The Tangerine Hotel was built in Brooksville, Florida in 1925 according to my sources. It was built in the Spanish Mission style of that period consisting of three sections. The middle was rectangular with three floors then jutting out from the ends toward Howell avenue were squarish sections two floors high with three windows on both floors facing the street. The bottom middle windows were canopied and all the sections were trimmed along the sides of the flat roofs by rust colored terra cotta tiles.

 

From the front to the street was a covered walkway with a flat roof also trimmed with reddish tiles and held up by two rows of large square stucco columns. Close to the street a rectangular sign on two narrow steel rods jutted up above the roof of the walkway. The background was a dark blue and in white letters it said Tangerine Hotel. Depending on the picture the hotel was either a white to light tangerine stucco or light brick with an adobe like texture.

 

An image from around 1931 seems to indicate an unscreened veranda spanning the front of the rectangular middle section. It is partially secluded by two columns of light adobe like brick and the front covered walkway. The front entrance was reached after crossing through the veranda.

 

Going in the front door you would first see the wide staircase as you stood in the lobby where wicker chairs were arranged for people to talk and floor lamps allowed them to read. To your left was the check in counter with a bell on the counter and overhead three evenly spaced lights spanned the lobby. Large for Brooksville it looked more average and functional than luxurious.

 

It was being planned and financed probably in “23” and “24” when the Florida land boom was at its height.  Rapidly rising real estate prices and easy credit could make someone a real quick profit. South Florida and Orlando were booming and it was spreading to other parts of central Florida. That may have been why the hotel was so large for Brooksville with a population less than 2,500 during this time.

 

Also, people had more money during the twenties to travel and the central gulf coast region had a lot to attract them. Anyone who wanted to travel down to Tampa or further south to Ft. Myers by highway had to go through Brooksville and the Tangerine Hotel was sitting next to Howell Avenue which started North of town as an offshoot of State road 5 (currently U. S. highway 41).

 

After making its way about a mile Howell Avenue started a gradual ascent up a long hill going past the Tangerine Hotel on the right and reaching the summit where on the left sits the brick courthouse in the middle of Brooksville then Howell intersected with State Road 5. Going left took you North to Georgia while right took you to Tampa and eventually to Ft. Myers. It was an ideal location for a hotel.

 

State road 5 started as State Road 2 at the Georgia border just south of Valdosta then became State road 5 west of Gainesville continuing south through Brooksville and Tampa ending at Ft. Myers. It was classified first class the entire route which probably meant it was paved. People from Georgia and nearby states could drive down into Florida however it would have been a long trip considering Model T’s might have reached top speeds of 40.

 

State Road 15 that went along the Gulf Coast originated at the Georgia border but it was mainly third-class with lots of detours onto other roads including State Road 5. After New Port Richey it was first-class all the way to St. Petersburg. People would probably have stayed on State Road 5 and driven through Brooksville. Also, a spur line of the Atlantic Coast Line railroad ran to Brooksville. The A.C.L. had connections all throughout the Northeast including New York City.

 

So, what would it have been like to stay at the Tangerine Hotel in the twenties?

 

This was the time before air conditioning in the South so Fall and Winter were the best times to visit Florida. The weather was generally mild with crisp dry days and colder nights with very few days when temperatures dropped in the thirties. Like other larger buildings of that time it was probably heated by large boilers that piped heat into waist high, silver accordion radiators in the rooms. This would have kept residents comfortable.

 

Spring could be nice but unpredictable and Summers were brutal especially in August with temperatures often in the mid-nineties with lots of humidity. Mornings and late afternoon would have been cooler but it would have been at least in the nineties other times of the day with high humidity. Thunderstorms especially at night would have had a nice cooling effect with strong winds and guests would have kept their windows open as long as possible. Also, at night cooler winds sometimes blew off the Gulf creating fog while giving relief from the stagnant heat.

 

In their rooms, guests would sit in front of a fan near an open window and on especially hot days or nights they might have placed a large block of ice in front of the fan to give an extra cooling effect. Buying a window fan might have made sense for those staying longer to visit with family and grand kids out of school. Also taking a cool lingering bath with water up to your armpits would have been refreshing while listening to music on the radio.

