The Palm Beach Biltmore is a historic condominium in Palm Beach, Florida, United States. It is located at 150 Bradley Place. Constructed by the Southern Florida Realty Company under the ownership of Gustave Maurice Heckscher at a cost of $7 million (1926 USD), the building originally opened in February 1926 as the Alba Hotel, which consisted of 12 floors and 550 rooms. Ownership changed several times from the 1920s to the 1970s, going into receivership in May 1926, and then becoming part of the Ambassador Hotel system by 1928, being renamed the Ambassador Hotel in 1929. After buying the property in 1934, Henry Latham Doherty switched the name to the Biltmore Hotel, as he also owned the Miami Biltmore Hotel. Between 1942 and 1945, the hotel served as the training grounds for the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve, also known as SPARS, and a United States Naval hospital due to World War II. After Conrad Hilton bought the Biltmore Hotel in 1946, a few other changes in ownership occurred from the 1940s to the 1970s. With the exception of the World War II era, the Biltmore Hotel opened each winter season until 1969–70, when the owners foreclosed on the property. In October 1977, Stanley Harte bought the hotel from John D. MacArthur and converted the interior of the main building into 128 condominium units; the first tenant moved in in October 1980. The town of Palm Beach designated the Biltmore Condominium main building as a historic landmark in 1991. Several notable individuals stayed on the property both during its hotel era and as a condominium.
History From 1902 to 1925, the original Palm Beach Hotel occupied the site of the present-day Palm Beach Biltmore. Embers from a fire started at The Breakers on March 18, 1925, landed on the 400-room hotel, causing the building to rapidly burn down. Although the owner, Sidney Maddock, declined to rebuild and moved away, another structure called the Palm Beach Hotel was constructed along the north side of Sunrise Avenue and opened in January 1926. A few months after the fire, the site of the old Palm Beach Hotel was cleared out and prepared for a new building. In July 1925, it was announced that Gustave Maurice Heckscher and his father, August, would construct a $7 million hotel, to be named the "Alba Hotel" in honor of Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 17th Duke of Alba, and that the duo had obtained a $1.2 million mortgage loan. Architectural firm Allen & De Young designed the building, while Pedro Murguinza designed the gardens and furnishings. The Alba Hotel was scheduled to be opened on January 1, 1926. Approximately 1,400 people "have been working day and night to complete it" between June 15 and February 1926, according to The New York Times.
The Alba Hotel opened on February 1, 1926, with the formal opening event held on February 17, which was attended by almost 1,000 people, including Irving Caesar, James H. R. Cromwell, Anita Loos, Alexander Moore, Ida Tarbell, and the wives of Paris Singer and Edward T. Stotesbury. During the hotel's first season, notable guests were the Mastbaum and Annenberg families, with Enid, Evelyn, and Janet later buying winter homes in Palm Beach. However, the hotel went into bankruptcy by May, with American National Bank and Trust Company vice president J. Warren Smith being named as the receiver by judge William Irwin Grubb. The hotel reopened in January 1927 for the winter season, which saw the arrival of Irving Berlin, W. C. Fields, George Gershwin, Arthur Hammerstein, Jimmy Walker, and Adolph Zukor. About eight months later, the Alba Hotel was sold by its trustees at an auction for about $4.66 million to a New York City hotelier. By 1928, the building became part of the Ambassador Hotel system, before being renamed the Ambassador in May 1929. Additionally, the Ambassador Hotel system purchased property owned by J. Leonard Replogle in 1928 and transformed it into bathing beach and clubhouse. During the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane in September, some roof tiles blew away, causing water damage after rain leaked inside. About a month following the storm, the Alba Hotel was approved for a rebuilding permit for repair work projects costing about $125,000. Notably, Harry Warner and Zukor stayed at the Alba Hotel during the 1929 winter season. Nina Koshetz and Howard Lanin's orchestra both performed at the hotel's ballroom two years later. After buying the property in 1934, Henry Latham Doherty renamed it the Biltmore Hotel, as he owned another building with the same name in Coral Gables.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
