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BELLEAIR'S CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD TAKES ACTION
The old roof of the Belleview Biltmore Resort was severely damaged during the hurricane season of 2004. Like most property owners who suffered roof damage that year, the resort
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Many layers of temporary tarps
have become shredded and
ineffective at stopping leaks. |
owners covered the damaged areas of the roof with temporary tarps and began negotiating with their insurance company over the amount of damage and replacement costs. Because of the size and historical value of the structure, as well as the amount of damage incurred, the insurance claim process was complex and lengthy. Before the roof was properly repaired, the property was sold to the Latitude Management Real Estate Investors Group (A.K.A. Legg Mason Real Estate Investors Group), who subsequently developed plans for a total renovation/up-grade of the resort.
Because the $100 million renovation plans called for a brand new roof over the entire property, the Town of Belleair tried to be lenient with regard to code enforcement. While the hotel was still in operation, its owners continued to layer-on temporary tarps/skins to help stop the many roof leaks. Despite their efforts, over time, some hotel rooms had to be closed off due to leaks, water damage and/or musty smells.
Fast-forward to the present. As many as seven layers of shredded tarps currently cover some sections of the poor old roof. Although the hotel closed for renovation on June 1, 2009, Latitude Management refuses to begin the promised renovation until all legal issues associated with the property are resolved. The only legal action remaining is the appeal of the judgment in the lawsuit regarding the small part of the resort that is located on Sand Key Beach. Because there is no way to determine how much longer the judicial process will take to resolve that matter, the Town of Belleair’s Code Enforcement Board decided to take action to make sure the historic resort doesn’t suffer irreparable damage as a result of the delays. The Board voted 5-2 in favor of fining the Latitude Management Group $250 per day, beginning November 1, 2009 and continuing until the resort’s roof is brought up to town code standards.
The resort owners are not expected to replace the roof with a permanent structure, since any new roof would be destroyed in the up-coming renovation. However, they are expected to replace all the shredded tarps and make sure the new temporary roof coverings actually stop the leaks until the renovation project gets underway.
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The 7' tree provided a chance
to teach more people about the
historic Belleview Biltmore |
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The beautiful tree was
covered with authentic
handmade ornaments. |
BELLEVIEW BILTMORE CHRISTMAS TREE
The “Save the Biltmore” preservationists created a beautiful Belleview Biltmore Christmas tree that was auctioned off during the recent 2009 Festival of Trees fundraiser. More than 100 local artists, businesses and community leaders donated trees for this event, which benefits the Upper Pinellas Association for Retarded Citizens (UPARC.)
Diane Heine, one of the founders of the “Save the Biltmore” organization said she was pleased the popular festival was held at Westfield Mall because it provided an opportunity to share information about the Resort with many people who had been previously unfamiliar with her historical significance.
The group’s seven foot tree featured 50 hand-crafted cornucopia ornaments, similar to ones that might have decorated the opulent Resort’s tree way back in 1897, the year the Resort first opened. Volunteers spent over 65 hours constructing the ornaments from scraps of paper, cloth, cotton, yarn, tinsel, and ribbon, and then filled each one with an assortment of candy, nuts, pine cones and other holiday decorations.
To see more pictures or learn more about the “Save the Biltmore” group, visit their website at: www.SaveTheBiltmore.com
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The balcony view from
the Belleview Biltmore
just above Clearwater
Harbor
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A POINT TO PONDER ABOUT GHOSTS: DOES WATER HELP CONDUCT SPIRITUAL ENERGY?
An episode of the new television show, Ghost Lab, presented an interesting theory that might help explain why so much spiritual energy is reported at the Belleview Biltmore Resort. The basic theory is that water might fuel paranormal activity in much the same way water conducts electricity. According to this theory, ghosts are able to use water to amplify their ability to make their presence more readily known. This theory could help explain why so many guests and workers have such strong paranormal experiences at the Belleview Biltmore Resort. Not only is the resort built on a bluff overlooking Clearwater Harbor, but there is also a fresh water spring running directly beneath the Resort!
