Dixie Walesbilt Hotel, 115 North First Street, Lake Wales, Florida, USA / Opened: 1927 / Architect: Fred Bishop & D.J. Phipps, / Floors: 10 / Height: 106.00 ft / Architectural Style: Masonry Vernacular with hints of Mediterranean-Revival

The Dixie Walesbilt Hotel, known as the Grand Hotel in later years, is one of a small number of skyscrapers built in the 1920s that still stand today and is a prime example of how optimistic people were during the Florida land boom. Built in 1926, it found financing through a stock-sale campaign in the local business community, costing $500,000 after it was completed(which equates to about $6 million today.)

The building architecture, masonry vernacular with hints of Mediterranean-Revival, is also a good example of the time is was built. It was designed by two well-known architects at the time, Fred Bishop who designed the Byrd Theatre in Virginia, and D.J. Phipps, whose designed both the Wyoming County Courthouse and Jail and the Colonial Hotel in Virginia.

The hotel was constructed using the “three-part vertical block” method, which became the dominant pattern in tall buildings during the 1920s. Three-part buildings are composed of a base, shaft and a cap, all noticeably visible.
The hotel opened as the “Walesbilt” in January 1927, shortly after the land boom had started to collapse and two years before the Great Depression began. It’s also best to note that the hotel opened around the same time the Floridan Hotel in Tampa opened, another hotel built during the Florida land boom.

In 1972, the hotel was purchased by Anderson Sun State and renamed the “Groveland Motor Inn”. The firm completely renovated the hotel and used it to host visitors to the area who were interested in Green Swamp, land sectioned off for land development. At the time there was heavy speculation in the land because of it’s close proximity to Walt Disney World and were selling for around $5,000 an acre at the time. That ended after a state cabinet designation of the swamp as an area of critical state concern, placing the land off-limits to any large land developments. The firm filed for foreclosure and the hotel was auctioned off in 1974. Despite RCI Electric purchasing the hotel, it remained empty for many years afterwards.

n 1978, the hotel was signed over to the Agape Players, a nationally known religious music and drama group, who would assume the mortgage and would pay the costs to make improvements to meet city fire and safety standards. The hotel was renamed the “Royal Walesbilt” and after extensive improvements were made, it became the headquarters for the Agape Players; using it as a teaching facility and the base from which the group launched their tours. In addition, they operated a restaurant, an ice cream parlor on the lobby floor and a “Christian hotel” on the upper floors, catering mostly to groups. The Agape Players disbanded in 1985 and put the property up for sale

Victor Khubani, a property investor from New York acquired the property and renamed the hotel “Grand”. The hotel closed briefly in December 1988, due to a variety of code violations and causing the owner to later pay $14,000 in fines. On August 31, 1990 it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, possibly for tax exemption reasons. In October 1991, The State Fire Marshall’s Office gave the owner one year to install a new sprinkler system and in May 1993, the code enforcement board gave Khubani until March to complete the work.

In March 1994, the hotel closed due to multiple code violations and was to remain closed until a new fire sprinkler system was installed. To reopen, the fire escapes and elevator, which did not function, would have to be repaired as well. In 1995, the hotel was auctioned off to a redevelopment firm, which dismantled part of the interior for reconstruction, which was never completed.

Since then, the hotel has deteriorated, becoming an eyesore to many of the residents of Lake Wales and nicknamed “The Green Monster” for the greenish color it has acquired from over the years. In 1995, it was even jokingly mentioned to become a sacrifice to “the bomb”, an economic boom that occurred in parts of Florida where movie production companies would pay cities to blow up buildings for their movies. In 2007, the city foreclosed on the structure for more than $700,000 in unpaid code fines, with hopes in finding someone to restore it.

Development firm, Dixie-Walesbilt LLC announced plans to restore the hotel, signing into an agreement with the city of Lake Wales in February 2010. By the agreement, the city would retain ownership of the building until a defined amount of work had been accomplished. The work must be completed within 16 months and the amount of money invested must succeed at least $1.5 million. The building would then be handed off the Dixie Walesbilt LLC, where they may continue with private funding or other methods to for debt funding.

Ray Brown, President of Dixie Walesbilt LLC, planned to invest $6 million into the renovation, with original plans to put retail stores on the ground floor and using the upper floors for as many as 40 condominiums.

On June 2, 2011, the city of Lake Wales agreed to deed the building off to Ray Brown in a 4-1 vote, after meeting the requirements of the redevelopment agreement. Though Brown submitted a list of costs to the city totaling $1.66 million, Mayor Mike Carter wasn’t satisfied with the results so far, pointing out that Brown failed to repair the windows and repaint the building. Previous owners had put tar on the building and then painted over it, so much of Brown’s investment went to stripping the tar off the exterior walls.

To repaint the building, Brown would also have to resurface the hotel with hydrated lime to replicate the original skin as well as the window frames would need to be constructed of Douglas fir, red cedar and gulf cypress. According to Brown, previous owners who renovated the building rarely removed the building original elements. They carpeted over intricate tile flooring, stuck tar paper above skylights and placed modern drinking fountains in front of the originals. He estimated about 98 percent of the building is still in it’s original form.

