Everglades Hotel
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| Everglades Hotel | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Interactive map of the Everglades Hotel area | |
| General information | |
| Status | Demolished |
| Type | Hotel |
| Location | 244 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, Florida, United States |
| Opening | September 1926 |
| Closed | 2003 |
| Demolished | January 23, 2005 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 23 |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 376 |
| Number of restaurants | 3 |
Everglades Hotel was a historic 16-floor 1926 hotel[1] tipped by a Giralda tower[2] in Downtown Miami, Florida. It was once the largest hotel in the city.[citation needed] The building was demolished on January 23, 2005, to make room for new construction. The new hotel was originally named Everglades on the Bay; it was later renamed Vizcayne. The hotel was designed and built by New York City based real estate developer Fred F. French's company.[3]
Construction of the hotel was completed just before the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926, which flooded the lobby.[4]
Television station WTVJ (channel 4, now 6) originally had its transmitter atop the hotel when it signed on the air in 1949.[citation needed]
In September 1957, Miami real estate developer Vaughan Connelly bought the hotel for $2 million ($22.9 million in 2025).[5] He subsequently took out a mortgage on the property from the Teamsters Union, who foreclosed on the mortgage and acquired the property in 1960.[6] By April 1963, Connelly was bankrupt.[7] In May 1964, Connelly testified in court that he was required to pay 10% of the amount he borrowed from the Teamsters, then led by Jimmy Hoffa, as under-the-table commissions.[8] Hoffa was convicted of fraud for his involvement with loans and kickbacks, including for the Everglades Hotel.[9]
The building was demolished on January 23, 2005, to make room for new construction. The new hotel was originally named Everglades on the Bay; it was later renamed Vizcayne.