WORLD WAR II PRESENTATION AT HERITAGE VILLAGE
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| 1942 Army Air Corps poster |
Last month, Deirdre Schuster offered a fascinating program to members of the Pinellas County and Clearwater Historical Societies, hosted by Heritage Village. Her presentation covered the period during WWII, when the Belleview Biltmore Resort was requisitioned by the US Government to provide housing for Army Air Corps soldiers. Ms. Schuster, a Social Studies instructor at Countryside High School, was well-versed in the subject, having earned her degree in History from the University of South Florida, where she focused her studies around the history of Clearwater, and in particular, the Belleview Biltmore Resort.
Visitors who have taken the historic tour of the Belleview Biltmore might recall that the fine furniture, dishes and most of the lighting fixtures were moved to storage just before the soldiers arrived, replaced by standard military-issue furniture, bunks and mess hall tables. During their stay, soldiers painted all 1,700 of the hotel’s windows black, to prevent detection by the enemy, should their submarines find their way into Clearwater Harbor (including the interior, Tiffany glass windows.) The soldiers tore up the rail road tracks that Henry Plant had laid when the hotel first opened in 1897, to make use of the scrap iron. They painted most of the woodwork and even the beautiful brass chandeliers in the Tiffany room, drab army green. They installed three tiny phone booths where soldiers would line up every Sunday to call home. They completed an intricate sprinkler system the same month they moved out of the resort. All these things visitors could learn from taking the hotel tour.
Ms. Schuster; however, truly brought the war years to life. Through her use of photographs, letters and newspaper articles, she demonstrated the love/hate relationship that existed between the soldiers stationed at the hotel and local residents. She explained that merchants were grateful the soldiers supported the local economy of Clearwater at a time when customers were hard to come by. Simultaneously, residents were upset with what they perceived as military waste of valuable resources while residents faced strict supply rationing. The military arranged boxing matches, athletic competitions and dances, but they also issued orders to close the local casino and most taverns. Some residents opened their homes and ‘adopted’ soldiers for the holidays, but others were resentful of their presence. For example, the local male population faced serious competition when it came to courting single ladies living in the small community.
Ms. Schuster did an excellent job of demonstrating how the soldier’s brief occupation of the Belleview Biltmore made several lasting impressions on the Resort, the City of Clearwater and much of the surrounding community. For those interested in the ghostly aspects of the military's presence, she also uncovered documentation of a young soldier who fell to his death down an elevator shaft at the Resort. A few soldiers, who are now retired and still living in the area, were in the audience and gave first-hand accounts of life in Clearwater/Belleair during the war. It was an enjoyable afternoon and I hope to meet with Ms. Schuster after the holidays to learn even more about her intriguing research.
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The McMullen Home
at Heritage Village |
DOCENT AT HERITAGE VILLAGE
I have begun to volunteer as a docent at the Living Historical Museum, Heritage Village, located at 11909 125th Street, in Largo, FL. Often called re-enactors, docents dress in period-authentic clothing and give tours of the various homes and buildings, providing visitors a glimpse of what life might have been like for early Florida settlers.
I have been assigned to the House of the Seven Gables; a large Victorian home that was built in 1907, on the bluff overlooking the gulf, as part of the Clear Water Harbor settlement. Seven Gables was moved to Heritage Village in 1976, making the journey via a barge on the Intercoastal Waterway.
Several buildings at Heritage Village are currently decorated for the holidays, showcasing the traditions that were honored by locals during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Visitors can see examples of table-top Christmas trees, trees made of feathers (when wood was too precious to squander), and larger Christmas trees in the homes of the wealthy or in community gathering spots, such as the local church or school house. The larger trees were decorated with cornucopias, filled with candy, nuts and other treats for local children.