 

The veranda and covered walkway would have been a popular spot any time of year. In summer guests would have enjoyed sitting and sipping tall glasses of ice tea while playing cards or checkers or maybe just listening to the radio. As twilight descended maybe they talked into the night as lightning bugs flickered around the flowering plants hanging from the walkway. On many of those sweltering nights some may have slept out there on cots under mosquito nets.

 

In the Fall and Winter, they may have sat under the veranda enjoying the cool, dry air and maybe a Christmas or Homecoming parade. Possibly they had breakfast and enjoying a steaming cup of coffee leaned back in their chair eyeing the royal palms and the huge twisting oak trees along Howell avenue. Perhaps a group sat out there cheering every home run and strike as they listened to the World Series. Sometimes they may have taken their chairs and sat in the yard enjoying the warm soothing sun.

 

Spring would have been especially nice with azaleas blooming pink and dogwood trees clothed in white all over Brooksville. A walk down one of the nearby brick streets canopied by centuries old twisting oak branches would have been a nice way to observe all the different colors.

 

Those less energetic could have sipped ice tea under the walkway looking across the street at nineteenth century homes with first and second floor screened porches. In front of the houses was multi-colored flowering foliage and maybe a tall, skinny century palm tree and it’s shorter, stouter cousin the royal palm.

 

Baseball was big during this time and many towns had their own baseball teams in addition to the local high school. They may have had informal Sunday afternoon games at the high school ball park between the older townies and the high schoolers. Residents at the Hotel could have easily walked or rode to one of these games where enterprising locals might be selling peanuts and coca cola.

 

Also, hotel residents could walk the short block to town and maybe have a hot dog sandwich (two grilled hot dogs split length wise laying flat on two pieces of bread) and a cherry coke at Bacon’s Drugstore while sitting on round chrome stools in front of the soda fountain. They may have gone to one of the café’s around the courthouse and overheard conversations about a trial taking place across the street.

 

Crossing the street, they might have engaged someone in a conversation about sports or local fishing stories while standing under the massive oak tree in front of the courthouse. At night you could go see a silent film at the Dixie theater slightly down the hill from the square then walk back to the hotel in the moonlight.

 

Beautiful scenery and interesting places were within short driving distance. State road 34, designated first class, ran southeast out of Brooksville through the heart of Florida’s central ridge country. Chugging up a steep hill in a Model T you could smell the sweet, white orange blossoms and reaching the top you could see orange groves stretching off into the distance. Reaching the tiny town of Spring Lake, you could go cane pole fishing or have a picnic under an oak tree. You could do all this and be back to the hotel by night fall.

 

Aripeka and Bayport, tiny fishing villages on the Gulf, were within driving distance. Aripeka, about 15 miles Southwest of Brooksville could be reached by taking State Road 15 which also continued on to St. Petersburg. The 1926 state map did not show any roads going to Bayport but it’s very probable there was a county road.

 

The road was probably graded limestone then after crossing State Road 15 it probably became sand entering the coastal lowlands with sandy flat land, marshes and lots of palmetto and palm trees. It might have taken almost a day to reach Bayport depending on road conditions and prudent travelers would have brought along a shovel and some boards in case they got stuck as well as food, water and a gun. There was always the possibility they might have to sleep in their car overnight.

 

Coming out of the marshland a few weathered gray, clapboard houses on concrete blocks might have appeared. Their roofs might have been orange from the rusting tin. Then a general store with metal signs in front advertising R.C. Cola, camel cigarettes and Wonder Bread might have stood along the narrow sandy road. The Bayport Hotel might have appeared with a broad front porch and people rocking. A short distance down the road several Model T’s may have been parked by a wooden dock where a pelican and some sea gulls perched on the pilings.

 

There was a bait store nearby where you could rent a small boat and possibly find a guide to take you out further in a larger boat. Local people might have been standing around swapping stories about old hernando county and you might have stopped to listen and ask about the fishing as you drank a bottle of coca cola.

