ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — St. Pete Beach’s iconic Don CeSar hotel is celebrating its 96th anniversary on Tuesday.
The “Pink Palace” was built in 1928 by real estate businessman Thomas Rowe as a tribute to a past love and a place for the rich to relax in leisure.
Clarence Darrow, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Babe Ruth spent the night at the hotel back in its heyday.
After Rowe died in 1940, the U.S. Army bought the hotel to use it as a military hospital due to the onset of World War II. After the war, the hospital became the VA headquarters. In 1969, it was decommissioned after years of disrepair.
A group of citizens lead by June Hurley-Young formed the “Save the Don” Committee in 1971, pushing for the hotel to be restored.
In 1972, William Bowman owned the building and began a $3.5 million restoration project on the hotel.
By 1973, the hotel reopened as a fully functional resort.
According to local lore, Rowe’s spirit still walks the halls of his beloved Pink Palace.
Since then, the hotel has been renovated multiple times and now offers weddings, spa packages and specialty dining options.
