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| Florida, State Archives/Florida Memory |
By Jane Feehan
A number of hotels went up along Fort Lauderdale beach in the 1950s including the iconic Yankee Clipper that remains today. Gill Construction built the hotel, the third in its chain. The concept was the brainchild of prolific architect M. Tony Sherman of Miami.
Sherman designed the 130-room, six-floor Yankee Clipper to appear as an ocean liner. The $1.5 million hotel opened July 13, 1956 and drew locals and tourists with its 400 foot beach, pool with portals visible from the Wreck Bar, a Polynesian review, and stellar dining. Three kitchens were built to serve different food venues: the coffee shop, the Polynesian Room and the Clipper Room.
During the same time this project was underway, Sherman designed the 300-room Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas and an addition to the Reef Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. He had designed the Castaways Motel in Sunny Isles (North Miami Beach), which officially opened in February 1952. Also during the early 50s, the architect designed the Jolly Roger Hotel on the Fort Lauderdale strip as well as the building for nearby Causeway Realty. Sherman also left his imprint on another Gill Construction project of the time, Lauderdale Isles.
Sherman died in 1999. As of early December, 2014, the Yankee Clipper Hotel is now an InSite Group property. It operates in affiliation with B Hotels and Resorts as the B Ocean Resort. The Wreck Bar remains along with its Mermaid show.
Copyright © 2020, 2024. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.
Sources:
Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 15, 1955
Fort Lauderdale News, July 13, 1956
Fort Lauderdale News, July 14, 1956
Gillis, Susan. Fort Lauderdale: The Venice of America. Charleston: Acadia Publishing (2004).
Tags: Fort Lauderdale history, Fort Lauderdale architects, architects