January, 1926. This was the Jazz Age, the era of prohibition. The trains marked “Miami Biltmore Special” were converging on the new city of Miami with their cargo of Northeast tycoons and socialites. Prohibition didn’t seem to matter in this rather isolated spot on the American map. Champagne flowed, the big bands played and the guests whirled the night dancing the fox-trot. The occasion for so much celebration….the opening of the grand hotel, the Biltmore.
The first time I discovered the Biltmore https://www.biltmorehotel.com/there was a small concert outside the west wing of the main building. Michael and I left the concert for a moment to explore the hotel. From one discovery to the next we found our way unexpectedly to the pool. The pool that is enormously 150 by 225 feet. It was the largest in the world at the time it was built. This was a soft night in February with a light breeze. And we were the only ones there to watch the lights rippling over the water of the deserted pool. I was totally taken with the Biltmore!
A Beautiful Lobby
When I visited Ft. Lauderdale in February and told my son I would love to have lunch at the Biltmore, he didn’t hesitate. So, I got to see again the tropical landscapes, the banyan and palm trees on the quiet streets that surround the hotel. I was able to see again the massive bird cage in the lobby of the hotel with the little birds in them. The enormous marble columns and painted ceilings, lush courtyards, fountains and balconies….still there. We had lunch by the pool, this time in bright sunlight shared with happy people inside and out of the pool.
Afternoon Tea
The Italian Restaurant Fontana
History of the Biltmore Hotel
I have to wonder myself at times about my total fascination with old buildings. And there is no wonder that The Biltmore Hotel would be favorite. Of course it is the history and lives behind such places that add to the allure. The hotel is part of the bigger dream of George Merrick who loved the beauty of South Florida. He planned his city, Coral Gables, with a love also of the architectural influences of Spain, Italy and the Moors. Months after the grand opening of the hotel a hurricane hit the area, real estate went bottoms up and Mr. Merrick went bankrupt. I wonder also about the sweat and back breaks that went into the painted ceilings and those marble columns.
I think of all the women who came to the dances and glamorous fashion shows. Were these happy women (I hope so) or was theirs a show also? Johnny Weismuller taught swimming lessons at the pool before he went off to become Tarzan. During the same time period Jackie Ott, the Aqua Tot, would do his jump from the height of 85 feet up and into the pool. Think of the all the little people learning to swim and their peels of joy.
They say the ghost of Fatty Walsh, a New York mobster, haunts the hotel. He was killed in a gambling dispute in his room on the 13th floor. (Best not to stay on the 13th floor). But I think more of the men who died there when the hotel was turned into a hospital during World War II. So this is how I am with old buildings.
I think of all the other moments in time now lost to memory, but certainly not lost. What remains is a beautiful hotel, vibrant and pulsating again.
The Biltmore Hotel is a National Historic Landmark, a title given to only 3% of all historic structures. To read more of the history of the hotel: http://www.biltmorehotel.com/resort/history.php
