The communications facility at the New Tribes Mission, located at 1000 East First Street in Sanford, Florida. Originally named after the Sanford Mayor and president of Seminole County Bank, construction of the Forrest Lake Hotel began in 1916. Local architect Elton J. Moughton designed the hotel. In 1925, Hotel Forrest Lake opened and became a popular destination for tourists visiting Sanford. By 1929, the hotel closed after the stock market crash and the downfall of Florida's tourism and real estate boom. William E. Kirchhoff leased the building in 1934 and the hotel reopened in 1935 with the new name Mayfair Hotel. Under Kirchhoff's ownership, the Mayfair Hotel became known as one of the finest hotels in the South. Kirchhoff sold the hotel in 1948 to Horace Stoneham, owner of the New York Giants. Stoneham then sold the building to the Bernard McFadden Foundation in 1963 and the new owner significantly altered the building to house students from the Sanford Naval Academy. After the Naval Air Station Sanford acquired $1.3 million to fund the construction of a naval academy in 1963, the Foundation made significant alterations to the building to house students from the Sanford Naval Academy. In 1967, the Bernard McFadden Gymnasium was constructed on the property. The New Tribes Mission purchased the building and property in 1977 and converted the gymnasium into a communications facility. The New Tribes Mission's goal is to reach tribes who have no access to the Gospel through translated publications and missionary work.
Creator
Cepero, Laura
Source
Original color digital image by Laura Cepero, June 10, 2011.