The Rolyat Hotel, now the

Stetson University College of Law Stetson University College of Law (Stetson Law), founded in 1900 and part of Stetson University, is Florida's first law school. Originally located near the university's main campus in DeLand, Florida, the law school moved in 1954 to Gulfport, Flor ...

, is located in

Gulfport, Florida Gulfport is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, bordering St. Petersburg, South Pasadena, and Boca Ciega Bay. The population of Gulfport was 12,029 at the 2010 census. Gulfport is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater me ...

Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 959,107. The county is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg– Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical ...

on the west coast of Florida. In the early 1900s, Gulfport experienced its share of the Great Florida Land Boom, with the development of Pasadena-on-the-Gulf, now called Pasadena Estates. Pasadena Progress was the official newsletter published for the new Pasadena-on-the-Gulf community. This development was designed as a "residential paradise", and the Rolyat Hotel was the last phase of construction before the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

hit. Built in 1925, the Hotel Rolyat (Taylor spelled backwards) was named after I.M. Jack Taylor, its owner and the president of Pasadena Estates, also known as "Handsome Jack" Taylor. The architectural firm of Kiehnel & Elliott of Miami, Florida designed the Spanish-themed hotel under the direction of project architect Paul Reed. George A. Fuller Construction Company of New York City served as the general contractor and

John Wanamaker John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838December 12, 1922) was an American merchant and religious, civic and political figure, considered by some to be a proponent of advertising and a "pioneer in marketing". He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a ...

supplied the furnishings and china. The Rolyat opened January 1, 1926 with celebrities in attendance and champagne flowing in the main fountain.

Description

Architecture

Designed to replicate a Spanish feudal castle with buildings surrounding a central plaza. The main tower was designed to resemble the

Torre Del Oro The Torre del Oro ( ar, بُرْج الذَّهَب, burj aḏẖ-ḏẖahab, lit=Tower of Gold) is a dodecagonal military watchtower in Seville, southern Spain. It was erected by the Almohad Caliphate in order to control access to Seville via th ...

(Tower of Gold) in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, Spain. The Rolyat boasted 100 guest rooms on its property of several buildings, towers, fountains and arcades. The roof tiles came from Spanish monasteries; they were made by hand and created by shaping the clay over the upper leg. "All the woodwork is of solid

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

timbers colored and antiqued...with wooded trusses having ornamental bands-and the wooden timbers are brilliantly decorated with many colors on Medieval lines."

Amenities

*Horse stables *Golf *Fishing *Tropical gardens

Rolyat Hotel Owner/Operators

*I.M. Jack Taylor 1925-1927 *Soren Lund 1928 (leased) *Hugh Jay Fuller Company, New York 1929

Famous Guests

Baseball

* George Herman "Babe" Ruth *

Jimmie Foxx James Emory Foxx (October 22, 1907 – July 21, 1967), nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, ...

Mickey Cochrane Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane (April 6, 1903 – June 28, 1962), nicknamed "Black Mike", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detro ...

Rube Marquard Richard William "Rube" Marquard (October 9, 1886 – June 1, 1980) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball in the 1910s and early 1920s. He achieved his greatest success with the New York Giants. He was inducted into the Ba ...

Cy Perkins Ralph Foster "Cy" Perkins (February 27, 1896 – October 2, 1963) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball most notably for the Philadelphia Athletics. Perkins batted and th ...

Golf

Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tiger ...

Chick Evans Charles E. "Chick" Evans Jr. (July 18, 1890 – November 6, 1979) was an American amateur golfer of the 1910s and 1920s. Evans, who won the 1910 Western Open, became the first amateur to win both the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in one year, a f ...

Gene Sarazen Gene Sarazen (; born Eugenio Saraceni, February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of seven major championships. He is one of five players (along ...

Jock Hutchinson Jack Falls "Jock" Hutchison (June 6, 1884 – September 27, 1977) was a Scottish professional golfer. Hutchison was born in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, the son of William and Helen ( née Falls). His name was registered as John Waters Hutc ...

Joe Kirkwood, Sr. Joseph Henry Kirkwood Sr. (3 April 1897 – 29 October 1970) was a professional golfer who is acknowledged as having put Australian golf on the world map. Born in Sydney, Australia, Kirkwood left home at age ten to work on a sheep station i ...

* Laurie Ayton *Bob Macdonald * Bobby Jones

Socialites/Entertainers

Cornelius Vanderbilt III Brigadier General Cornelius "Neily" Vanderbilt III (September 5, 1873 – March 1, 1942) was an American military officer, inventor, engineer, and yachtsman. He was a member of the Vanderbilt family. Early life Born in New York City to Cornelius ...

Daniel Guggenheim Daniel Guggenheim (July 9, 1856 – September 28, 1930) was an American mining magnate and philanthropist, and a son of Meyer and Barbara Guggenheim. By 1910 he directed the world's most important group of mining interests. He was forced out ...

Frieda Hempel Frieda Hempel (26 June 1885 – 7 October 1955) was a German lyric coloratura soprano singer in operatic and concert work who had an international career in Europe and the United States. Life Hempel was born in Leipzig and studied first at th ...

- Opera singer *

Galli-Curci Amelita Galli-Curci (18 November 1882 – 26 November 1963) was an Italian coloratura soprano. She was one of the most popular operatic singers of the 20th century, with her recordings selling in large numbers. Early life She was born as Am ...

- Opera singer

Historical Events

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

signed his 1932

Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

contract officially in the lounge and a second time for photographs in the Plaza Mayor at the Rolyat Hotel. *

John Coolidge John Calvin Coolidge (September 7, 1906 – May 31, 2000) was an American executive, businessman, and entrepreneur with the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, and the first son of President Calvin Coolidge and Grace Coolidge. Early life ...

(son of ex-President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

) and Florence Trumbull's hosted their 1928 engagement party at the hotel.

Past and Current Occupants

*Florida Military Academy (1932-1951) *

(1954–present)

Photographs

http://digital.archives.stetson.edu/cdm/search/collection/LawRolyat Hotel Rolyat Burgert Brothers Photographs

References

{{Stetson University Buildings and structures in Pinellas County, Florida Kiehnel and Elliott buildings Hotels in Florida Stetson University 1925 establishments in Florida