Bahama Hotel, Fort Lauderdale beach hotel with an entertainment legacy

 

Bahama Hotel circa 1959
State Archives of Florida

Bahama Hotel
401 N. Atlantic Blvd. (now Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd)
Fort Lauderdale


By Jane Feehan

Among the hotels opened in Fort Lauderdale during the 1950s was the Bahama Hotel built in 1956. Guests were welcomed June 1 that year; it was one of several along the beach that proved to be popular among locals and tourists for entertainment and dining.

Kenneth G. Bacheller built and owned the three-story $800,000 project. The hotel’s motif was influenced by the Bahamas and featured 52 guest rooms all facing south. John B. O’Neill was the hotel architect. Its Chart Room sported a nautical theme with captain’s chairs, ship lanterns and charts of the seven seas. The pool, a scalloped design, sat in an outdoor area offering an informal breakfast and lunch bar.

Bacheller, a developer, builder, and banker, also built the nearby West Indies Hotel and Apartments. He may have had other projects in mind when he sold the Bahama Hotel in November 1957, less than two years after it opened. Realtors L.C. Judd and Lloyd E. Dutcher facilitated the sale (for a reported estimate of $1 million) to the newly formed Bahama Hotel, Inc., a group from Cleveland headed by two friends who were West Point graduates.

Ownership changed hands over the years, but its entertainment, including comedian Woody Woodbury, continued to draw for decades. Woodbury—100 years young as of this post and living in the area—first appeared at the Chart Room September 28, 1956. It proved to be a long, years long, engagement. 

His career includes subequent stints at sesveral Fort Lauderdale hotels and in Las Vegas. Woodbury also appeared on television and in several movies. His comedy albums remain available at Woodbury.com. He helped elevate the profile of the Bahama Hotel and that of Fort Lauderdale as a tourist destination with sophisticated shows during the late 1950s and throughout the 60s.  

The Bahama Hotel remained top of the list of places to stay on Fort Lauderdale’s beach for decades. But the city changed in the late 1980s; it shed its image as a spring break mecca for college students. 

By the 1990s and early 2000s, beach front property became a magnet for condo developers and hotel chains. As with today’s market, properties were grabbed up by investors and resold at higher prices over many months. Nevertheless, the Bahama Hotel continued to operate through uncertainty—even opening (perhaps leasing) the popular Deck Restaurant with its acclaimed jazz music in 2002—while potential developers submitted plans and applied for permits … and waited for city decisions.

Good times ended for the Bahama Hotel in 2004. The W Hotel, a Marriott brand, now sits astride the old sites of several properties, including the Bahama, from Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard (A1A) toward Birch Road off Riomar Street.

W Hotel from Riomar Street

The Bahama Hotel left fond memories of Woody Woodbury, the Chart Room, Deck Restaurant and something else: a time when Fort Lauderdale beach hotels served as entertainment destinations for local residents. A night on the town usually included a stop at one of the beach hotels for dinner, music or Woody Woodbury comedy.

 Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale News, Sept. 11, 1954

Fort Lauderdale News, June 17, 1956

Fort Lauderdale News, Sept. 23, 1956

Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 2, 1957

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, May 5, 2001

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Feb. 24, 2002

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Jan. 30, 2005

Tags: Bahama Hotel, Woody Woodbury, Deck Restaurant, Fort Lauderdale in the 1950s, Fort Lauderdale Hotels, Fort Lauderdale Hotel History

Yesterday’s Restaurant looms large in memories of Fort Lauderdale dining and nightlife

Florida State Archives

 

Yesterday’s Restaurant and One Up Lounge
Oakland Park and the Intracoastal
Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 

By Jane Feehan

On Oct. 25, 1975, the sign for Yesterday’s Restaurant was installed to replace the one for the Moonraker, its predecessor. It was the last of preparations before opening Oct. 29.  The stately exterior of the large building, where some had hoped gambling to flourish once it was legalized by the state, remained the same. The interior, however, was redone featuring a first-level restaurant and bar and an upper- level nightclub, the One Up Lounge, overlooking the Intracoastal and east Fort Lauderdale. 

