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| Fort Lauderdale Beach circa 1950 Florida State Archives/Florida Memory/Postcard collection |
By Jane Feehan
Touted for its new architectural features, the Holiday Hotel opened in January, 1948. It was the first hotel constructed in Fort Lauderdale after World War II.
The hotel garnered attention because each room faced the ocean, a “startling” concept. Its through-ventilation was also unique at the time. Visitors to Fort Lauderdale today would take those features for granted.
Once located on Mayan Drive, where part of the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort sits today, the Holiday Hotel was built in a U-shape with the ends splayed outward. New in those days was its outdoor access to rooms and cantilevered balconies over room entrances. Stairways on the four-story building were covered. It was an expensive construction but outdoor entrances completely eliminated the need for fire escapes and the dangers of guests being trapped in hallways.
An article about the 50-room Holiday Hotel claimed “all rooms are provided with baths, and end rooms are equipped with elecrtric refrigerators …” It also had a cocktail lounge, dining room, dining terrace and large ground-floor lobby. Its horse shoe shaped bar was built of bleached mahogany. Guests could also expect central heating and complete phone service. Two penthouses and a large sun deck sat atop the building.
The Holiday Hotel became a popular place to book social functions and Chamber of Commerce events.
And there was other booking, so to speak. The hotel nearly lost its liquor license in 1951 after bartender Louis Kettler was convicted of bookmaking, the second such arrest and conviction in 1951. The state didn't (or failed to) carry out the revocation.
Designed by Clinton Gamble and Associates, and built by Leonard Brothers, the popular Holiday Hotel sat 100 feet from the water’s edge ... at the best beach in Fort Lauderdale.
Sources:
Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 4, 1948.
Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 18, 1951
Tags: Fort Lauderdale hotel history, Fort Lauderdale in the 1940s, Fort Lauderdale in the 1950s, Fort Lauderdale architecture, post WWII Fort Lauderdale, film industry researcher, Fort Lauderdale history
