Draft:Terrace Hotel (Lakeland, Florida)

The Terrace Hotel
Terrace Hotel, beyond Lake Mirror in 2009
Location within Florida
General information
Coordinates	28.04400°N 81.95444°W / 28.04400; -81.95444
Completed	1929

The Terrace Hotel, or The Terrace Hotel, overlooking Lake Mirror in Lakeland, Florida, about 35 miles (56 km) inland from Tampa Bay, was completed in 1924 It was one of the first resort-type hotels built in Florida that was meant to serve visitors year-round. Unlike most others at the time, it did not close in the summer, and featured the novelty of air conditioning.

The hotel closed in 1986, and stood vacant until being updated and reopening in 1998. It was purchased in 2020 by local investors and joined the Hilton brand, with current formal name of Terrace Hotel Lakeland, Tapestry Collection by Hilton.

Predecessor

The Massachusetts Avenue and Main Street corner site was earlier the home of the 1885-built Tremont House (or Tremont House Hotel), which was planned by Lakeland co-founder Abraham Munn to serve "transient guests, stopping by way of Lakeland via the 20+ daily trains that made their way through town". The three-story hotel had a large capacity: "it could theoretically have fit the entire Lakeland population in its rooms for a night." "Known as one of the finest hotels in South Florida, and certainly the finest in Lakeland at the time, the Tremont housed the very first bathtubs in the city, a sign of its elegance, and was touted as 'The Traveling Man’s Home.' One of its biggest renovations and expansions was in 1911 when the hotel was physically moved to an adjacent lot, about 200-ft south on Massachusetts Avenue."

The Tremont, on its new site, could not compete with the combination of the adjacent 1924-built Terrace Hotel, the 1913-built Hotel Thelma, and the 1926-built New Florida Hotel, and was eventually demolished in 1936.

empty for almost forty years.

renovated, etc

restaurant

The hotel was compared to equally extravagant hotels in Miami, West Palm Beach and Tampa.

Predecessor: Tremont House Hotel: "When you think: “hotels in Lakeland,” what comes to mind? Maybe, the Terrace Hotel but what about its predecessor, the Tremont House Hotel?"

"Abraham Munn, aka one of Lakeland’s founders, constructed a new hotel downtown back in 1885. Situated on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Main Street, aka the site of the Terrace Hotel today, was the Tremont House. One of the first hotels in the area, not to be confused with Lakeland’s first modern hotel, Hotel Thelma, the Tremont House was built to hold many guests."

"The three-story hotel was constructed of wood and featured a high-gabled roof, a common style during the latter half of the 19th century. The building housed a second-story porch, which wrapped the entire length of the floor, and was subjected to a few expansions and modifications over the years. One substantial change was the addition of first-floor arches with support brackets vs. pillars."

Purchase and renovation

5-6 good hits on "Terrace Hotel Lakeland Florida" in google "News":

• It was bought for $7.25 million by a former Lakeland city official. [I saved copy of article, as the Ledger gives limited number of articles access, might not give again.]

It was bought for $7.25 million by a group of five local investors including former city commissioner Edie Yates, her husband and two sons. "The Terrace Hotel's exterior refurbishment was completed prior to the sale closing earlier this month. The new owners are now in the process of planning new interior refurbishments to bring the 88-room hotel up to modern standards while respecting the historic building's architecture details." / "The Terrace Hotel was built in 1924 overlooking Lake Mirror by Florida Collier Court Hotels. It was among the first hotels in the state to have air conditioning, seen as a novelty at the time. Its luxury accommodations attracted guests including Henry Ford, Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Sinatra, according to Historic Hotels of America."

"'We're looking to give it a refresh,' Yates said. 'We want to improve the look, the quality and the feel of the experience.'"

"Yates said the property will become part of the Tapestry Collection by Hilton, a portfolio of upscale, boutique hotels with a vibrant personality. It will retain the name The Terrace."

"'The Tapestry brand is relatively new brand of Hilton, it is one of those where they like to have historic hotels remodeled,' she said. 'The story that will be told is the history of the hotel.'"

"The interior refurbishment will bring the rooms up to the Hilton's "high standards," Yates said, as well as reimagine the public spaces including the restaurant, bar and hotel entry way. The goal is to have the renovations completed by April."

""It’s ambitious, but we have a great team working on it right now," Yates said.

The new owners do not expect to close the hotel during the refurbishment, though Yates conceded a brief one- or two-week closure might be necessary when the main public areas are redone.