Plush, ornate and classy, it seemed no expense was spared in the makeover. Enclosed terrace dining, added soon after, would be the coveted place for holiday dining in the years to follow. For intimate gourmet dining, the Plum Room opened, welcoming a stream of the Hollywood famous and Washington politicos.

The entertainment media, invited for opening night, were greeted with an impressive-and thematic- collection of Model-T Fords and other vintage cars lining its sloping driveway to the entrance. 

The band Everyone (see below).
Photo courtesy of
Spencer Mallinson

Fort Lauderdale News Entertainment Editor Jack Zink was there that night and reported that the four-piece band, Everyone, and singer Trish Long, kept the room at the One Up and its dance floor "full to capacity."  They continued to fill it for a year. For me, the opening set the stage for a terrific night of food, entertainment and repeat visits over the years for fine dining, holiday celebrations and dancing.

Who could forget the oversized white, nearly sparkling wigs bartenders wore along with those disco-era body suits (pale blue as I recall) at the One Up? If out-of-town (or country) visitors forgot the name of the place, all they had to do was mention those wigs ... and Yesterday’s was their answer. 

Early evening live music during “Jam Session Mondays,” included Fort Lauderdale legend Andy Bartha and the Dixieland Jazz Band. But later, pulsating disco music prevailed along with era-requisite strobe lighting. The entire restaurant was a hit, the food ... first class. Yesterday’s was so busy at night it often took more than 30 minutes for a valet to retrieve a car. The popular spot attracted people of all ages for special occasions, including wedding receptions and Sunday brunches. Many reserved months ahead for a waterside view of the December Winterfest Boat Parade. A long list of civic groups chose Yesterday's for meetings and events that were covered by local newspapers. It was the place to be seen.

Things slowed down in the 1990s. Culture and lifestyles changed. No more disco music. Residents and travelers sought simpler, and perhaps less expensive dining and entertainment. To add to slow down woes, the landmark restaurant attracted a large, less lucrative early bird dinner crowd. 

In August 1999, the owners, who included celebrated Judge Arnie Grevior* (with wife Barbara) and at one time, Peter Goldhahn (Aruba Beach Cafe), announced Yesterday’s would close Aug. 31 that year. The once- popular nightspot would revert to a more casual atmosphere in October under the revived name, Moonraker, but closed not long after. It was sad to see lights out and a fence go up around this once-popular queen of Fort Lauderdale nightlife. The building was demolished in the early 2000s to make way for an expensive retirement home…with a great view.    

The building may have been demolished but not all the memories of an era and all its fun.  

NOTES

PHOTO: The band, Everyone - featured left to right as Spencer Mallinson recalled: "Richie the drummer (last name forgotten); Bill Davis, keyboard; Bob Bobbin, bass and Spencer, guitarist." Not featured here was Trish Long, vocalist. This group also played at Big Daddy's on Conmmercial, Art Stock's Playpen, the Flying Machine and the 4 O'Clock Club. "Those were great years for music," reminisced Mallinson. Indeed they were.

 Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan

*Arnold Grevior died at age 92 March 3, 2020. He was a “lawyer, judge, a philanthropist, patron of the arts and a respected member of the community for over 50 years.” See more at: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sunsentinel/obituary.aspx?n=arnold-grevior&pid=195608585&fhid=8774

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 25, 1975
Fort Lauderdale News, Aug. 10, 1999
Fort Lauderdale News, March 4, 2020

Tags: Fort Lauderdale restaurants, Fort Lauderdale in the 1970s, Fort Lauderdale in the 1980s, Fort Lauderdale in the 1990s, One Up Lounge, Fort Lauderdale history, History Fort Lauderdale