Real estate broker Ed Haley staked his fame and fortune on the Fort Harrison, that turned out to be the longreigning grande dame of Clearwater.
1 months later, newspaper described the newest Year’s party at hotel as the most brilliant common events in Clearwater history.
While opening of ‘million dollar’ Fort Harrison, the Clearwater Evening Sun trumpeted the November 1. So, while wedding receptions, card parties, bridge teas and Kiwanis and Rotary meetings, when the Florida land boom went bust and nation staggered under the OK Depression, the Fort Harrison winter calendar included fashion shows. Then the Fort Harrison Orchestra performed in the ballroom. That is interesting right? The Fort Harrison forged its own chapter in Florida history, an uncommon chronicle of a building that has evolved over time to happen to be a moral retreat, home base for the Scientology religion and an essential hub for regional charities and events.
In the mid 1970s, Scientology Church saw past faded façade and brought Fort Harrison out of retirement and into service as an ethic retreat and community hub, ‘jumpstarting’ the revival of downtown Clearwater.
Twin stars, these complementary structures of Mediterranean Revival design have been connected by a third story skywalk and by their central role in Scientology aspirations religion.
Scientology center and community activities since 1975, Fort Harrison now is joined with modern Flag Building across Fort Harrison Avenue at Pierce Street. Normally, Alyssa, wouldn’t be leted to attend her school’s ‘daddy daughter’ dance, she was crushed, when Trisha Palacios learned her eight year pretty old daughter. By 1970s, Fort Harrison had joined so ranks vast amount of aging grand Florida hotels out of date and out of uch with the newest trends of ‘year round’ urism and families headed to beaches and theme parks. Oldsmobile inventor Ransom Olds traded a racetrack for Fort ownership Harrison and ran hotel until his death in the Jack Tar Hotel group purchased property in 1953, adding air conditioning, an auditorium and a wing of cabanas overlooking the pool, right after the war.
When speculators and developers descended on Florida in droves, the Fort story Harrison began in the late 1800s and later 1900s building railroads, draining marshes and erecting grand hotels sculpted with ‘Gatsby like’ splendor from Key West and Palm Beach to St.
Petersburg.
Augustine and across to Mexico Gulf and St. 1920s framework was refitted with 21st century infrastructure. Basically the rooftop Crystal Ballroom where Ellington, Basie and Kenton performed was transformed far beyond its original opulence. Grand lobby regained its original wroughtiron and brass balustrades, checkerboard marble floor and gold leafed Corinthian columns. Basically the troops in turn entertained the community with Christmas parties, open houses and plays and with humorous columns in Clearwater Sun. That is interesting. There’s no daddy in the picture.
Alyssa is always a second grader at Eisenhower Elementary School in Clearwater. Her father was deported from the country when she was she was a baby. With more than 350 neighboring tradespeople and businesses participating in stripping its 267000 square feet to bare beams and rebuilding and refurbishing it p to bottom, a 11month facility restoration was completed in March 2009. Palacios spent months doing best in order to learn a male family acquaintance to get Alyssa to the dance, and when she couldn’t look for one who was reachable, she decided she would make her. Needless to say, a staff member at the school ld her that was not planning to happen. Fort Harrison day serves as a moral retreat for Scientologists visiting Clearwater.