Florida's Grand Hotels from the Gilded Age

Florida's Grand Hotels from the Gilded Age
Author: R. Wayne Ayers
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 134
Release: 2005-10-05
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1439617120
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Florida in the late 1800s was a paradise waiting to be discovered. During this period, two visionary tycoons of the Gilded Age set out on separate ventures that would transform the Sunshine State from Americas last frontier into a destination for the rich and famous. The grand hotels that Henry M. Flagler and Henry B. Plant opened at their planned resort sites offered a fantasy stay surrounded by all the accoutrements expected by sophisticated, Gilded Age patrons. Floridas Grand Hotels from the Gilded Age provides a look at these magnificent structures during their glory years, along with the fashionable entertainment and social and recreational pastimes that engaged their gilded guests.

Ormond Beach

Ormond Beach
Author: Ormund Beach Historical Trust Inc
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 132
Release: 1999
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780738502571
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The Ormond Beach area's earliest known inhabitants were the Timucua Indians, whose primitive, blunt-nosed canoes skimmed the waters of the Halifax and Tomoka Rivers in northeast Volusia County. Soon, hardy settlers also made their way to the area--brothers John Andrew and Charles Bostrom were attracted by the mighty oaks and sparkling spring water in 1868 and were soon followed by other rugged visionaries. As the town grew, entrepreneurs began their work, and one of the most famous area landmarks, the Hotel Ormond, was opened in 1888. At the turn of the century, the hard-packed white sands of the nearby beach became a natural proving ground for gas- and steam-driven horseless carriages--the original "birthplace of speed." The region was blessed with abundant resources, a mild and inviting climate, and natural beauty, all of which served to entice John D. Rockefeller, perhaps Ormond Beach's most famous resident, to spend his winters in the area. His three-story home now serves the community as a cultural center and museum.

The British Hotel Through the Ages

The British Hotel Through the Ages
Author: Mary Cathcart Borer
Publisher: Lutterworth Press
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2021-05-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 071884842X
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The first inns in Britain were built by the Romans, for the accommodation of road builders and government officials. Their history since then ranges from pilgrim hostels built by monasteries to coaching inns and palatial railway hotels. Throughout this book runs a rich vein of social history detailing the food, drink, furnishings and costs of British hotels. Travellers' tales, both British and foreign, from the sixteenth century onwards, are quoted at length, so that the book comes alive with first-hand impressions. We learn how some of the Regency Hotels of London came into being, such as Grillion's, where Louis XVIII stayed in 1814, and there are accounts of the early railway hotels, and the great provincial hotels of Britain's coast and countryside. Mary Cathcart Borer's study still provides a detailed historical perspective of her subject almost fifty years on from its first publication, while at the same time offering a glimpse of contemporary attitudes to the rapidly expanding British hotel trade in the 1970s.

Big Bill

Big Bill
Author: H.A. Branham
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2015-03-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0771017685
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The first major authorized biography of NASCAR founder, Bill France Sr. Big Bill is the consummate "insider" book on the life and legend of NASCAR founder Bill France and tells the tale of a classic American success story. France Sr. brought his family to Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1934, put down roots and immersed himself in the business of racing, both as a driver and an owner. Nicknamed "Big Bill" because of his 6-foot-5 stature, he made significant contributions to the racing world - he founded NASCAR in December 1947, built Daytona International Speedway in 1959 and built Talladega Superspeedway in 1969, and landed the landmark R.J. Reynolds/Winston sponsorship deal in 1971 that not only transformed NASCAR but also transformed corporate sponsorship of sports in America. The France family has spent the last 30 years gathering a vast collection of files and material about their family patriarch and has turned over countless interviews -- both written and taped -- as well as NASCAR documents, memorabilia, memos, letters and various other materials to the author for this definitive biography. Big Bill offers NASCAR fans a rich, entertaining, emotional, and detailed story about America's most recognized and admired racing family.

Florida's Past

Florida's Past
Author: Gene Burnett
Publisher: Pineapple Press Inc
Total Pages: 298
Release: 1996-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781561641178
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Virtually every month for fourteen years, Gene Burnett wrote a history piece under the title "Florida's Past" for Florida Trend, Florida's respected magazine of business and finance. The first volume of collected essays from that series proved so popular among book readers that two more volumes have been published. Pineapple Press is now proud to make them available in paperback. Burnett's easygoing style and his sometimes surprising choice of topics make history good reading. Each volume divides Florida's people and events into Achievers and Pioneers, Villains and Characters, Heroes and Heroines, War and Peace, and Calamities and Social Turbulence. Read a chapter and you'll find you've gone on to read more. Read this volume and you'll find yourself looking for the next two. Next in series > > See all of the books in this series