Alcazar Hotel, hotel in Cleveland Heights, Ohio
The Alcazar Hotel is a building in Cleveland Heights built in 1923 in Spanish Colonial and Moorish Revival style. Its irregularly shaped five-sided floor plan surrounds a central courtyard with a round fountain, with interior surfaces featuring colorful glazed tiles, curved arches, ornate columns, and fireplace surrounds.
The hotel was designed in 1923 by architect Harry Jeffrey to attract wealthy families dissolving their large estates in favor of comfortable apartment living. From the 1960s onward, the building changed purposes: Christian Scientists purchased it for use as a retirement home, later allowing short-term leasing in parts of the space, while the historic exterior and interior finishes were maintained.
The hotel's name comes from Spanish origins meaning a fortress-like dwelling, reflecting its connection to similar hotels in Florida. The colorful glazed tiles, curved arches, and fountains inside create a space that still evokes the spirit of Spanish and Moorish design traditions.
The building is centrally located in Cleveland Heights at the intersection of Surrey Road and Derbyshire Road and visible from the street. To fully appreciate the historic details such as tiles, arches, and the interior courtyard, it helps to take time for a walk around the exterior and view the interior when possible.
Within the courtyard sits a circular basin with a fountain whose design was modeled after the famous fountain at the Hotel Ponce de Leon in St. Augustine, Florida. The fountain is crowned with sculptures of spouting frogs and turtles that give the space a playful, memorable feature.
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