Monthly Archives: August 2014

The Ponce de Leon was Henry Flagler’s first hotel venture after founding Standard Oil Company with John D Rockefeller. It was the first large hotel built of poured concrete and opened January 10, 1888. It was four stories high situated on five acres. The dining room could hold 700 people. It is now part of … Continue reading »

Flagler’s second hotel–Alcazar– opened Christmas Day 1888. It closed in 1930 and was virtually abandoned for 10 years. It serves today as City Hall and the Lichtner Museum. It has changed little since the 1905 photo.

Adjacent to the Ponce de Leon Hotel, the Casa Monica also opened in 1888 and was purchased the next year by Flagler, who renamed it the Cordova Hotel. Later the hotel was extensively renovated and reopened    in 1997, being renamed Casa Monica in 1999. Enjoying a AAA 4 Diamond rating, it is the only … Continue reading »

Here is an aerial view taken from a balcony of the Ponce De Leon Hotel in 1897. To be able to see incredible detail in this shot,  click on  the picture  to open up the 10MB file.