Belleview-Biltmore Hotel
Encyclopedia
The Belleview Biltmore Resort and Spa is a currently closed historic resort hotel located at 25 Belleview Boulevard in the town of Belleair, Florida
, USA. The hotel is situated along the eastern shores of Old Clearwater Bay, with views of the bay and the barrier islands which border the Gulf of Mexico
. The hotel was built in 1897 by railroad tycoon Henry B. Plant
and was added to the U.S.
National Register of Historic Places
on December 26, 1979.
The 820000 square feet (76,180.5 m²) hotel structure is the last remaining grand historic hotel of its period in Florida that exists as a resort, and the only remaining Henry Plant hotel still in operation. The building is noted for its architectural features, with its unique green sloped roof and white wood sided exterior, and extensive hand crafted woodwork and Tiffany glass
inside. It is said to be the largest occupied wood frame structure in the world, and is constructed of native Florida pine wood.
The hotel property at large consists of over 160 acres (64.7 ha), including swimming pools, a beach club, restaurant, and a golf course. The hotel itself is located on 20.203 acres (8.2 ha) and has ballroom facilities and is a popular location for weddings and other gatherings.
The Belleview Biltmore has hosted many famous people, dignitaries and world leaders through the years, including U.S. Presidents Barack Obama
, George H. W. Bush
, Jimmy Carter
, and Gerald Ford
, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
and the Duke of Windsor
, and celebrities such as Joe DiMaggio
, Babe Ruth
, Thomas Edison
, and Henry Ford
.
In preparation for his 1976 Rolling Thunder Revue
tour, musician Bob Dylan
spent much of April rehearsing at the Belleview Biltmore with his troupe. Band members included Roger McGuinn
of The Byrds
, violinist Scarlet Rivera
, and folk queen Joan Baez
. Dylan would eventually play two shows on the 22nd in the hotel's Starlight Ballroom.
The hotel is thought by some to be the site of ghost
sightings and other paranormal
events. The Hotel was featured in a segment on the Weird Travels series on the Travel Channel television network in the U.S., which was filmed in March 2004 by Authentic Entertainment.
The Belleview Hotel, as it was initially known, was constructed by Henry B. Plant as a resort destination to boost tourist travel on his railroad line serving the west coast of Florida, which he had acquired in 1893 as part of his expanding Plant System
network of railroads. The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
, which eventually absorbed the Plant System lines, continued to operate the Pinellas Special train from New York City to a siding on the hotel's property in the 1920s.
, the hotel served as lodging for servicemen who were stationed at Macdill Air Force Base
in Tampa
. In the 1970s and 1980s, the aging hotel began to decline as changing travel patterns and intensified competition from newer beach-front motels caused significant losses.
A Japanese company, Mido Development, purchased the hotel in 1991 and made many repairs and additions, including a new spa area and entrance, later selling the property to hotelier Salim Jetha in 1997. The addition was made to create a more modern appearance upon entry, At the same time, the fifth floor of the building was closed off and left in a varying state of disrepair. In 2001, attempts were made to restore common areas and guest rooms continuing on to 2004. During the summer of 2004, the hotel suffered a glancing blows from hurricanes Charlie and Opal, causing severe damage to an already deteriorated roof, setting the plans to fully restore the building into limbo. Tom Cook Construction Inc. was hired to place protective coverings over the building while plans were made to replace this existential part of the building.
s. The proposal was withdrawn in January 2005, however, after public outrage over the plan, the developers citing lack of public support. However, in April 2005, published reports said that the DeBartolo group was once again planning to purchase the hotel, and had it under contract with Urdang and Associates, raising concerns among historic preservationists when it was disclosed that DeBartolo had filed a demolition permit application with the Town of Belleair (where the hotel is located) to demolish the Belleview Biltmore.
Preservationists argued that measures to protect historic structures should be adopted by Pinellas County or the Town of Belleair, citing hotels elsewhere of similar age which have been successfully restored while offering updated services and amenities, such as the Grand Hotel
on Mackinac Island
in Michigan
, the Hotel del Coronado
in San Diego, and the Williamsburg Inn in Williamsburg, Virginia
.