 

Tourists would have gotten rooms at the Hotel described by a visitor as a very satisfactory place to stay with fine food which probably included a lot of fresh fish. They might have gone back the next day or stayed a few days to fish and go out on the Gulf. Also, they might have swam in the warm salty water and sun bathed.

 

The tourists could have joined other people on the dock fishing…ladies in large sun hats and men wearing skippers and long white shirts with dark gray pants held up by suspenders. Other people may have been getting into small wooden boats with primitive motors to troll along the coast for mackerel, sea trout and other fish. A larger boat with a guide may have been by the dock to take people further out in the Gulf for bigger fish.

 

After getting back to Brooksville a train ride to Tampa might have been something to do.

The walk to the train station would have been very enjoyable. After passing through town you would have walked down South Brooksville Avenue. The street is red brick and goes about three blocks down about a twenty-degree grade.

 

Huge old oak trees with moss hanging from massive twisting limbs created a canopy down the length of the road creating nice shade as you walked on the sidewalk past large two-story frame houses fronted with large columns and large porches. At the bottom of the hill you took a right then a little ways down the street on the left was the train station.

 

Two different trains took you to Tampa. You could take a feeder line out of Brooksville about ten miles due east to a little town called Croom. There you caught a train on the main line of the Atlantic Coast Line which took you into Tampa from the Northeast. It was a longer route which would have taken you through Dade City, Zephyrhills and Plant City. Also, an offshoot of that track took you to St. Petersburg where Babe Ruth and the Yankees had spring training.

 

The other train to Tampa was the Seaboard Air Line. It was a shorter route of about forty- five miles. Leaving in the morning you could return that evening. After buying your round trip ticket in the station for between sixty and seventy cents you could perhaps buy a coca cola and peanuts. Then you could wait on a bench under the covered platform for your train.

 

You would arrive in the Northeast side of Tampa at Union Station which was right next to Nebraska Avenue. Photographs from that time show lots of street trolleys and cars so it would have been easy to get around the city. Perhaps someone wanted to do some shopping and eat somewhere nice like the Columbia restaurant. There were also theaters showing silent movies or maybe someone just wanted to wander around seeing the sights. Then that afternoon they could have caught a train and been back to Brooksville by evening.

 

As their vacation was winding down maybe they wanted to go over to Bayport one last time and see the sunset over the shimmering Gulf waters or just have one more hot dog sandwich at Bacon’s Drugstore and talk to some new friends. Then that night maybe they listened to some radio shows while taking a nice refreshing bath. After that perhaps they decided to sleep outside on the veranda one last time watching lightning bugs as they drifted off to sleep.

 

Maybe there were two grandparents from Valdosta who had driven down to spend part of the summer with grand kids. Getting up early they may have walked to the courthouse square and had a large breakfast and coffee at one of the cafes. Then after hugs and kisses the grandkids and parents waved as the Model T chugged out onto Howell Avenue headed North to State Road 5 and home. They would probably get home sometime late that night.

 

Then there were the many people just passing through and just stayed one night at the Tangerine Hotel. Maybe they sat out on the veranda a short while smoking to relax before going to bed. The next day they drove past the courthouse then took a right on State road 5 to Tampa and their ultimate destination Ft. Myers where they had plans to stay several weeks in a cottage by the Gulf.

 

There might have been a man who worked for an investment bank out of New York City. He had been staying at the Tangerine Hotel some while exploring the Gulf Coast for possible investment opportunities. He spent his last night listening to his Yankees beat the Pirates at Yankee stadium then got up early had breakfast at Bacon’s Drugstore then in the dark walked the three blocks to the train station.

 

He sat for a little while as the sun came up and the first rays of light shone on the platform. A smile came to his face as he remembered shaking Babe Ruth’s hand and the Babe autographing his baseball. He had watched the other Yankee greats as they scrimmaged in St. Petersburg. A train whistle startled him out of his daydream and a few minutes later he boarded the train. About two days later he arrived in New York City.

 

After getting back home, they all talked about their time in Florida and perhaps they remembered the Tangerine Hotel.