Sanford House Hotel Park

Sanford House Hotel Park

Sanford House Hotel Park

Sanford, Henry Shelton, 1823-1891

Docks--United States

Waterways--Florida

Parks--Florida

Sanford (Fla.)

Hotels--Florida

The Sanford House Hotel Park, adjoining the Sanford House Hotel, overlooked the waterfront of Lake Monroe at Commercial Street and Palmetto Avenue in Sanford, Florida in 1934. The hotel was built by Henry Sanford (1823-1891) with the intent of attracting tourists and providing housing for would-be wealthy settlers to the city of Sanford. The Sanford House Hotel was joined by the Lake Monroe House, a lower-cost alternative geared towards laborers, both of which were completed in 1876. Facing the waterfront, the hotel was located at the intersection of Commercial Street and Palmetto Avenue. The Sanford House Hotel featured three stories – two of which included porches – and enough rooms to serve 150 guests. The hotel’s landscaping included flower beds and citrus trees. A boardwalk led visitors straight from the hotel to the shores of Lake Monroe. 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. At the turn of the century, the Sanford House Hotel was the center of all major city events and celebrations. While guide books from the period often included positive reference to the hotel, it failed to attract many visitors. The hotel did not make any profit during its first years of operation. By its third year, the 1879-1880 season, the hotel netted only $800 in profits. The hotel continued to make meager profits for the remainder of the nineteenth century. Nonetheless, it served as a central point of focus during city celebrations during the period.

Seal on back of photograph, "A. Wiebolt, May 31, 1934, Sanford, Fla."

Chase & Company

Original 8.5 x 11 inch black and white photograph by Chase & Company, May 31, 1934: Chase Collection (MS 14), box 211, folder 3.30A, item CC 116, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

A. Wiebolt

1934-05-31

Digital reproduction of original 8.5 x 11 inch black and white photograph by Chase & Company.

Chase Collection (MS 14), box 211, folder 3.30A, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Sanford Collection, Chase Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.

Folder referenced in Chase Collection finding guide, http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/chase.htm.

image/jpeg

135 KB

8.5 x 11 inch black and white photograph

eng

Still Image

Sanford, Florida

28.812552, -81.265362

1876-01-01/1934-05-31

Donation

SS.K.A.1.2; SS.K.G.1.4; SS.K.G.2.1; SS.K.G.3.2; SS.K.G.3.3; SS.1.A.1.1; SS.1.A.2.2; SS.1.G.1.4; SS.1.G.1.6; SS.2.A.1.1; SS.3.A.1.1; SS.3.G.1.1; SS.3.G.2.4; SS.3.G.2.6; SS.3.G.3.1; SS.3.G.4.1; SS.4.A.1.1; SS.4.A.7.2; SS.4.G.1.1; SS.4.G.1.3; SS.5.A.1.1; SS.5.G.1.3; SS.5.G.1.4; SS.6.W.1.3; SS.7.G.2.3; SS.8.A.1.2; SS.8.A.1.5 SS.8.G.2.1; SS.912.A.1.1; SS.912.A.1.4; SS.912.A.1.6; SS.912.A.5.12; SS.912.G.1.2; SS.912.G.1.4; SS.912.G.2.1; SS.912.G.3.2; SS.912.G.5.1; SS.912.W.1.3

History Teacher

Geography Teacher

Entire Chase Collection is comprised of four separate accessions from various donors, including Cecilia Johnson, the granddaughter of Joshua Coffin Chase and the children of Randall Chase.

The displayed collection item is housed at Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Rights to this item belong to the said institution, and therefore inquiries about the item should be directed there. RICHES of Central Florida has obtained permission from Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida to display this item for educational purposes only.

Special and Area Studies Collections, University of Florida

Marra, Katherine

Molloy, Leo T. Henry Shelton Sanford (1823-1891). Derby, Connecticut: Valley Historical Research Committee, 2009.

Sanford Historical Society, Inc. Sanford. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2003.

Henry Shelton Sanford Papers. General Sanford Memorial Library, Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.

Mills, Jerry W., and F. Blair Reeves. A Chronology of the Development of the City of Sanford, Florida: With Major Emphasis on Early Growth, 1975.

Fry, Joseph A. Henry S. Sanford: Diplomacy and Business in Nineteenth Century America. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1982.

1 black and white photograph

8.5 x 11 inch