If interested in local history, a tour of Heritage Village is certainly worth your time.For hours of operation, etc, go to: www.PinellasCounty.org/Heritage
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"Uncle Bernie" made every piece of the
furniture covering the expansive porches
of the Belleview Biltmore Resort |
MEMORIES OF THE BELLEVIEW BILTMORE; AN INTERVIEW WITH CRAIG SHIREMAN
Several months ago, my nephew’s girlfriend took a few photos at the Belleview Biltmore Resort and posted them on Facebook. I commented that my favorite shot was a picture of the carriage porch veranda, filled with wide wooden rocking chairs and beautiful, hand-constructed tables.
One day a man named Craig Shireman posted a comment on the same picture, stating that his uncle had made every one of the chairs in the photo by hand. I was immediately intrigued and got in touch with Mr. Shireman to see if he would share some insights about the Resort with me. He agreed to an interview and we sat down together a few weeks ago.
Mr. Shireman showed me his copy of the book “The Belleview Mido Resort Hotel; A Century of Hospitality” (currently out of print), which was published while the Resort was called the ‘Belleview Mido Hotel’ and belonged to a Japanese hotel chain. The BASK Development Corporation purchased the Resort from the Mido Corporation in the late 1990s, changed its name back to the Belleview Biltmore Resort, and planned a partial renovation while keeping the resort open for business.
The son of the new owner, Shaffin Jetha, moved down from Baltimore to oversee hotel operations and renovations for BASK. Mr. Shireman, who was already friends with the former Belleview Biltmore Resort manager, became friends with Mr. Jetha, as well as the new resort manager, Bill Schuster. When Mr. Jetha became dissatisfied with the firm handling the hotel’s public relations/media coverage regarding the upcoming restoration of the Belleview Biltmore, Mr. Shireman, with a background in television news programming, volunteered his services.
Like so many others, once Mr. Shireman became involved with the White Queen of the Gulf, he was smitten. With his parent’s approval, he offered the hotel impressive discounts at his parent’s store, to provide new wallpaper, drapes and carpet for the renovation. Meanwhile, he spent so much of his time climbing through the resort’s attics, searching for treasures buried among the rafters, that many thought he was an employee! He told me he found a large mirror that appears to be original to the resort, but otherwise, his searches went unrewarded.
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| Craig Shireman |
Mr. Shireman claims to have witnessed frequent paranormal activity, especially while roaming the 4th & 5th floors. He said that even as late as the 1960s, the resort would hire staff for the season and allow some of them to stay in the servant's quarters on the 5th floor. He said that in several of those rooms, workers had written their names or made other marks in certain rooms as though trying to ‘claim’ the space as their own. He got errie feelings whenever he was in those spaces and believes he was feeling the presence of ghosts or spirits from the past.
He said several resort workers in the kitchen next to the Tiffany Room also claimed to have experienced paranormal activity. For instance, above one of the kitchen’s work islands was a large, suspended fluorescent light. On several occasions, workers in the area claimed the air would suddenly become very cold, even though there are no windows or air vents in that area. Then the large light would begin to sway back and forth, despite the fact it was hung too high above the ground for a person to reach it. He said the workers he spoke with had little doubt about the cause. They were all certain it was paranormal activity.
But Mr. Shireman said his most convincing paranormal experiences occurred when sitting by the pool late at night with Mr. Jetha and Mr. Schuster. Several times, the group witnessed one of the windows on the 5th floor, in an unoccupied and locked portion of the resort, go up and down, with no logical explanation for the activity. He said when they checked the area, they found the room still locked, with no evidence that any one had been there. After several unsuccessful attempts to debunk their experiences, the group finally accepted it was paranormal activity, teasing that Henry Plant was roaming the resort.
Unfortunately, the BASK Development Corporation fell on hard times and was unable to complete the planned renovation of the Belleview Biltmore Resort. The bank sold the resort to the DeBartolo Corporation, who in turn, sold it to the present owners, the Latitude Management Real Estate Investors Group.
Although no longer associated with the property, Mr. Shireman said, “I’m a big history buff, so a part of my heart will always belong to the Belleview Biltmore. I hope the current owners are able to complete the renovation and bring her back to the glory I’ve always wished for her.” I'm sure I speak for many when I say, "I hope his wish comes true!"
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