Moorish Domes and Minarets: Henry B. Plant's Dream

This is the dome over Fletcher Lounge at the University of Tampa. Elaborate minaret-shaped dormers encircle the dome and mimic the minarets that sit atop the original Tampa Bay Hotel building. Henry Bradley Plant built this sumptuous luxury resort in 1891 to lure northerners to journey on his railway to this tropical Florida paradise. Plant selected the architectural style and he saw his dream realized. Fletcher Lounge was the main dining room for guests staying at the grand hotel and, along with the original Music Room and Grand Salon, it is used for events throughout the year.

The hotel rose up on the west banks of the Hillsborough River, right across from the small town of Tampa, and many an event and lavish formal affair have been held under this dome over the last century. The hotel's Moorish architecture was and is breathtaking when you first see it and it remains the singular most distinctive architectural feature of our city. The minarets remain the most recognizable icons on Tampa's skyline. We've grown from a few thousand citizens when it was built to close to 300,000 today, but the original hotel building still holds magical powers over residents, students and tourists alike.

I have shown the minarets, the interior of this dome in Fletcher Lounge and the highly-respected Henry B. Plant Museum in previous posts, but I never tire of showcasing this building and this jewel in our city's history. The Tampa Bay Hotel, recognized as a United States National Historic Landmark, is a special part of who we are and it is carefully preserved and maintained for future generations to enjoy. Visit the Henry B. Plant Museum website to learn more. (To learn more about the University of Tampa, click HERE.)

Little Old Schoolhouse: Tampa's Historic Treasure

This building, perhaps the oldest building in the Tampa area, is simply called the Old Schoolhouse. Where it is located is almost as surprising as its history. The fact that it is still standing is also a surprise to me. Directly behind Fletcher Lounge, at the north end of the original Tampa Bay Hotel building, now part of the University of Tampa, and facing the John H. Sykes College of Business, the Old Schoolhouse has a nice grassy spot amidst a very busy and growing, private 4-year university. This quaint, one-story, clapboard-sided schoolhouse, in a Greek Revival style of architecture has survived over 150 years. It was moved to this location from its original spot closer to the Hillsborough River. The story is fascinating because it all ties to the idea of building a large, luxury resort hotel in Tampa. Henry Bradley Plant bought at foreclosure sales in 1879 and 1880 the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad and the Charleston and Savannah Railroad. With these rail systems he extended his Plant Line down and across the state of Florida. In 1882, Tampa, then a village of less than a thousand citizens, was made the terminus of his southern Florida railroad and also the home port for a new line of steamships to Havana, Cuba. His business empire would include several steamship lines and luxury hotels. In deciding where exactly to build his new hotel, Plant found there were advocates for building it on the east side of the Hillsborough River, across from Tampa, as well as some who wanted it in the heart of the town, not in the “wilderness.” Tampa was a town of less than a thousand citizens in the 1880s.

Dr. James W. Covington, Tampa historian, author and long-time professor of history at the University of Tampa, wrote an article, "The Tampa Bay Hotel," which was published in 1966, in the Tequesta, journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida. Dr. Covington wrote, “The entire western side of the Hillsborough was still part of the Florida wilderness- complete with thick undergrowth, large oak trees, deep rooted palmettos and wildlife of all sorts. It was a wild but not very historic part of the Florida wilderness. A few homesteads and developments were scattered about the area. One was the William S. Spencer farm in present day Palma Ceia. Others included Spanish Town along the present Bayshore Drive, Hyde Park, a subdivision established by G. H. Platt of Chicago in 1885 and the General Jesse Carter tract.

General Jesse Carter, a pioneer mail contractor, had been in charge of the state troops during the Third Seminole War in 1855-1858 and had erected a house and several smaller buildings on his holdings. One such building erected by General Carter was a school house to provide education for his daughter Josephine. Miss Louise Porter, a young teacher from Key West, was employed as teacher and other students who joined the class included the two Spencer children and five other guest students. This school began in 1850 (see insert photo of interior), and was the first one to be erected west of [the] Hillsborough River. During the period of the Tampa Bay Hotel's existence, the building served as an apothecary shop [pharmacy].” (The Tampa Bay Hotel: Tequesta: Number 26/1966, p.3 - 20). Plant acquired the schoolhouse in 1886 from Jessie J. Hayden when he bought the property for his hotel. In 1931, the building, then owned by the City of Tampa which also owned the Tampa Bay Hotel (which had finally closed in 1930), was given to the DeSoto Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution by Mayor D.B. McKay and the City of Tampa. On December 4, 1974, the old Schoolhouse was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is maintained beautifully and used on occasion by members of the DeSoto Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.

Two Bronze Hounds: The Hunting Party

Back in July, LOIS of Tallahassee Daily Photo, posted photographs of her grandfather, Troup Lucas Biglow, standing in front of the Tampa Bay Hotel in 1922. He was honeymooning at the incredible, 1890s-era, Moorish-styled grand hotel with her grandmother, Lois Gray Biglow. The Biglows figure prominently in Tampa's history. At that time I told Lois that the statue, in the photo with her grandfather at left (I hope Lois doesn't mind me copying it here. Click on it to enlarge) clearly shows the dogs on the lawn. I can report that the statue is in almost the exact same spot, maybe 25 feet south, of where it stood 87 years ago. Go read Lois' original post for another photo and more of her family's wonderful story HERE.