On March 9, 2007, the St. Petersburg Times
reported that Legg Mason
had entered into a purchase contract for the hotel, with the intent of preserving it. "Executives with Legg Mason Real Estate Investors would not disclose the proposed purchase price or the closing date, but said in a written statement they had a contract to buy the resort and intend to preserve the 110-year-old hotel," the Times reported. Legg Mason engaged the services of historic preservation architect Richard J. Heisenbottle, FAIA to prepare restoration and re-development plans for the project. In May 2008, the Town of Belleair approved Heisenbottle's plans to restore and expand the hotel, which included a new spa and underground garages, following purchase of the property by Legg Mason Real Estate Investors (now Latitude Management Real Estate Investors) for $30.3 million.
On January 29, 2009, it was announced that the resort would close at the end of May for the three-year, $100 million renovation project, reopening in 2012, the hotel's managing director said. Following the hotel's mid-2009 closing, however, an attorney for owner Latitude Management said that the renovation work has been stalled due to litigation by nearby residents, who object to some aspects of the re-development plans. Meanwhile, the Belleair code board voted on November 2, 2009, to begin fining the owners of the now-closed hotel $250 per day for failure to repair the hotel's "dilapidated and deteriorated" roof.
Belleair, Florida
Belleair is a town in Pinellas County, Florida, United States.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of . of it is land and of it is water.-Form of Government:...
, USA. The hotel is situated along the eastern shores of Old Clearwater Bay, with views of the bay and the barrier islands which border the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. The hotel was built in 1897 by railroad tycoon Henry B. Plant
Henry B. Plant
Henry Bradley Plant , was involved with many transportation projects, mostly railroads, in the U.S. state of Florida. Eventually he owned the Plant System of railroads which became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad...
and was added to the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on December 26, 1979.
The 820000 square feet (76,180.5 m²) hotel structure is the last remaining grand historic hotel of its period in Florida that exists as a resort, and the only remaining Henry Plant hotel still in operation. The building is noted for its architectural features, with its unique green sloped roof and white wood sided exterior, and extensive hand crafted woodwork and Tiffany glass
Tiffany glass
Tiffany glass refers to the many and varied types of glass developed and produced from 1878 to 1933 at the Tiffany Studios, by Louis Comfort Tiffany....
inside. It is said to be the largest occupied wood frame structure in the world, and is constructed of native Florida pine wood.
The hotel property at large consists of over 160 acres (64.7 ha), including swimming pools, a beach club, restaurant, and a golf course. The hotel itself is located on 20.203 acres (8.2 ha) and has ballroom facilities and is a popular location for weddings and other gatherings.
The Belleview Biltmore has hosted many famous people, dignitaries and world leaders through the years, including U.S. Presidents Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, and Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and the Duke of Windsor
Duke of Windsor
The title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for Prince Edward, the former King Edward VIII, following his abdication in December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a residence of English monarchs since the Norman Conquest, is...
, and celebrities such as Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
, Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
, Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
, and Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
.
In preparation for his 1976 Rolling Thunder Revue
Rolling Thunder Revue
The Rolling Thunder Revue was a famed U.S. concert tour consisting of a traveling caravan of musicians, headed by Bob Dylan, that took place in late 1975 and early 1976; the prevailing theory was that the tour was named after the Native American shaman Rolling Thunder. Others maintained that tour...
tour, musician Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
spent much of April rehearsing at the Belleview Biltmore with his troupe. Band members included Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
of The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
, violinist Scarlet Rivera
Scarlet Rivera
Scarlet Rivera is an American violinist. She is best known for her work with Bob Dylan, in particular on his album Desire and as part of the Rolling Thunder Revue.-Early career:...
, and folk queen Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
. Dylan would eventually play two shows on the 22nd in the hotel's Starlight Ballroom.
The hotel is thought by some to be the site of ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
sightings and other paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
events. The Hotel was featured in a segment on the Weird Travels series on the Travel Channel television network in the U.S., which was filmed in March 2004 by Authentic Entertainment.
