Ormond Hotel model donated to Ormond Beach Historical Society

The model, built in 1995 by Dr. Wayne Lowell, went through an extensive and meticulous four-month restoration project by local hobbyist and model builder Mark Bigelow.

  • By Randy Jaye
  • | 3:00 p.m. January 11, 2024
The model of the Ormond Beach Hotel was recently restored by Mark Bigelow. Photo by Randy Jaye
The model of the Ormond Beach Hotel was recently restored by Mark Bigelow. Photo by Randy Jaye
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • News
  • Share

Ormond Beach’s most iconic landmark, the Ormond Hotel, was built in 1887 by John Anderson and Joseph Price and opened for business on Jan. 1, 1888. 

It was located at 15 E. Granada Blvd. in Ormond Beach. The well-known industrialist Henry Flagler purchased the hotel in 1890 and over the following 15 years expanded and improved it into a world class resort. Flagler added three new wings, elevators, a saltwater pool, and constructed a railroad bridge that allowed guests the convenience of disembarking and boarding passenger trains near the entrance of the hotel.

By the early 1900s, it was one of the largest wooden structures in the United States and featured 11 miles of corridors and breezeways and included 400 hotel rooms. The hotel’s property once occupied 80 acres, which ran from the Halifax River to the Atlantic Ocean. During the hotel’s heyday many affluent and famous people including John D. Rockefeller Sr. were frequent guests.

 

You. Your Neighbors Your Neighborhood.

Subscribe today. Cancel anytime.

×

Your free article limit has been reached this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited digital access to our award-winning local news.