Hawkins Building

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Around 1886 this building was constructed in the center of Mt. Jackson. It was designed as a typical downtown structure, with commercial space on the first floor and apartments on the second. Eventually it became the Hawkins restaurant, operated by Joe Hawkins. The community gathering space featured a soda fountain and family dining facilities that were popular in town for several decades.

By the 1970s, the restaurant had closed. The building was abandoned and over time became dilapidated. However Washington DC philanthropist and Strasburg patron Leo Bernstein bought the building in the early 1980s and completed a renovation. In 1989 it was sold to the Padoll family who opened the Nostalgia Mart inside. Today, this business continues to sell books and collectors items inside while the restaurant’s soda fountain is still in place.