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Thursday, 20 May 2010 |
Mitch Traphagen Photo
The Floridan Hotel on North Florida Avenue in downtown Tampa has seen ups and downs over the years. It was once the tallest building in all of Florida — and remained the tallest building in Tampa until 1966. It opened in 1927 and it was literally the place to be for both celebrities and the ultra-cool flyboys training to Tampa to head off to the air war in WWII. Losing its status as the tallest building in town seemed to take the life out of it. In the 1960s, it ceased being a hotel in the traditional sense and by the 1980s it was effectively a flophouse for transients. Today there is hope for a renewal but the market for such things has changed and dates have slipped. Perhaps someday we’ll all be able to toast the past from the Sapphire Room. Tom Christy of Apollo Beach (I think I know what we’ll be drinking for a toast, Tequila Tom! Thanks for the note.) recognized it as did Robin Greenwood (great to hear from you! I absolutely will visit soon) and Justina Horvath (and I’ve missed hearing from you, Justina! Thanks for the note!). This week we have the coolest place in Florida from which you could mail a postcard. In fact, there’s nothing else like it in America. Do you know where this is? E-mail
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— or, perhaps, send me a postcard from the coolest post office in Florida.
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