Belleview Biltmore
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The Belleview Biltmore Resort and Spa is a large historic hotel located in Belleair, Florida, in the Tampa Bay, Florida Area. It is a well known landmark and is one of the oldest existing structures in the area in which it is located, thus it considered by many to be of great historical value and significance. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, being listed in 1979.
The large 820,000 square foot (76,000 m²) hotel was built in 1897 by railroad tycoon Henry B. Plant. It is the last remaining grand historic hotel from its period in Florida that exists as a resort, and the last standing hotel constructed by the Plants still being used as a resort. The building is well known by many for its architectural beauty, with its unique green sloped roof and white wood sided exterior, and extensive hand crafted woodwork inside the hotel. It regarded to be the largest occupied wood frame structure in the world, and is constructed out of native virgin Florida pine, which is termite resistant, and which is now very rare.
The hotel is situated on Clearwater Bay, with views of the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The hotel property consists of 160 acres, including swimming pools, a beach club, restaurant, and a golf course. The hotel has ballroom facilities and is a popular location for weddings and other gatherings.
The Hotel is thought by many 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 U.S. TV network The Travel Channel, which was filmed in March of 2004 by Authentic Entertainment.
[edit] History
The Belleview Biltmore was constructed by Henry B. Plant as an end point for one of his railroad lines and to increase tourist traffic on the railroad network that he was constructing in Florida. The railroad would take guests from northern parts of the country to the hotel where they would vacation.
During World War II, the hotel served as lodging for servicemen who were stationed at Macdill Air Force Base in Tampa.
The hotel has hosted many famous people, dignitaries and world leaders through the years, including U.S. Presidents George Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Gerald Ford, Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and the Duke of Windsor.
Ownership of the hotel has passed between different hands over the years, recently it was owned by a Japanese company, Mido Development, who purchased it in 1991 was later sold in 1997 to hotelier Salim Jetha.
The current owners of the hotel are Urdang and Associates and Belleview Biltmore Resort, Ltd.
In late 2004, a development company named DeBartolo Development attempted to purchase the hotel, demolish it, and build hundreds of condominia on the site. The deal flopped in January of 2005 however after public outrage over the plan, the developers citing lack of public support.
However, April of 2005 it became publicly known that the DeBartolo group was once again planning to purchase the hotel, and had it under contract with Urdang and Associates, leading to questions about the intentions of the developers, and considering the previous attempt to demolish the hotel, raising great concern among historic preservationists.
On April 21, of 2005 it became known that the DeBartolo Development Group filed a demolition permit with the Town of Belleair to demolish the Belleview Biltmore, including all buildings and structures on the site.
[edit] Demolition attempts and recourse
The Town of Belleair, where the hotel is located, did not as of late April of 2005 have the legal authority to block the demolition of the building. There have been frantic attempts in the Town of Belleair by preservationists to help the town acquire the legal authority to halt such demolish and protect historic structures, however they had not yet materialised at that time. Belleair does have a Historic Preservation Board, however, they had no power to block these demolitions at the time.
Pinellas County, as of April of 2005 did not have any established legal authority at the time to protect the structures.
This is despite a well established precedence of towns and cities acquiring such power to protect structures deemed historic, and this has been done many times in many jurisdictions.
Preservationists also cited many cases where similar hotels of similar and older ages have been quite successfully restored in their historical state while offering updated services and amenities. Such examples include the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan, the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, and the Williamsburg Inn in Williamsburg, Virginia.
[edit] External links
- Belleview Biltmore Official Site
- Save The Biltmore Pro-Preservation Website
