Symbol of '20s golden age tied to families' fortunes

ST. PETERSBURG -- Pennsylvania Hotel owner David Moore considered the folder's contents with the manner of a jeweler appraising gemstones.

"We found these in the attic two weeks ago," Moore said. "They're photos of (the Pennsylvania's) construction. Never before published."

In 1925, the Pennsylvania became a symbol of the city's golden age, helping to usher in the era of large hotels and supporting the tourist industry for decades.

Today, the local historic landmark is undergoing a conversion from hotel to condominiums.

"The Pennsylvania was part of St. Pete's founding," said Sam Bond Jr., grandson of Ninian Ulysses Bond, who initiated a 65-year reign of Bond ownership in the hotel. "Every day we opened up, a new adventure walked in."

"The rooms were always taken," said John Thornton, who owned Central Avenue's Hitching Post produce from 1931 to 1949. "Boy, did I furnish the (hotel's) restaurant with produce."

On June 18, 1925, Pennsylvania native Harry C. Case announced that he would build a seven-floor hotel at Fourth Street and Third Avenue N that would cost more than $300,000 and have nearly 100 rooms.

Case ran the city's streetcar system and held interest in the West Coast Tile Co.

To construct the art deco and classically styled Pennsylvania, Case hired New Yorker Franklin Mason, who worked on the St. Petersburg Yacht Club in 1922 and Mason Hotel/Princess Martha in 1924.

The Pennsylvania opened on March 5, 1926, amid orchestra music and floral displays.

L.G. Davis and his wife, the hotel managers, greeted visitors in a spacious lobby. Mrs. Davis was "a very charming little woman," the St. Petersburg Times wrote. Her husband was "an experienced hotel man and has the well-being of the guest always in mind."

Visitors touring the upper floors savored views of Tampa Bay and Mirror Lake.

The steam heat, private bathrooms and telephone and soft-water service in all 92 bedrooms earned accolades.

Five years after the opening, however, Case lost the Pennsylvania to foreclosure when the banks closed. "It put him out of his mind," said Sam Cary, 74, Case's grandson. "I don't think he ever came back around."

In 1937, on the courthouse steps, Ninian Ulysses Bond bought the Pennsylvania for about $150,000.

Bond was a former Kentucky state senator and banker who earlier had voluntarily paid his depositors when his bank failed.

He was the father of three sons: Ninian Jr., Sam Sr. and William Sr.

The Bonds renovated the Pennsylvania in 1937.

During World War II, the hotel provided lodging for recruits, as did every local lodging place except the Suwannee.

A Pennsylvania menu discovered and thought to be from the 1940s featured broiled Florida lobster for $1 and a T-bone steak dinner for $1.50.

William Bond Jr., 55, remembered the 1950s and 1960s, when patrons filled the dining room.

Hotel work also captured William Bond Jr.'s attention. "My first job was painting closets (at age 14, about 1961)," he said. "It was a big day when I got to paint a room. I got a whopping buck an hour."

During the 1970s and 1980s, Bond buses transported guests to events and to and from local airports.

"We'd gather (with guests) at the Pennsylvania for holidays, because it was our first of seven or eight hotels," said Sam Bond Jr., 52.

On June 30, 2000, the Bonds sold the Pennsylvania to Moore of Wind Rose Hotels Inc. for about $1.35-million.

The hotel was aging, Sam Bond Jr. said, and property values had increased.

"My intention was to leave it a historical hotel," said Moore, 42, sitting near a 1920s hotel phone and a travel iron that belonged to a guest about six decades ago. "Then came Sept. 11."

Instead, Moore said, a nearly $3-million renovation will make the Pennsylvania an 18-unit condominium by mid 2003.

Art deco furnishings will grace the lobby, and claw-footed bathtubs will decorate the baths. Heart pine doors will abound.

"We're trying to retain the historic character of the hotel," Moore said.

Said William Bond Jr.: "I think it's a great progression. I'm glad it's being preserved."

-- Scott Taylor Hartzell can be reached at hartzel@msn.com.

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