The story of the statue itself and the artist is interesting, too, but not as good as the honeymooners I'm certain. The statue is called Au Coup de Fusil, or the Hunting Party. The two bronze hound dogs were cast in France by the artist Maurice Denonvilliers in 1890. As the story is told, they used to face and focus on a small bronze squirrel that was placed in a low hanging oak limb. However the squirrel eventually was stolen and the dogs were moved to their current location. Henry B. Plant opened his opulent resort hotel in 1891 and we know that hunting guides and dogs were provided to hotel guests. These dogs are supposed to represent Henry Plant's two favorites. Denonvilliers was also the sculptor of two bronze statues called Pikemen which are in the collection of the elegant Pfsiter Hotel in Milwaukee and stand in the lobby of the Victorian-era, Romanesque Revival-style hotel.

Steamship, Train and Treasure Chest: The statue honoring Henry B. Plant

Margaret Plant, wife of Henry Bradley Plant, commissioned this statue and fountain to honor the memory of her husband who died June 23, 1899. Titled Transportation, its design perfectly reflects Henry Plant’s life spent building a transportation network of ships and railroads. She chose the sculptor George Grey Barnard (1863-1938). Barnard studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and then went to Paris where he was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts. It was while he was a student in Chicago that he became enthralled with the works of Michelangelo. His finished sculptures reflect his lifetime fascination and passion for the works of the Italian renaissance master. His best know works are the two sculptural groups he completed as a result of the Pennsylvania Capital Commission competition of 1901-2. The new state capital building in Harrisburg, designed by architect Joseph Huston, was completed in 1914. Barnard was selected to produce sculptures for the capital’s main entrance and they were installed in 1911. Although he created numerous other sculptures, he considered these his masterpieces.

The statue Transportation, also called the Henry Bradley Plant Memorial Fountain, faces the West Veranda and entrance to Plant’s Tampa Bay Hotel, today the University of Tampa and Henry B. Plant Museum. It sits above a circular fountain and features a ship and a train, symbols of the transportation network that drove and shaped Florida’s growth and development during the last part of the 19th century. The bow of a ship is at the center with a giant eagle perched over it holding a strong box or a treasure chest in his talons. On either side are sea creatures, a male and a female. The male holds a locomotive on his shoulder, representing the Plant system of railways, and the female holds a steam ship representing the Plant Steamship Company. Fish are on the sides below spouting water into the fountain. Mrs. Plant had the sculpture installed in front of the hotel. The fountain itself is thought to have been designed and constructed by hotel staff at her direction. The statue is reportedly the oldest piece of public art in Tampa. Located within a traffic circle between Plant Park and the building’s entrance, it provides a focal point and popular backdrop for photographs by tourists and students of the university and their friends and family.

Tampa Bay Hotel: Henry B. Plant's Magical 1890s Florida Resort

In previous posts I have featured the exterior and minarets of the almost startling and unbelievable Tampa Bay Hotel. When it first opened in 1891 on the west bank of the Hillsborough River in Tampa, Henry B. Plant's creation was unlike anything Florida or the nation had seen before. Its location, immense size, lush Florida landscaping and Moorish architecture were certain to overwhelm and over-deliver on Plant's promises as hotel guests stepped from his railroad cars from the Northeast. This was an ultra-luxurious hotel experience and the owners spared no expense in treating their guests to the finest accommodations, food, entertainment and modern amenities. The 511 rooms, many consisting of three-to-seven room suites, were the first in Florida to have electric lights and telephones. Most also had a private bath. The hotel elevator is still used today making it one of the oldest operational elevators in the United States. The Henry B. Plant Museum (visit online HERE), situated within the south wing of the original hotel, shares the 1/4 mile long building with the University of Tampa. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum, accredited by the American Association of Museums, has restored the rooms to their original appearance. From paint to lighting to floor coverings, it's as though you are stepping back in time. The couple shown above in period clothing are preparing to dine in their suite; the bedroom's sleeping alcove is shown at left. Each of the museum's rooms is filled with authentic and original furnishings, artwork and even the hotel's china and silverware.

Mr. Plant and his wife traveled throughout the world in search of fine art and furniture to fill their magnificent hotel and museum-goers can step into period rooms and really sense what it was like to stay here. Although there are exhibit cases, most of the collection surrounds you are as you move down hallways and into rooms, dimly lit by bare bulbs just as they were over a century ago. A staff of museum professionals takes great care to recreate and maintain the rooms just as they were when guests enjoyed their tropical vacations. The long and illustrious list of famous guests and grand events held here, plus the fact that the hotel was headquarters for the U.S. Army during the Spanish American War, make this a must see place on any visit to Florida.

The museum is evidence of Plant's vision to build the ultimate resort hotel; we can today relive that experience in our city's most recognizable architectural and historic treasure, the Tampa Bay Hotel and the Henry B. Plant Museum.