The Streamline Hotel is a
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
located in
Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...
. Opened in 1941, it is the recognized birthplace of the
National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
(NASCAR).
NASCAR
NASCAR founder
Bill France, Sr.
William Henry Getty France (September 26, 1909 – June 7, 1992), also known as Bill France Sr. or Big Bill, was an American businessman and racing driver. He is best known for founding and managing NASCAR, a sanctioning body of US-based stock ca ...
and numerous drivers, officials, and promoters gathered in the Ebony Club's rooftop hotel bar on December 14, 1947. The meeting concerned various issues such as drivers failing to get paid due to promoters leaving races with the gate receipts before they ended, along with the lack of consistent rules. After 69 days of conversations and ideas, the meeting adjourned on February 21, 1948 with the formation of the National Stock Car Racing Association (NSCRA), but was later renamed to NASCAR after it turned out that there was another
sanctioning body
A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...
by that name. NASCAR's first offices were located three blocks away from the hotel at the Selden Bank Building.
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...
is located west of the hotel.
Features
The mint green-painted '
Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...
'-style hotel opened in 1940. It is a four-story building located on the west side of
State Road A1A
State Road A1A (SR A1A) is a major north–south Florida State Road that runs along the Atlantic Ocean, from Key West at the southern tip of Florida, to Fernandina Beach, just south of Georgia on Amelia Island. It is the main road through m ...
, which was once used as part of the
Daytona Beach and Road Course
The Daytona Beach and Road Course was a race track that was instrumental in the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. It originally became famous as the location where 15 world land speed records were set.
Beach and r ...
(another part being the beach itself). A plaque located outside the building proclaims that the hotel is the first building in Daytona Beach to be fireproof, and was also considered as the city's first
bomb shelter
A bomb shelter is a structure designed to provide protection against the effects of a bomb.
Types of shelter
Different kinds of bomb shelters are configured to protect against different kinds of attack and strengths of hostile explosives.
Air ...
. The Streamline Hotel also is the oldest standing hotel in Daytona Beach.
Decay and restoration efforts
The hotel has later grown more decrepit through the years, such as rusty walls and sun damage. A police chief once called the building a "den of
iniquity." However, the plaque stated that the building was restored by owner Eric G. Doyle. In 2006, Frank Heckman, chairman of the Main Street-South Atlantic Avenue Redevelopment Board stated that Daytona Beach expressed interest in purchasing the hotel, potentially converting the building to a NASCAR museum and tourist attraction. $400,000 had reportedly appeared on the board's budget under the "historic preservation" category, which is apparently intended to help restore the hotel. However, Daytona Beach's finance director denied any knowledge of the funds. The building has also been used as a youth
hostel
A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...
and a retirement home owned by an
evangelist
Evangelist may refer to:
Religion
* Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels
* Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ
* Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...
who claimed to have ministered
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
. In 2011, Zetta Baker, one of the founders of the
Victory Lane Racing Association (VLRA), an organization that helps racing families in need, announced at the group's annual meeting that they would purchase the building; however, the deal fell through. In 2014, it was announced that the hotel had been sold to local businessman Eddie Hennessy, who planned to renovate it into a "South Beach, art-deco style boutique hotel". As part of this effort, the hotel was featured on an October 2014 episode of ''
Hotel Impossible
''Hotel Impossible'' is a reality television program from Travel Channel in which struggling non-chain hotels receive an extensive makeover by veteran hotel operator and hospitality expert Anthony Melchiorri and his team. The show premiered on A ...
''. The hotel was renovated and reopened in May 2017. The renovation ended up costing $6 million and included completely gutting the building. The Streamline Hotel went to online auction in April 2019 after Hennessy decided to exit the hotel business. Two weeks after the hotel was taken off the auction block, it was announced the hotel was no longer for sale.
References
External links
*
{{Coord, 29.2235, N, 81.0066, W, display=title
1941 establishments in Florida
Hotel buildings completed in 1941
Buildings and structures in Daytona Beach, Florida
History of NASCAR
Hotels established in 1941
Hotels in Florida
LGBT in Florida