Historic Timeline

 

1924 George Merrick announced his plans to build a magnificent hotel inspired by Spain’s Giralda Towers.
1925 Casa Loma was built.
1926 Biltmore’s grand opening with over 1,500 guests.
1929 Hotel filed for bankruptcy and sold.
1930 Hotel reopens for winter, but it struggles financially.
1931 Henry Doherty took over the Hotel with a 3 year lease with the holding company.
1938 Doherty purchased the Hotel which was doing extremely well.
1942 Federal government takes the hotel by eminent domain and turned it into a military hospital and a POW center. The Federal government owned the Hotel from 1942 to 1973.
1943 The Biltmore Hotel becomes the “Army Air Forces Regional Station Hospital at Coral Gables”. (Casa Loma contained the nurses’ quarters)
1944 The war department built an area on the West side of the Hotel (next to Casa Loma). This included an additional 175 beds, rehab arts/crafts studio, offices, medical supply warehouse and a psychiatric ward.
1947 City leased the golf course from the VA hospital and re-opened it to members.
1952-1969 The University of Miami signed with the VA Hospital and turned the East wing into the school of medicine.
1966 The City of Coral Gables bought the Golf Course from the Federal government.
1968 VA Hospital relocated and the Biltmore closed its doors.
1970 Developer, Maston O’Neil offered to swap land in Florida cities for the Biltmore complex. He planned to build apartment buildings and renovate the Hotel. His contract with GSA was eventually rescinded
1972 The Biltmore was listed in the National Registrar of Historic Places
1973 The Biltmore was transferred to the City of Coral Gables (5.5 acres comprising the Hotel and Country Club. The other 14.5 acres came to the City under the Legacy of Parks Program).
1974 Casa Loma was demolished with all its contents.
1977 The Federal government awarded the City of Coral Gables $6m grant to build a 500-car the parking garage and reconstructed the Country Club and Golf Course. The City thought of turning the Hotel into a 175 rental luxury apartment and 10 hotel suites.
1979 The Metropolitan Museum and Art Center opened in the Country Club.
1980 Ideas of turning the Biltmore into high value rental apartments was brought to the Commission.
1984 City Commission agreed to negotiate with a developer (Coral Gables Biltmore Corp) to rehab the Hotel with 196- rooms. Also this year, the Federal government transferred ownership of the land where the proposed parking garage was to be built, to the City of Coral Gables. Finally, the parking garage was approved with an agreement to review the traffic situation every 2 years.
1985 City of Coral Gables Planning and Zoning approved the proposed project from Coral Gables Biltmore Corporation, except for the parking garage, citing too little spaces. Neighbors complaint about the potential traffic congestion. (The City has owned the Hotel for 10 years and has struggled to find a suitable use for the Hotel. The building has been abandoned for 17 years, with little to no maintenance).
1986 The formal renovations began.
1987 This Christmas Eve, 27 guests checked into the Hotel. The renovations were not completed. On January 16th of this same year, exactly 61 years and one day after the Hotel’s first opening, it hosted a gala with 650 guests. It was a Preservation Ball.
1988 Fire damages 30 guest rooms. Later, it was determined that it was arson.
1989 The Metropolitan Museum of Art moves out of the Country Club. Also, this year the Biltmore final details of restoration were completed.
1990 The Hotel closed due to bankruptcy (though the Country Club, Golf course and other areas were left opened for photo shoots and wedding).
1991 Gene Prescott and Robert Kay from Seaway Group bought the default mortgage from Barnett Bank.
1992 City Commission voted unanimously to extend a longtime Lease to Seaway to operate the Biltmore Hotel. This same year in September, it had a “soft” opening. This year in August, when Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida, the Biltmore once again served as a place for refuge. It housed rescue workers and people who were left homeless.
1994 The Biltmore seeks approval to host the first ever Summit of the Americas.
1995 The Summit of the Americas was hosted by the Biltmore
1996 The Biltmore celebrates its 70th Birthday. Also this year, it was designated as a National Historic Landmark
1998 Seaway builds the Conference Center of the Americas, located in the former Country Club building at a cost of $13 million
2000 The Conference Center of the Americas (CCA) opened.
2001 The Hotel celebrated its 75th Birthday Gala
2007 The Biltmore’s Donald Ross Golf course undergoes a $5 million renovation