Hotels

Built in 1875 by Henry Sanford, the Sanford House Hotel was able to accommodate over 150 guests. At the turn of the century, the Sanford House Hotel was the center of all major city events and celebrations. The hotel extended all the way from 1st Street to Commercial Street and was the center of the city's social and political life. Rates for a room in 1884 ranged from $15 to $20 per week. The 1887 fire came very close to the Sanford House, and it was feared that sparks would add it to the destruction. What saved it were wet blankets which were draped from the roof and windows. The Sanford House Hotel was torn down in May of 1920.

Sanford's Pico Hotel was built in 1887 for Henry B. Plant, President of the Plant Investment Company or (PICO). The onion-shaped dome located on the southwest corner of the roof resembled a Turkish minaret. The dome was destroyed by a severe thunderstorm in the 1950s and was never replaced. The Pico Hotel served as the terminal hotel for a railroad and two steamship lines owned by Henry Plant. President Calvin Coolidge spent the night at the Pico Hotel during his visit to Sanford.

The Sanford House Hotel, located on Commercial Street and facing Lake Monroe, was built in 1875 and completed in 1876. It was a three-story hotel, with porches on two of the three stories, and could hold 150 guests. The brainchild of Henry Sanford, the hotel was designed to attract tourists to the area, but was unable to turn much of a profit. The hotel was saved from the devastating 1887 fire that consumed much of the Eastern side of the town, by wet blanket being placed upon the roof of the hotel.