the historic Hollywood Beach Hotel.

The free public event, which is presented by the Hollywood Beach Community Redevelopment Agency and the City of Hollywood’s Records and Archives Division, takes place during National Historic Preservation Month.

The program will feature a panel discussion from 6 to 7:30 p.m., followed by a reception with refreshments from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., during which time the public will have a chance to mingle and view the display of approximately three dozen historic photographs.

Guest speakers sharing the background - and in some cases, their reminiscences - of early Hollywood Beach and the Broadwalk will include City Commissioner Cathleen Anderson, a longtime resident who represents the Beach District; Broward County historian and pioneer Helen Landers; local history author Joan Mickelson, whose family were Hollywood settlers; and Hollywood native Pat Smith, who grew up on the beach.

Records and Archives Director C. Richard Roberts is organizing the photographic exhibit and will serve as moderator for the event. He said it would educate the public about "what kind of economic engine the beach has always provided the City of Hollywood."

In the 1920s, Hollywood Beach was "the gathering place for the town," Roberts said, particularly the Hollywood Beach Casino, at the time Florida’s largest bathing pavilion, and the elegant Hollywood Beach Hotel, now known as the Ramada Inn Hollywood Beach Hotel.

"Memories of the Broadwalk," a fascinating journey back in time, will begin at 6 p.m. Thurs., May 4 in the 2nd-floor lobby of the historic Hollywood Beach Hotel, 101 North Ocean Drive.