Gasparilla Inn & Club

Last updated

Gasparilla Inn Historic District
Gasparilla Inn.jpg
USA Florida location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location500 Palm Ave., Boca Grande, Florida, USA
Coordinates 26°45′8″N82°15′39″W / 26.75222°N 82.26083°W / 26.75222; -82.26083
Area25 acres (10 ha)
Built1912
Architect Francis Kennard
Architectural styleClassical Revival
NRHP reference No. 08000205 [1]
Added to NRHPMarch 18, 2008

The Gasparilla Inn & Club is a historic hotel at 500 Palm Avenue on Gasparilla Island in Boca Grande, Florida. [2]

The Gasparilla Inn is one of the largest surviving resort hotels in Florida, constructed originally for wealthy northerners in the early 20th century, during the time when the state became a travel and vacation destination. [3]

The inn is a two-and-a-half-story hotel building. Its first section was built in 1911; it was expanded in 1912 and in 1915. Its Classical Revival-style portico was added around 1931. [2] Its original beach club was destroyed in a hurricane in 1921; [3] the new beach club was added in 1928, and an 18-hole golf course was added next. [4]

The Gasparilla Inn Historic District is a 25 acres (10 ha) historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. It includes the inn, ten guest cottages built between 1915 and 1933, "two housekeeping maintenance sheds, also constructed in 1933, and two historic sites, a croquet court, and holes five and six of the historic 18-hole golf course both of which were constructed c. 1930 on the grounds at the rear of the Inn." [2]

It includes, as non-contributing resources, the Mallet Club Croquet House and croquet courts to the northeast of the Inn and north of holes five and six of the golf course. The Croquet House incorporates a section of what was originally the Fletcher House, moved in the 1980s from Gilchrist Avenue in Boca Grande. [2]

The hotel is a member of the Historic Hotels of America. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palm Beach, Florida</span> Town in the state of Florida, United States

Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoastal Waterway to its west and a small section of the Intracoastal Waterway and South Palm Beach to its south. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Palm Beach had a year-round population of 9,245.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boca Grande, Florida</span> Residential community in Florida, US

Boca Grande is a small residential community on Gasparilla Island in southwest Florida. Gasparilla Island is a part of both Charlotte and Lee counties, while the actual village of Boca Grande, which is home to many seasonal and some year-round residents, is entirely in the Lee County portion of the island. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Boca Grande is known for its historic downtown, sugar sand beaches, blue water and world class fishing.

TheBoca Raton is a luxury resort and club in Boca Raton, Florida, founded in 1926, today comprising 1,047 hotel rooms across 337 acres. Its facilities include a 18-hole golf course, a 50,000 sq. ft. Forbes Five-Star spa, eight swimming pools, 30 tennis courts, a full-service 32-slip marina, more than 15 restaurants and bars, and 200,000 sq. ft. of meeting space. The property fronts both Lake Boca and the Atlantic Ocean. The resort was operated as part of Hilton's Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts, and it is now privately owned by an affiliate of MSD Partners with the new name, The Boca Raton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinehurst Resort</span> Golf resort in North Carolina, United States

Pinehurst Resort is a golf resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina, United States. It has hosted a number of prestigious golf tournaments including three U.S. Open Championships, one U.S. Women's Open, three U.S. Amateur Championships, one PGA Championship, and the Ryder Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Gaspar</span> Mythical Spanish pirate

José Gaspar, also known by his nickname Gasparilla, is a fictional Spanish pirate who terrorized the Gulf of Mexico from his base in southwest Florida during Florida's second Spanish period. Though details about his early life, motivations, and piratical exploits differ in various tellings, they agree that the 'Last of the Buccaneers" was a remarkably active pirate who amassed a huge fortune by taking many prizes and ransoming many hostages during his long career and that he died by leaping from his ship rather than face capture by the U.S. Navy, leaving behind his still-hidden treasure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gasparilla Island</span> Barrier island in southwest Florida

Gasparilla Island is a barrier island in southwest Florida, United States, straddling the border of Charlotte and Lee counties. Its largest town is Boca Grande, and it is the location of the Gasparilla Island State Park. The island has been an important part of Florida folklore due to its connection to the pirate Gasparilla, and it has been a significant tourist destination since the early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gasparilla Island Lights</span> Lighthouses on Gasparilla Island, Boca Grande, Florida, U.S.

The Gasparilla Island Lights are on Gasparilla Island in Boca Grande, Florida. The Port Boca Grande Lighthouse is on the southern tip of Gasparilla Island, and marked the Boca Grande Pass entrance to Charlotte Harbor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Breakers (hotel)</span> Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, US

The Breakers Palm Beach is a historic, Renaissance Revival style luxury hotel with 534 rooms. It is located at 1 South County Road in Palm Beach, Florida. The current structure, opened in December 1926, is the third version of The Breakers, as the previous hotel buildings on the site burnt down in 1903 and 1925. During the 1895-96 winter season, business tycoon Henry Flagler opened the first Breakers resort, then the only oceanfront lodging south of Daytona Beach, to accommodate additional tourists due to the popularity of his Royal Poinciana Hotel. Known as the Palm Beach Inn upon its original opening, the hotel was renamed The Breakers in 1901 after guests requested rooms "over by the breakers." Although the Royal Poinciana Hotel permanently closed in the 1930s due to the Great Depression, The Breakers instead became a primary resort in Palm Beach, hosting many famous guests throughout the years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wianno Club</span> United States historic place

The Wianno Club is a historic club at 107 Sea View Avenue in Osterville, Massachusetts. The club began as the Cotocheset House, a Shingle-style structure built in 1882 on the site of a grander hotel that burned down in 1881. This hotel was the centerpiece of a major resort development for the wealthy that was mostly developed prior to World War I. In 1916 the newly founded club purchased the hotel property. The club built a nine-hole golf course on the original land purchase now occupied by holes numbered 13-18. The 16th was the first hole, and the Swan residence behind the hole was built as the original clubhouse. Additional land was assembled on the west side of Parker Road and north of West Bay Road and in 1919, Donald Ross was hired to redesign the original nine and to create a new nine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PGA National Resort</span> Golf course in Florida, United States

PGA National Resort is a resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It has five championship 18-hole golf courses, the most famous of which is "The Champion", which has hosted the 1983 Ryder Cup, the 1987 PGA Championship, the Senior PGA Championship for 19 consecutive years from 1982 to 2000, and the PGA Tour's Cognizant Classic since 2007.

