Dixie Walesbilt Hotel

Dixie Walesbilt Hotel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	Lake Wales, Florida
Coordinates:	27°54′7″N 81°35′24″W / 27.90194°N 81.59°W / 27.90194; -81.59Coordinates: 27°54′7″N 81°35′24″W / 27.90194°N 81.59°W / 27.90194; -81.59
Built:	1926[2]
Architect:	D.J. Phipps, Fred Bishop[2][1]
Architectural style:	Masonry Vernacular with Mediterranean Revival elements[2]
Governing body:	Local
NRHP Reference#:	90001273[1]
Added to NRHP:	August 31, 1990

The Dixie Walesbilt Hotel (also known as the Grand Hotel) is a historic hotel in Lake Wales, Florida, United States located at 115 North 1st Street. The Walesbilt Hotel was renamed the Grand by a New York owner during the 1980s. The structure was built in 1926 after a stock-sale campaign in the local business community. It opened in January 1927, two years before Edward Bok's famous Bok Tower was completed nearby. In 1995 it was sold at auction and closed, then the interior was partially dismantled for reconstruction, which was never completed. In February of 2010, a redevelopment agreement was proposed between the City of Lake Wales and a private sector developer to return the hotel to its original finishes and repurpose the building as residential units and 17,000 square feet (1,600 m²) of commercial space.

The interior of the building is even more ornate than the exterior, featuring shopping arcades, Italian-made ceilings and column capitals, marble and wrought iron, a central atrium, etc. Construction is of steel-reinforced poured concrete in post-and-beam method, without bearing walls. It suffered only superficial damage during the hurricanes of 2004. On August 31, 1990 it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "National Register of Historical Places - Florida (FL), Polk County". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-03-06. http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/FL/Polk/state.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Grand Hotel". Florida Heritage Tourism Interactive Catalog. Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs. 2007-03-06. http://www.flheritage.com/services/sites/fht/record_t.cfm?ID=836&type=c&index=53. 

External links

• Polk County listings, Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs