Historically St. Pete: The enchanting history of Gulfport's Hotel Rolyat, now Stetson College of Law

The entrance of Hotel Rolyat, which opened in 1926, and would later become Stetson College of Law. Photo by Burgert Brothers. | Stetson University Archives

At St. Pete Rising, we are constantly providing comprehensive coverage on everything new and coming soon to the Sunshine City, but we think it’s also important to take a look back at our city's rich history.

Historically St. Pete, a monthly column on St. Pete Rising written by Executive Director of the St. Petersburg Museum of History Rui Farias, covers everything from the legend of underground mobster tunnels to the buildings and people that created the Sunshine City.

This month we explore the enchanting history of Hotel Rolyat, now the Stetson College of Law, and the mysterious New York City developer who built the beautiful Mediterranean Revival-style hotel and then vanished as quickly as he arrived.

Stetson University Archives

The 1920s in Florida was a decade of booms, opportunity, extravagance, and eventually a bust. Train cars filled with hopeful visitors rolled daily into the Sunshine State after World War I searching for the Florida Dream – or the next get-rich-quick scheme – usually centered around the purchase and sale of land.

But for every dreamer, there were quite a few schemers. Whether it was to entice northerners to buy waterfront land that turned out to be swamp, or to invest in the next great Florida paradise, these hucksters collected checks as fast as investors could write them.

I.M. "Handsome Jack" Taylor and his wife Evelyn DuPont were the poster couple of 1920s Florida land speculation. They arrived in St. Petersburg from New York at the close of 1921. After witnessing the success of developers such as Perry Snell and Walter Fuller, they hatched a plan to create one of the most opulent and elegant subdivisions in America – Pasadena-on-the-Gulf.

Hotel Rolyat’s lobby in the 1920s shortly after opening in Gulfport. Photo by Burgert Brothers. | Stetson University Archives

Taylor’s past, and rumored wealth, was a mystery. But the Great Gatsby-like character, along with his heavily jeweled-wife Evelyn, used charm and Evelyn’s famous last name to gather investors. They purchased land on the southwest side of the Pinellas Peninsula to create their kingdom.

Taylor oversaw all aspects, from tree-lined streets, to landscaping, to the design of several Mediterranean Revival-style mansions.

The jewels of Pasadena-on-the-Gulf were going to be his country club, golf course, and the extravagant Hotel Rolyat (“Taylor” spelled backwards). The Hotel Rolyat opened on January 1st, 1926, one day after the Vinoy Park Hotel opened in downtown St. Petersburg.

Designed to replicate a Spanish feudal castle with buildings surrounding a central plaza, the main tower a replication of the Torre Del Oro (Tower of Gold) in Seville, Spain. The Rolyat boasted 100 guest rooms on its property of several buildings, towers, fountains, and arcades.

Champagne flowed at the grand opening of the Rolyat with baseball legend Babe Ruth in attendance and, of course, the life of the party. Golfing great Walter Hagen was also there, hired to help promote the country club and golf course. Guests could enjoy sailing, golfing, horse riding, and tropical gardens.

The main dining room at Hotel Rolyat in Gulfport | Stetson University Archives

Jack and Evelyn spared no expense in creating their hotel, or the surrounding subdivision. They even lured away the sales staff from George Merrick’s Coral Gables development to sell Pasadena-on-the-Gulf. Every move completed with 1920s flair and excess.

However, these expenses were not sustainable for Handsome Jack. He disappeared before the 1927 tourist season, leaving a trail of debt and unpaid employees behind. Investors began questioning if Evelyn was actually one of “those” DuPonts.

The hotel sold in 1928 to Soren Lund who owned the much more successful Soreno Hotel in downtown St. Pete. The following year it was taken over by Hugh J. Fuller Co. of New York, who operated it from 1929 to 1932. With tourism dwindling to near nothing during the Great Depression, the building would become the Florida Military Academy in 1932.

Twenty years later, Stetson College in Deland, which created Florida’s first law school in 1900, purchased the 21-acre campus in Gulfport and opened the Stetson University College of Law in 1954.