Restoration of the building’s exterior began in January 2015 and included surface repair, pressure washing, paint removal, chemical treatment, and a comprehensive resurfacing of the exterior.

While the original plans were for turning the building into condominiums, that has since changed and current plans call for operating the building as a boutique hotel. The hotel will feature geothermal cooling as opposed to traditional air conditioning, a permanent art gallery as well as theme gallery showings throughout the year, and the best WiFi/internet in the city. The project is expected to be completed in 18 to 24 months.

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
www.cityoflakewales.com/505/Dixie-Walesbilt-Hotel
www.abandonedfl.com/dixie-walesbilt-hotel/

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

Taken in: United States / Florida / Lake Wales (show map)

Taken on: February 1, 2024

Tags:

Lake Wales

Florida

architecture

Dixie Walesbilts

Hotel Grand

Central Florida

National Register Building

Dixie Walesbilt Hotel

115 North First Street

USA

Opened: 1927

Fred Bishop

DJ Phipps

Floors: 10

Height: 106.00 ft

Masonry Vernacular with hints of Mediterranean-Revival

Grand Hotel

three-part vertical block method

Three-part buildings are composed of a base shaft and a cap all noticeably visible

Anderson Sun State

Groveland Motor Inn

Agape Players

Royal Walesbilt

Christian hotel

Victor Khubani

On August 31 1990 it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Ray Brown

boutique hotel

abandoned Florida

The Green Monster

forgotten Florida « less

Sets appears in: • Florida's Hill Country • City of Lake Wales, Polk County, Florida, USA more » • Urban Florida I « less

Groups appears in: • Photography • Arquitectura more » • Flickritis: over 87,000 waiting for a vaccine. • Architecture and Buildings • city life • Small Cities • Nikon Digital SLRs • Architexture • ANYTHING ALLOWED!!!!!! • Your photo goes here! no 30/60 • Buildings • Florida, USA • sky&architecture.GreatPics. [Please tag sky&architecture] • Architecture / 建築 • .Southern Photographers - Southern Images • *Inspirational Travel Photos • City Pulse • Vacation Places • Southern Views • 10 Million Photos • High Rise Buildings • CityScenery - Life in the City | People and Places • elegance in art and design • I bring my camera everywhere (no 30/60 limit) • American Traditional Architecture • Polk County, FL Photos • Florida Sun • Architecture Directory • Historic Districts USA • " Damn Cool Photographers in the WORLD " .♥.♥.♥ • Historic Florida • architecture and buildings / arquitectura y edificios • Historic Buildings of the United States • Photography in Florida • I am flickr! - No 30/60 Limit • "History & Antiquities (Post 5 - Award 3)" • Cities, Building & Ciudades y Edificios • Urban Gallery • Urban - Photography • City Skylines (Buildings,Cities) • Travelling Around • Skylines of Florida • United States of America (USA) • Skyline Postcards • Urban Beauty • The Southeast • "THE WORLD IN FLICKR" (NEW RULES) • " Your BEST of Today " - Through MY Eyes • Cityviews • Buildings/Edificios/Bâtiments • Travel and Escapades • Strictly GeoTagged (no 30/60 limit) • City Skylines Around The World • City Skylines across America • City Style & Architecture • Historic Buildings • Archîtecture • CITY SCAPES. • Buldings & Skyline all arround the world • WORLD TRAVEL : Your traveling experience (50 photos@day) • Florida Travels • Urban Form • *****THE ARCHITECTS HANDBOOK!***** • *****WORLDARCHITECTURE!***** • Architecture Lab • Skyline Junkies • Architecture around the world • City Lover • FLORIDA • The Great American City • Skyscraper photography • United states of america USA • My time behind the lens No 30/60 limits • !*ALL ARE WELCOME*! • Florida Architecture • USA - (From North to South) • Advanced Photography in the Digital Age (Invitation) • Architecture of Beautiful Towns and Cities • Group for all users of FLICKR - No 30/60 Groups Limit • * just photos * no rules please use comment code appreciated • Florida's Cityscapes & Rural Areas • All great photos - No 30/60 • Free our Flickr - No 30/60 • USA - United States (No 30/60 limit) • FLICKR INTERNATIONAL - No 30/60 Groups Limit • USA - Pictures (No 30/60 limit) • Beautiful Day or Night No 30/60 - No SL • ~Attention Worthy - No 30/60 Limit • No limit - No 30/60 • Buildings are beautiful - no 30/60 limit • TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY (no 30/60 rule) • Todos los momentos no 30/60 • NO 30/60 Family safe only • Nice Places to Visit - No 30/60 Limit - Photos & Videos Welcome. • Post Anything You Like. No 30/60 • All Your Photos and Mine (No 30/60 limit - Photos from anywhere) « less

Stats: 7,627 views / 1 comment