"It will be something we can all be proud of when we get it completed," she said. " "The Naples Hotel Group, a hotel development and management company based out of Naples in South Florida, announced Aug 23 that it was contracted to manage the property under the new owners.

Bruce Dunbar, the hotel's longtime general manager of 22 years, told The Ledger he will be staying at The Terrace through the change of ownership and management. "

Redesign done by Libby Patrick. "If you frequently travel in the South, chances are you’ve run across Libby Patrick’s interior architectural designs a time or two. The founder and CEO of Atlanta-based Sims Patrick Studio was been born in Memphis, TN, and raised in Decatur, AL, but her visions grace high-end residential and commercial projects from one coast to the other — including properties like the historic Battle House Hotel in Mobile, Alabama. Infusing Southern hospitality into every project, Libby creates inviting, unique boutique spaces that wow. Please welcome our newest Interior Designer Crush, Libby Patrick!" " I started my career in Atlanta with a big architecture firm, Stevens and Wilkinson, and learned how to design big public spaces through the projects that came in. I’ve done every kind of interior design project type, from corporate to healthcare to senior living to entertainment and shopping malls.

When we had our son, I wanted to be home with him, so I left the company where I was a principal designer and started Sims Patrick Studio in the basement of my house. I wanted to continue my career, but I also wanted flexibility. We had the company in the basement for seven years. Now, we’re in an office building.

What led you to design hotels? High-end residential is where I started, but I always wanted to do hotels. Years ago, we got commissioned to do the Battle House Hotel in Mobile, Alabama, and that’s how we got started doing hotels. After that, it was by word of mouth. Design-wise, it’s always been about storytelling, and we primarily do boutique hotels. We also do one-of-a-kind, destination-type independent projects. Hotels are probably the most complicated project types, especially if you count the spa and wellness component, restaurants, guest rooms, and lobby spaces." "A restored pecky cypress ceiling and pre-existing chandeliers maintain the majestic and traditional feel of The Terrace Hotel in Lakeland, Florida. Libby and her team used a “SWAT team approach,” immersing themselves in the location. “We walked around the lakes and picked up blooms, nuts, pods, snail shells, and swan feathers,” she says. “Then, we used them as inspiration for the colorations and forms that we layered in the beautiful existing building.”"

It was reopened:

Lewis2: It was closed for 12 years from 1986. "After writing about former hotels that once graced the streets of Lakeland, it’s clear that each paved the way for The Terrace. Before you read this one, we recommend brushing up on local hotel history with the Tremont House Hotel, the Hotel Thelma, and the New Florida Hotel.

The Terrace Hotel Lakeland, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, or Lakeland Terrace Hotel as it was once called, was built on the property where the Tremont House Hotel once stood. When the Tremont House fell, leaders felt it was only natural for a new hotel to take its place.

Purchased for $750,000 in 1923, the Terrace features a Neo-Classical style both inside and out. The curvature of the entrance, its column work, gilded ceilings, and chandeliers brought a level of grandeur that Lakelanders hadn’t seen at this scale.

According to “A Guide to Historic Lakeland, Florida,” the hotel donned a bright orange paint job at its opening in October 1924 but was immediately repainted to its signature gray after city officials expressed their disdain for the orangey hues.

A Terrace postcard, circa 1948 | Photo via Florida Memory

Upon its opening, the hotel would face a first for the area and the state, hailing as one of the only year-round inns. How? Before the Golden Age, most hotels were without air conditioning and would close during the summers due to the scorching Florida heat.

As time progressed, so too did operations at the hotel. Did you know that back in the day guests would enter off of Main Street? Guests would enter through a lush garden that led them to Massachusetts Avenue. Over the years, the hotel saw famous guests such as Henry Ford, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Frank Sinatra due to its pristine reputation as “Florida’s most luxurious year-round hotel.”

After decades of success, the hotel experienced hardships in the 1970s and closed in 1986, where it stood vacant for 12 years. Luckily, the historic building was re-purchased for $150,000 and reopened its doors in 1998. This restoration saw modern updates, an additional 15 suites, a conference room, banquet space, and more.

Today, after its purchase by five local investors in 2020, the hotel became part of the Hilton brand, now referred to as Terrace Hotel Lakeland, Tapestry Collection by Hilton. Since its sale, the hotel features new ownership + management, plus an even more updated renovation starting in the lobby + the Terrace Grille, all the way up to its guest rooms."

It is a member of the Historic Hotels of America program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

It is part of the Tapestry Collection by Hilton program.

External links

• The Terrace Hotel, official site

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Categories:

• Historic Hotels of America
• Hotels in Florida
• Lakeland, Florida