The Valparaiso Inn was built in 1924 on the shores of Boggy Bayou in Valparaiso, Florida, by developer James E. Plew. The three-story Spanish stucco structure was patterned after Chicago's famous Edgewater Beach Hotel. It had four wings angled to catch the breeze and provide a panoramic view of Boggy Bayou and Choctawhatchee Bay. It offered 56 guests rooms.

The Gasparilla Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1932 to 1935. It was played at the Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club in Tampa, Florida. The tournament was played at match play in 1932 and at stroke play thereafter. Up until 1935, The Gasparilla Open was the top money PGA tournament in the United States with an average purse of $4,000. The tournament was discontinued after 1935. The tournament resumed as an amateur event in 1956, The Gasparilla Invitational.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis J. Kennard</span> American architect

Francis J. Kennard was a prolific architect of many prominent buildings in Tampa, Florida. The public buildings he designed are often in the Neoclassical style. His work includes Hillsborough High School, St. Andrews Episcopal Church, and the Belleview-Biltmore Hotel. Kennard employed the French Renaissance Revival style in his design for el Centro Español de Tampa as well as influences from Moorish Revival and Spanish Mediterranean Revival.

The Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway is a historic railroad line that at its greatest extent serviced Gasparilla Island in Charlotte Harbor and a major shipping port that once operated there. The railroad's principal purpose was to transport phosphate mined along the Peace River and in the Bone Valley region of Central Florida to the port to be shipped. It also brought passengers to the island community of Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island, and is largely responsible for making Boca Grande the popular tourist destination it is today. Part of the line remains in service today between Mulberry and Arcadia, which is now owned and operated by CSX Transportation. Today, it makes up CSX's Achan Subdivision and part of their Brewster Subdivision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boca Grande Bike Path</span> Multi-use path in Boca Grande, Florida on Gasparilla Island

The Boca Grande Bike Path is a 6.5 mile multi-use path in Boca Grande, Florida on Gasparilla Island. The northern portion of the path runs on the former right of way of the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway, which operated on Gasparilla Island from 1907 to 1981. As Florida's first rail trail, it was repurposed principally for bicycles, but pedestrians also use it. Golf carts are also permitted on the path. Another trail exists on the mainland portion of the railroad line known as the Cape Haze Pioneer Trail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Charles Tippet</span> British amateur golfer (1891-1947)

Herbert Charles Coningsby Tippet was a leading British amateur golfer, golf club administrator, and golf course architect in the years between the wars. A former reserve army officer, Tippet was for a time a close associate of millionaire American property developer Carl G. Fisher, the man who created the Miami Beach, Florida resort, for whom he designed a number of golf courses in Florida and Long Island. He was one of the most successful British amateur golfers of the 1920s and 1930s and later served as secretary at several prestigious UK golf clubs. He was the second husband of Edith Marguerite Harrington, grandmother of Queen Camilla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Baptist Church of Boca Grande</span> Historic church in Florida, United States

First Baptist Church of Boca Grande is a historic Southern Baptist church located at 421 4th Street West, Boca Grande, Florida in Lee County. It was established in 1909 on Gasparilla Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hartford Golf Club Historic District</span> Historic district in Connecticut, United States

The Hartford Golf Club Historic District encompasses a golf course and adjacent residential neighborhood in West Hartford and Hartford, Connecticut. The area, developed between 1915 and 1936, includes the Hartford Golf Club, designed by Donald Ross, the area's oldest golf course, and a neighborhood with a high concentration of high quality Colonial and Tudor Revival houses. It is roughly bounded by Simsbury Road on the north, Bloomfield Avenue on the east, Albany Avenue to the south, and Mohegan Drive to the west. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic Hotels of America</span> National Trust for Historic Preservation program

Historic Hotels of America is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation that was founded in 1989 with 32 charter members; the program accepts nominations and identifies hotels in the United States that have maintained their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Poinciana Way Historic District</span> Historic district in Florida, United States

The Royal Poinciana Way Historic District is a historic commerce and residential district in Palm Beach, Florida. The district is bounded by the area from 207-283 Royal Poinciana Way, 95-118 North County Road, and 184-280 Sunset Avenue, with some exceptions. There are 36 buildings within the district, 26 of which are considered contributing properties. The Royal Poinciana Way Historic District became a listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on September 17, 2015. A post office located at 95 North County Road has also been listed in the NRHP since 1983. Further, the town of Palm Beach considers the post office, Bradley House Hotel, and the Biltmore Apartments as town landmarks.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Mikki Hartig; Carl Shiver (February 2008). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Gasparilla Inn Historic District / Gasparilla Inn & Club". National Park Service . Retrieved April 28, 2020. With accompanying pictures
  3. 1 2 "History of Gaspirilla Inn". Archived from the original on May 4, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2020. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 4, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "The Gasparilla Inn & Club: History". Historic Hotels of America . Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  5. "The Gasparilla Inn & Club". Historic Hotels of America . Retrieved April 28, 2020.