Mayfair Inn Lobby 1946

Mayfair Inn Lobby 1946

Mayfair Inn Lobby

Tourism--Florida

Newspapers

Hotels--Florida

Hotel lobbies

Resorts--Florida

The Mayfair Inn lobby in 1946. 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. 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. The Foundation later sold the building to the New Tribes Mission in 1977. The New Tribes Mission's goal is to reach tribes who have no access to the Gospel through translated publications and missionary work.

The old Mayfair Hotel in 1946...It was a place for elegant dining, tea dances and chamber music.

Carpenter, Linda

Original photograph taken by Linda Carpenter, 1946: The Sentinel Star.

1946

Print newspaper reproduction of original photograph, Cities and Towns Collection, Sanford Collection, Mayfair Hotel Collection, Museum of Seminole County History, Sanford, Florida.

Digital reproduction of print newspaper reproduction of original photograph, Cities and Towns Collection, Sanford Collection, Mayfair Hotel Collection, Museum of Seminole County History.

Cities and Towns Collection, Sanford Collection, Mayfair Hotel Collection, Museum of Seminole County History, Sanford, Florida.

Hotel Forrest Lake Collection, Sanford Collection, Seminole County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.

image/jpeg

1,888 KB

1 black and white photograph

eng

Still Image

Sanford, Florida

28.811748, -81.257222

1946

Donation

Originally created by Linda Carpenter and published by The Seminole Sentinel.

Copyright to this resource is held by The Seminole Sentinel and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.

Cepero, Laura

Sanford Historical Society (Fla.). Sanford. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2003.

Sanford Historic Preservation Board. "The Sanford Historic Preservation Board Presents the Sanford Historic Downtown Walking Tour." http://sanfordhistory.tripod.com/Links/wtour.pdf.

"Hotel Forrest Lake - 1925"

1 black and white photograph