1897–1942
Plant System
The Plant System was a system of railroads and steamboats in the U.S. South, taken over by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The original line of the system, named after its owner, Henry B...
network of railroads. The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was an American railroad that existed between 1900 and 1967, when it merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, its long-time rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad...
, which eventually absorbed the Plant System lines, continued to operate the Pinellas Special train from New York City to a siding on the hotel's property in the 1920s.
World War II and the post-war years
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the hotel served as lodging for servicemen who were stationed at Macdill Air Force Base
MacDill Air Force Base
MacDill Air Force Base is an active United States Air Force base located approximately south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida...
in Tampa
Tâmpa
Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...
. In the 1970s and 1980s, the aging hotel began to decline as changing travel patterns and intensified competition from newer beach-front motels caused significant losses.
A Japanese company, Mido Development, purchased the hotel in 1991 and made many repairs and additions, including a new spa area and entrance, later selling the property to hotelier Salim Jetha in 1997. The addition was made to create a more modern appearance upon entry, At the same time, the fifth floor of the building was closed off and left in a varying state of disrepair. In 2001, attempts were made to restore common areas and guest rooms continuing on to 2004. During the summer of 2004, the hotel suffered a glancing blows from hurricanes Charlie and Opal, causing severe damage to an already deteriorated roof, setting the plans to fully restore the building into limbo. Tom Cook Construction Inc. was hired to place protective coverings over the building while plans were made to replace this existential part of the building.
21st century
In late 2004, DeBartolo Development Group offered to purchase the property from Belleview Biltmore Resort, Ltd., then owned by Urdang and Associates, to demolish the hotel structure and replace it with retail shopping and condominiumCondominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
s. The proposal was withdrawn in January 2005, however, after public outrage over the plan, the developers citing lack of public support. However, in April 2005, published reports said that the DeBartolo group was once again planning to purchase the hotel, and had it under contract with Urdang and Associates, raising concerns among historic preservationists when it was disclosed that DeBartolo had filed a demolition permit application with the Town of Belleair (where the hotel is located) to demolish the Belleview Biltmore.
Preservationists argued that measures to protect historic structures should be adopted by Pinellas County or the Town of Belleair, citing hotels elsewhere of similar age which have been successfully restored while offering updated services and amenities, such as the Grand Hotel
Grand Hotel (Mackinac Island)
The Grand Hotel is a historic hotel and coastal resort located on Mackinac Island, Michigan, a small island located at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac within Lake Huron between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. Constructed in the late 19th century, the facility advertises itself as...
on Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island is an island and resort area covering in land area, part of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The island was home to a Native American settlement before European...
in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, the Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado is a beachfront luxury hotel in the city of Coronado, just across the San Diego Bay from San Diego, California. It is one of the few surviving examples of an American architectural genre: the wooden Victorian beach resort...
in San Diego, and the Williamsburg Inn in Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
.
On March 9, 2007, the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
reported that Legg Mason
Legg Mason
Legg Mason, Inc. is an American-based global investment management firm with a focus on asset management. The company’s business is divided in two divisions: Americas and International...
had entered into a purchase contract for the hotel, with the intent of preserving it. "Executives with Legg Mason Real Estate Investors would not disclose the proposed purchase price or the closing date, but said in a written statement they had a contract to buy the resort and intend to preserve the 110-year-old hotel," the Times reported. Legg Mason engaged the services of historic preservation architect Richard J. Heisenbottle, FAIA to prepare restoration and re-development plans for the project. In May 2008, the Town of Belleair approved Heisenbottle's plans to restore and expand the hotel, which included a new spa and underground garages, following purchase of the property by Legg Mason Real Estate Investors (now Latitude Management Real Estate Investors) for $30.3 million.
On January 29, 2009, it was announced that the resort would close at the end of May for the three-year, $100 million renovation project, reopening in 2012, the hotel's managing director said. Following the hotel's mid-2009 closing, however, an attorney for owner Latitude Management said that the renovation work has been stalled due to litigation by nearby residents, who object to some aspects of the re-development plans. Meanwhile, the Belleair code board voted on November 2, 2009, to begin fining the owners of the now-closed hotel $250 per day for failure to repair the hotel's "dilapidated and deteriorated" roof.