Henry Plant began purchasing bankrupt railroad companies in 1879 and by the late 1890s had developed extensive railroad systems and built many lavish hotels in previously obscure locations in Florida. The availability of rail travel and Plant's lavish fantasy resorts made Florida a premier tourist destination. Plant's hotels were known for elegant furnishings, luxurious amenities, sports and recreation facilities and scenic locations. Plant built a total of eight hotels in Florida between 1891 and his death on June 23, 1899, at the age of 80.
The Tampa Bay Hotel, built in 1891 by Henry Plant, is now a National Historic Landmark and home to The University of Tampa, a private college that fills most of the hotel. Classrooms now occupy rooms that once hosted Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, Babe Ruth, the Prince of Wales and the Queen of England. It is located in the Tampa Bay area, near the west coast of Central Florida.
Plant built the hotel without the help of investors, for what was then a princely sum, $2.5 million, plus an additional $500,000 to furnish the hotel's 511 rooms in opulent style. The awe-inspiring brick building, topped by fanciful Turkish minarets, covers more than six acres. The hotel sat on 150 acres of landscaped grounds that featured a 9-hole golf course, tennis and croquet courts, hunting and fishing areas, a racetrack, and 21 buildings to house a flower conservatory, stables, kennels, a boathouse, a casino and a 2,000-seat auditorium, a spa with a heated indoor pool, a bowling alley and an exposition room. Guests at the hotel were pampered, wined, dined and entertained.
The City of Tampa acquired the hotel in 1904, and it remained a hotel until 1932. In 1933, it reopened as the Tampa Municipal Museum, and Tampa Junior College moved its headquarters into the hotel and changed its name to the University of Tampa. The museum name was changed to The Henry B. Plant Museum in 1974. Today, most of the amenities have been replaced by the practical needs of a working college, but Henry Plant's vision and love of style can still be seen in the graceful architecture and lavish detail of the original hotel building.
On January 15, 1887, the Belleview Hotel opened its doors for the first time. In the early 1900s, the magnificent four-story hotel located in Clearwater just west of Tampa on the coast, was repainted in a brilliant white and quickly dubbed "The White Queen of the Gulf," a name, and a color, that sticks with the graceful Victorian hotel even today. The fascinating history of the hotel and its remarkable guest list ensured the Belleview a place on the National Register of Historic Places. During the early years, the hotel was often frequented by leading businessmen and their families. Guests included Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, as well as the Vanderbilts, the Studebakers and the DuPonts.
The Belleview, like all of Plant's hotels, was a haven of luxury and recreation and one of the first hotels in history to have its own fire department, police department and post office. In the early 1900s after Plant's death, the hotel was purchased by John McEntee Bowman, owner of the of the Biltmore Hotel chain. The Belleview became the Belleview Biltmore Resort Hotel.
After 123 years of service, the Belleview Biltmore Resort Hotel closed its doors to guests in June 2010 for an estimated $100 million restoration. It is expected to reopen in 2012.
The Hotel Punta Gorda was completed in 1887. Built on the beach overlooking Port Charlotte on the west coast of Florida, the luxury resort was the largest hotel in the state at the time. It featured 150 rooms in a three-story building, and every room had a breathtaking view of the sparkling waters of Charlotte Harbor. The hotel was constructed in Queen Anne style with clapboard siding and turrets crowned by conical roofs. The extensive amenities and lavish style typical of all of Plant's hotels drew the rich and famous from all over the world, including Thomas Edison, John Wanamaker, the Vanderbilts, Samuel Colt and many others.
The resort was later purchased by Barron Collier and renamed the Hotel Charlotte Harbor. The hotel declined in later years and burned to the ground in 1959. The site where the Hotel Punta Gorda once stood now bears a Heritage Landmark marker approved in 2007 by the Charlotte County Historical Advisory Committee and installed on September 9, 2009.
