The Country Club at Snell Isle

Now part of the Renaissance Vinoy Gulf Club in St. Petersburg, this building used to be the Snell Isle Golf Club or the Sunset Country Club. It was built in the 1920s by C. Perry Snell. Snell started out as a pharmacist from Kentucky, then married well and came to St. Petersburg for a honeymoon. He ended up as one of the city's most prominent Boom Time developers. Snell Isle was built in the mid 1920s as an upscale development. Like so many other Florida developers, the end of the Boom hit Snell hard, but he perserved to finish Snell Isle. He enjoyed travel and collecting art work, some of which he incorporated into developments and buildings. The panther street signs in Snell Isle have an European heritage.



















(My Florida History - Old Houses on Campus included one of Snell's homes in St. Petersburg.)

Florida News

"Song picks won't have anyone leaving the show humming " (Daytona Beach News-Journal, December 14, 2007) "...the No. 1 requirement for a state song: A marching band must be able to play it."

"New study explores economic impact of Daytona International Speedway" (Orlando Sentinel, December 18, 2007) "The Daytona 500, considered the most prestigious race in the NASCAR circuit, had its first run in 1959."

"A Shining Beacon" (Tampa Tribune, December 19, 2007) Plant Hall at the University of Tampa

"Bayshore Still 'A Special Place'" (Tampa Tribune, December 18, 2007) "For more than a century Bayshore Boulevard has been Tampa's showcase, its jewel, touted as having one of the world's longest uninterrupted sidewalks."

"Old military ordnance not uncommon find in Florida " (Daytona Beach News-Journal, December 16, 2007)

"Quick 6: Homes for the holidays" (Sun Sentinel, December 13, 2007)

"Audubon Christmas Bird Count adds Clewiston area" (The News-Press, December 13, 2007)

"New program would help old homes" (St. Petersburg Times, December 16, 2007)

"Disney works its magic on its golf courses as well" (Toronto Star, December 15, 2007)

"Water crisis threatens Apalachicola oysters" (Miami Herald, December 17, 2007)

"Dan Warren recounts civil rights struggle in new book" (Daytona Beach News Journal, December 19, 2007)

Florida News

"Pirates...extremists all" (Fort Myers Florida Weekly, December 6, 2007)

"Monday Chat with Willy Johns: Seminole tribe historian looks toward future" (TCPalm, December 2, 2007)

"McCarty House fire was set by someone, but not sure if intentional" (TCPalm, December 5, 2007)

"Former local developer has big plans for a Florida ranch" (Virginian Pilot, December 5, 2007)

"1920s and '30s Saw the Start of Many Local Traditions" (High school football in Lakeland, The Ledger, November 29, 2007)

"America's first Christmas was right here" (Tallahassee Democrat, December 1, 2007)

"Challenging the Citrus Status Quo" (The Ledger, December 3, 2007)

"Hope floats for revamping historic vessel: The Schooner Western Union Preservation Society is holding a festival Sunday to raise funds to restore the aging wooden boat with a rich history." (Miami Herald, December 1, 2007)

"Work is nearly done at Dubsdread golf course in Orlando" (Orlando Sentinel, December 2, 2007)

"Historic School Falls But Memories Rise" (Meachem Alternative School in Tampa's Central Park Village, Tampa Tribune, December 1, 2007)

More Disney Golf

Imaginerding has a snipet of a 1976 Disney map showing the Magnolia golf course's unique groundskeeper, along with a link to My Florida History's April 2007 entry. Thanks!

Belleview Biltmore

Today's St. Petersburg Times has an article about the current status of the Belleview Biltmore Hotel in the Town of Belleview, just south of Clearwater. In the recent past, the 110-year-old hotel, which is possibly the world's largest inhabited wooden structure, has faced the real possibility of demolition. The issue became so critical that the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2005 list of most endangered historic places included the Belleview Biltmore.

I was at the Biltmore last month, and took a couple of pictures of the reroofing project underway (see above). That's a daunting task, with what must be acres of green shingles!

If you're interested in spending a night or a weekend enjoying the hotel's peaceful ambience or golfing on a historic Donald Ross-designed course, check the hotel's website for contact information. The website also has a very nicely done timeline of the Biltmore's history, starting with its construction in the late 1890s for original owner, Henry B. Plant.

Additional information and images are also available on the website of Save the Biltmore, a group dedicated to the preservation of the Belleview Biltmore.

Disney's Magnolia Golf Course

Florida and Disney, Florida and golf . . . Florida and Disney and golf.

Golf courses were part of the original Walt Disney World plan, with two 18-hole courses built in 1971, the same year the theme park opened. Golf course architect Joseph L. Lee designed both the Magnolia and the Palm courses, which hosted the inaugural Walt Disney Classic in December 1971. (In June 1971, Lee's picture appeared in the New York Times, looking over course blueprints with Mickey Mouse.) Jack Nicklaus won the Classic that year, and the following year, and the year after that. The tournament is still part of the PGA Tour. This year the 37th Annual Disney Golf Classic will be held Oct. - Nov. on the Palm and Magnolia courses, with the final round on the Magnolia. In 1993, Disney brought Lee back to renovate the Magnolia, rebuilding the greens and planting a different kind of grass. The Magnolia has one of the "hidden" Mickey Mouses scatted across Walt Disney World with a mouse-eared sand trap on the 6th hole.

This and That

The Miami Herald reports on efforts to preserve Hialeah Race Track.

A local TV station report about Citizens to Save Hialeah Park.

The Sun-Sentinel reports that the Marjory Stoneman Douglas House will stay where it is.

The Orlando Sentinel has a special report online about Orlando's First Black Police Officials,

and the Florida Times-Union has an online special report about the decommissioning of the USS John F. Kennedy.

The clock in Tampa's city hall is named Hortense.

Beth Dunlop reviews Diaz-Balart Hall, designed by Robert A. M. Stern Associates, on the campus of Florida International University.

A major renovation project will begin soon at the historic Dubsdread Golf Course, built in College Park in the 1920s.