This hotel was a large resort built by railroad magnate Henry Flagler in Miami. Opened in 1897, the Royal Palm Hotel was one of the first hotels in the Miami area. It sat on the north bank of the Miami River overlooking Biscayne Bay. Five stories tall with a sixth-floor salon, the Royal Palm Hotel featured the city’s first electric lights, elevators and swimming pool. There were 450 guest rooms and suites. The main dining room would seat 500 guests. A second dining room was for maids and children. There were parlors, a billiards room, other game rooms, a 45-foot by 50-foot ballroom, The hotel had a staff of 300, including sixteen cooks. Although, at the insistence of Julia Tuttle, a clause prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages had been included in all land deeds for the new city of Miami, the Royal Palm Hotel had an exemption to serve alcohol to its guests during the three months of the tourist season. Almost thirty years later, The Royal Palm Hotel was severely damaged by the 1926 hurricane, and infested with termites. In 1930, it was condemned and torn down. Two vintage postcards shown from The Royal Palm Hotel with one postmarked 1906.
