Everglades Hotel

Everglades Hotel
General information
Status	Demolished
Type	Hotel
Location	244 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, Florida, United States
Opening	1927 (1927)
Closed	2004; 20 years ago (2004)
Demolished	January 23, 2005; 19 years ago (2005-01-23)
Technical details
Floor count	23
Other information
Number of rooms	376
Number of restaurants	3

History

Construction of the hotel was completed just before the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926, which flooded the lobby.^[1]

Television station WTVJ (channel 4, now 6) originally had its transmitter atop the hotel when it signed on the air in 1949.^{[citation needed]}

In September 1957, Miami real estate developer Vaughan Connelly bought the hotel for $2 million ($21.7 million in 2023).^[2] He subsequently took out a mortgage on the property from the Teamsters Union, who foreclosed on the mortgage and acquired the property in 1960.^[3] By April 1963, Connelly was bankrupt.^[4] In May 1964, Connelly testified in court that he was required to pay 10% of the amount he borrowed from the Teamsters, then led by Jimmy Hoffa, as under-the-table commissions.^[5] Hoffa was convicted of fraud for his involvement with loans and kickbacks, including for the Everglades Hotel.^[6]

The building was demolished on January 23, 2005, to make room for new construction. The new hotel was originally named Everglades on the Bay; it was later renamed Vizcayne.

References

1. The Loizeaux Group, LLC (January 23, 2005). "The Everglades - Forever Gone". Controlled Demolition, Inc. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
2. Hesser, Charles (January 16, 1959). "Hoffa Moving In On Miami". The Miami News. p. 1. Retrieved March 17, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
3. "Hotel Sold to Union on Courthouse Steps". Evening World Herald. Omaha, Nebraska. AP. September 28, 1960. p. 13. Retrieved March 17, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
4. "Business Property To Pay Settlement". Fort Lauderdale News. April 8, 1963. p. 16A. Retrieved March 17, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
5. "Miamian: Teamster Loan Cost $300,000". The Miami News. AP. May 16, 1964. p. 2. Retrieved March 17, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
6. Sidlo, Steve (December 7, 1978). "Landmark Everglades Hotel Sold". The Miami News. p. 1D. Retrieved March 17, 2024 – via newspapers.com.

External links

• Video of implosion