Gasparilla Inn Historic District, Historic resort district in Boca Grande, United States.
Gasparilla Inn Historic District is a resort property listed on the National Register of Historic Places, located on the island of Boca Grande in Lee County, Florida, featuring a two-story wooden main hotel alongside private cottages, villas, and beach houses. The grounds extend close to the Gulf Coast shoreline and also include tennis courts and other outdoor facilities.
The inn's first section was built in 1911 and expanded in 1912 and 1915; it opened to guests in 1913. A Classical Revival portico was added around 1931. The original beach club was destroyed by a hurricane in 1921, replaced in 1928, and an 18-hole golf course followed. The 25-acre historic district, including ten guest cottages built between 1915 and 1933, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
The resort keeps traditions from Florida's early tourism era alive, including afternoon tea service and regional cooking that have been part of the guest experience for generations. These small rituals give the place a character that sets it apart from more modern resorts.
The inn stands at 500 Palm Avenue on Gasparilla Island in Boca Grande, Lee County, Florida. The 25-acre historic district covers the hotel, ten guest cottages built between 1915 and 1933, two 1933 maintenance sheds, a croquet court and holes five and six of the golf course, laid out around 1930 behind the inn. The Mallet Club Croquet House, northeast of the inn, incorporates a section of the former Fletcher House moved from Gilchrist Avenue in the 1980s.
The 18-hole golf course was added after the 1928 beach club, and holes five and six, laid out around 1930, are listed as historic sites within the district. The Mallet Club Croquet House, northeast of the inn, incorporates a section of the old Fletcher House, moved there in the 1980s from Gilchrist Avenue.
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