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| Biltmore Hotel rendering 1924, State of Florida Archives |
Much has been written about the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables since it was proposed in 1924. Its story reflects an uneven timeline of openings and closings, owners and renovations, to its current state of world class elegance and hospitality.
This post focuses on its provenance and concludes with a brief synopsis of its history to current status.
George E. Merrick, developer and real estate promoter, established Coral Gables as a planned community—one of the first in the United States. His vision included a hotel at the town’s center.
That vision transformed to reality through the efforts of world-renowned hotel magnate John McEntee Bowman. Bowman headed the Bowman-Biltmore Hotels Corp. A booming Florida, and especially the Miami suburb of Coral Gables, held high promise for an elegant hotel. On Nov. 25, 1924, Bowman and Merrick announced plans for developing the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.
The following month, land was platted for the hotel at the south end of Esplanade Columbus. A golf course and its country club sat adjacent to the project. The dominant architectural feature of the hotel was a tower, the Giralda Tower or campanile, inspired by the Giralda bell tower at the Seville Cathedral in Seville. Some suggested the hotel be named The Giralda.
The hotel was expected to hold about 400 rooms and would cost $10 million. To ensure a ready date of January 1926, a $40,000 surety bond, the largest of its time in Florida, was purchased through Aetna Casualty and Surety Company to guarantee several million dollars for the project. Thompson-Starret Company of New York was tapped as builder and Schultze and Weaver, also of New York, chosen as the new hotel’s designer. The structure was completed in only 14 months.
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| Biltmore dining room, State Archives of Florida |
An exceptionally tall three-sectioned ceiling twinkled with stars against a “liquid blue sky.” Upon entering, visitors experienced a Spanish motif, accented with “rare” Spanish and Italian furnishings and design elements from Persia, Egypt and the Mediterranean. The lobby opened to a large patio noted for tiles imported from Seville, Spain, an ornate Italian fireplace, two elegant chandeliers and heavy formal drapes that produced an “old world” ambiance.
The dining room held a dance floor lined with small Spanish tables. Chef Durand, brought in from the Westchester Biltmore, reportedly once served as chef to President Woodrow Wilson.
A 250-foot pool sat between the golf course and hotel. Fifteen feet deep at one end, the pool held 1.25 million gallons of water. Colonnades graced the pool’s perimeter. Nearby, a playground and small pool welcomed future children guests.
About 600 employees were brought in from a few of the New York Biltmore hotels to ensure a smooth grand opening. Some sailed in on the Robert E. Lee, a Clyde Co. liner. Later news accounts indicate a permanent staff of about 300 worked at Biltmore Coral Gables. The hotel expected to be busy with a booked winter season.
At the opening party, three orchestras played as patrons strolled through a staged fashion show in the dining room. Manikins donned with colorful evening wear, including jewels and furs, drew excited comments. Elevators were available to take guests to each floor on rugs and carpeting covering floors equal to a path 38 miles long.
The next day, newspapers were abuzz about the grand opening affair. The hotel “is a poem of architectural beauty.” It opened “amid a blaze of color” and the event was “formal to the extreme.” It would “usher Miami, its finest suburb, Coral Gables, and entire state of Florida, into a new era of magnificence” and be known as "Florida's perfect kingdom of beauty and pleasure." The Biltmore Hotel and Country Club in Coral Gables pointed to a stellar future.
It was not to be—at least not for decades.
The Great Hurricane of 1926 hit South Florida on September 18. Its 150 mph winds devastated much of Miami and surrounding areas. Stepping up to the emergency, the Biltmore housed and fed about 2,200 made homeless by the storm; it escaped major damage.
By early January 1927, the Biltmore in Coral Gables was back to reporting or advertising its activities. Though the hotel was ready for a busy tourist season, the Miami area was not. It was the beginning of the end of Miami’s first building boom. Biltmore Coral Gables never fully recovered.
Ownership reverted to the city of Coral Gables via a federal act and a National Parks Program. In 1972, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A 250-foot pool sat between the golf course and hotel. Fifteen feet deep at one end, the pool held 1.25 million gallons of water. Colonnades graced the pool’s perimeter. Nearby, a playground and small pool welcomed future children guests.
About 600 employees were brought in from a few of the New York Biltmore hotels to ensure a smooth grand opening. Some sailed in on the Robert E. Lee, a Clyde Co. liner. Later news accounts indicate a permanent staff of about 300 worked at Biltmore Coral Gables. The hotel expected to be busy with a booked winter season.
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| Bowman (L) and Merrick State Archives of Florida 1926 |
The next day, newspapers were abuzz about the grand opening affair. The hotel “is a poem of architectural beauty.” It opened “amid a blaze of color” and the event was “formal to the extreme.” It would “usher Miami, its finest suburb, Coral Gables, and entire state of Florida, into a new era of magnificence” and be known as "Florida's perfect kingdom of beauty and pleasure." The Biltmore Hotel and Country Club in Coral Gables pointed to a stellar future.
It was not to be—at least not for decades.
The Great Hurricane of 1926 hit South Florida on September 18. Its 150 mph winds devastated much of Miami and surrounding areas. Stepping up to the emergency, the Biltmore housed and fed about 2,200 made homeless by the storm; it escaped major damage.
By early January 1927, the Biltmore in Coral Gables was back to reporting or advertising its activities. Though the hotel was ready for a busy tourist season, the Miami area was not. It was the beginning of the end of Miami’s first building boom. Biltmore Coral Gables never fully recovered.
The Great Depression soon followed.
In 1942, a year of war, the U.S. Armed Forces used the hotel as a military hospital; the Veterans Administration ran the place until 1968, when the General Services Administration assumed control.
Ownership reverted to the city of Coral Gables via a federal act and a National Parks Program. In 1972, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1992 Coral Gables leased the Biltmore Miami Coral Cables to the Seaways Group, headed by Gene Prescott, for 99 years. Under Prescott’s guidance, the hotel has been restored to its once former glamour.
An interesting (to me!) side note: George E. Merrick died when he was nearly 56 years old in 1942; John McEntee Bowman died in 1931 also at 56.
An interesting (to me!) side note: George E. Merrick died when he was nearly 56 years old in 1942; John McEntee Bowman died in 1931 also at 56.
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| Biltmore after the 1926 hurricane, State Archives of Florida |
See index for William Jennings Bryan and his role in promoting Coral Gables.
For more on Gene Prescott, see: https://coralgablesmagazine.com/the-passion-of-prescott/
Miami News, July 27, 1924
Miami News, Dec. 11, 1924
Miami News, Aug. 9, 1925
Miami Daily News and Metropolis, Jan. 15, 1926
Miami News, Jan. 16, 1926
Miami Tribune, Jan. 16, 1926
Miami News, Jan. 11, 1927
Tags: Biltmore Hotel Miami Coral Gables, Coral Gables history. George E. Merrick, John McEntee Bowman
