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Renaissance
Resort Photography, User Review Pages by Herman J. Muller |
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Page sub-catagories ■ The Vinoy Renaissance Resort Hotel ■ The Don Ce Sar ■ The Mohonk Mountain Hotel |
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| The Vinoy Renaissance Resort Hotel |
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The Renaissance Vinoy Resort Hotel has a long history. The hotel was build in 1925 by Aymer Vinoy Laughter a wealthy oil baron from Pennsylvania. The hotel enjoyed many glorious years. The good days were followed by deterioration aided by the second world war and changed hands a number of times until it finally closed in 1974. Its furnishings sold on auction, the property stayed in a declining state of deterioration until 1990 when a group of venture capitalists rebuild the hotel to its original luster under the direction of Frederic Guest II. It took several years of pain staking work by many crafts- men of which many were imported from foreign |
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| L-720 Vinoy North Tower | L-743 Main Lobby |
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countries to restore the lobbies, dining-rooms and terraces to a 1925 era. Being one of three of the finest four star hotels in St. Petersburg Fl., it has been upgraded to accommodate today's demands with the |
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| C-101 Vinoy Resort Hotel |
L-745 Lobby to Ballrooms & Conference |
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| L-744 Lobby - Lounge & Bar | L-742 Front Veranda |
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addition of a ball- room and conference center large enough to put up a boat/auto show. In front of the hotel, a marina was constructed accommodating yachts of any size. |
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| L-101 Outside Relaxation Setting | L-102 Potted Plants |
| The Don Ce Sar St. Petersburg Beach, Fl. |
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The "Don Ce Sar" Resort Hotel (named after a character in the opera "Maritana") was build in 1928 by Thomas Rowe. Locating the hotel on one of the finest beaches in Florida and applying Mediterranean and Moorish architecture to give the hotel a unique appearance, the hotel was a success from the very beginnings. During the second world war, the hotel was appropriated for defense functions. In 1946, after the war, it was vacated by the Defense Department and closed which caused it to fall into a state of deterioration until it was purchased by the Loews's Corporation and restored to ts original state in 1973. During the "Hay days" many well known people stayed at the "Don" such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Clarence Darrow, Lou Gehrig the baseball player and of all people, Al Capone. Located in a lower level hall way a wall plaque gives the |
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| L-86 Don Cesar Sth. Tower |
L-82 Don Cesar Entrance |
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following story: The Don Ce Sar Hotel In the late 1920's and 1930's, the Don Cesar Hotel was a renowned luxury resort which counted many notables among its guests. Among them was Thomas J Rowe, a land developer, conceived of the |
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| L-87 Don Cesar South Side | L-88 up & L-80 lower |
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establishment in the mid-20's at the height of the land sales boom then attracting flocks of tourist and investors to Florida. The boom ended before the Don Cesar was completed in 1928. But it remained open throughout the depression of the 1930's during World War II. Many Florida Hotels suffering from the decline of tourism were converted to wartime use. In 1912, the Don was purchased by the U.S. Government for use as a rest and rehabilitation center from 1945 to 1967,The Don Cesar served as a federal office building it was then vacated. Soon a commit- tee of local citizens began to work for preservation. In 1872 with their encouragement and community support, hotel developer William Bowman Jr., they purchased the property |
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| L-129 Pool Patio | L-140 Bar-Lounge |
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He rehabilitated the Don restoring it to its original function and elegance and reopened it in 1973. Restoration was completed in 1975 in that year, the Don Ce Sar Hotel was placed on the national register of historic places the massive edifice of stucco-ed Belgian concrete remains a symbol of the colorful, exiting "boom" period of Florida's history. |
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| L-135 Hallway | L-143 Lounge |
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| L-146 Lobby | L-141 Seating arrangement | L-142 HallwayL |
| The Mohonk Mountain House Resort |
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The Mohonk Mountain House is located in New Paltz, NY in the west part of the Catskills. The original hotel was build in the 1860's and is operated today as a public attraction for it gardens, architecture and grounds stretching into nearby rocky mountain formations. A dining room for 560 occupants serves a brunch buffet on the |
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| L-100094 | L-50-0735 Tm |
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weekend (www.mohonk.com) The facility is open daily the public and buying a visitors pass includes exploration of the grounds and the hotel facilities. Brunch reservations include an elaborate buffet and the rights to explore the grounds to walk off the calories. Getting there is a different story. New Paltz is off the NY Thru way and is a "hippy" community. The roads are two lane and go through the center of town. On the weekends, the traffic is heavy. The original hotel structure was build in 1860 and much of it is still there. Field stone was used for fire places, foundations, main support and decorative walls. Every guest room has a functional fire place with a basket of fire wood which is replaced in the morning by a "fire place service crew" going from floor to floor and room to room. L-50-0737 and L-50-0758 are outstanding examples of much the stone work. (sorry, the railing and the car could not be edited out) |
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| L-50-0739 Brunch | L-50-0744 |
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There are many things to look at. The architecture, the stone work, The many seating groups with a view of the western mountains or the grounds and its fine landscaping. The hall ways have thousands of pictures of distinguished visitors. Many pictures of other National park in the country |
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| L-50-0737 Tm | $ | L-50-0758 Tm |
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and Canada. Pictures of tribute to explorers and of the hotel during construction. The creators of this hotel used the surroundings to a high degree of architectural blending (see L-50-0736 and notice exterior earth tones) maintaining an exclusive setting with panoramic views and many locations within the |
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| L-50-0746 Tm | L-50-0736 |
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hotel to enjoy them. The images to the left and right were taken from the second floor front balconies. the blue haze typically indicates moisture vapor in the air. |
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| L-50-748 Tm | $$ | L-50-734 Tm |
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| L-50-5000 | L-50-0735A Tm | L-50-0735 Tm |
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The above images are 72 DPI only. However, when ordered, they are custom printed @ 1440 DPI using Epson UltraChrome art inks guaranteeing an eighty year lightfast product on Epson luster photo stock.
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