Architecture, DON CESAR BEACH RESORT, SAINT PETERSBURG BEACH, FLORIDA
Irishman Thomas Rowe, a Florida real estate tycoon, opened the Don Cesar in 1928 during the Great Gatsby era. The resort cost $1.2 million, and was built to resemble the Royal Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. Visitors included F. Scott Fitzgerald, Clarence Darrow, and gangster Al Capone. The property was sold by Rowe’s heirs to the U.S. Army in 1942, and used as a convalescent home for battle-fatigued World War II airmen. The “pink lady” was scheduled for demolition but rescued in the nick of time by a diligent preservation group, and after several major restorations and expansions continues to charm guests who relish the pampering of the Roaring Twenties.
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