Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel
| Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel | |||
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| National Register of Historic Places | |||
| National Historic Landmark | |||
 Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel |
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| location |
Coral Gables , Miami-Dade County , Florida United States
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| Coordinates | 25 ° 44 ′ 28 ″ N , 80 ° 16 ′ 45 ″ W | ||
| Built | 1926 | ||
| architect | Schultze & Weaver | ||
| NRHP number | 72000306 | ||
| Data | |||
| The NRHP added | September 27, 1972 | ||
| Declared as an NHL | June 19, 1996 | ||
The Biltmore Hotel is a luxury hotel in Coral Gables , Florida , USA . It was designed by architects Schultze and Weaver on behalf of John McEntee Bowman and George Merrick as part of the Biltmore hotel chain. It was opened in 1926.
After the United States entered World War II , the hotel served as the United States Department of War Veteran's Hospital (VA Hospital) and was attached to the University of Miami Medical School campus . It was not used as a hotel again until 1987.
On September 27, 1972, the hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places . On June 19, 1996, the hotel was named a National Historic Landmark . The new owner restored the hotel to its old style.
history
When completed, the structure was the tallest building in Florida, surpassing the Freedom Tower in Miami . In 1928, the building was overtaken by the Dade County Courthouse in Miami.
At that time the hotel complex had the largest swimming pool in the world and had the later Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmüller under contract as swimming instructor .
The building served as the backdrop for the film Bad Boys and television formats such as CSI: Miami and Miami Vice . It was also one of the locations in Ken Wiederhorn's 1977 horror film Shock Waves . It was the time when the hotel was in dire straits and its future was uncertain. This made it possible to record long tracking shots through the corridors and eerie camera angles that the film required.
prehistory
The city planning visionary and pioneer of New Urbanism George E. Merrick, who was also the founder of the University of Miami, is considered to be the creator . To ensure a beautiful environment, strict building regulations were specified. Great emphasis was placed on the design of the surrounding nature; Broad boulevards with lush side planting , stately Mediterranean-style houses, banyan trees and other tropical plants were part of the design, as were golf courses and country clubs.
In 1925, Merrick teamed up with Biltmore Hotel magnate John McEntee Bowmann to create a special hotel as part of his project that would serve a variety of purposes. The $ 10 million hotel complex opened its doors in January 1926. In its heyday, the hotel has hosted celebrities such as Ginger Rogers , Judy Garland , Bing Crosby , Al Capone, and welcomed the Duke and Duchess of Windsor as well as members of the Roosevelt and Vanderbilt families . Gala events, water shows at the huge pool and other events were the order of the day. Johnny Weissmüller, for example, broke a world record in the pool at the Biltmore Hotel before swinging from tree to tree as Tarzan.
With the beginning of the Second World War, the Pentagon ordered the conversion of the hotel into a hospital. It served as a hospital for the wounded of the United States Army Air Forces . For this reason, many of the windows were closed with concrete and the marble floors were covered with linoleum. From 1968 the building stood empty and faced an uncertain future. In 1973 it became the property of Coral Gables City, which was unsure what to do with it. Restoration only began in 1983. The aim was to make the Biltmore a grand hotel again. Four years later, the new Biltmore opened as a first class hotel on December 31, 1987 after investing $ 55 million. Around 600 guests attended the opening and paid their respects to the historic Biltmore with a black tie.
Since June 1992, the hotel has been under the direction of the multinational consortium of Seaway Hotel Corp., which has signed a long-term lease with the administration of the city of Coral Gables and in turn has carried out extensive renovations such as new lighting, overhaul of the telephone systems, computer installations and more First-class hotel essential investment.
At the gala opening of the Miami Biltmore Country Club in 1926, Frank Crane predicted that many guests would come and go, but the design of the hotel complex would last, and he was proved right.
Illustrations
Pool view
Pool view
Courtyard
one of the reception halls
Front view 2006
Rear view 2011
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Miami-Biltmore Hotel on the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed August 7, 2017.
- ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Florida. National Park Service , accessed July 20, 2019.
- ^ History of The Biltmore. Official website, accessed February 3, 2014 .
- ↑ a b Biltmore Hotel ( Memento of the original from February 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. History / general at jh-home.de. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
- ↑ Shock Waves (1977) Filming Locations at IMDb. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
- ↑ a b c d History of the "Biltmore" at biltmorehotel.com (English). Retrieved February 2, 2014.
