1895 Knott / Florida East Coast Railway Brochure of Hotels

This map and brochure is a 28-page pamphlet promoting tourism and hotels along Florida's Atlantic coastline, produced c. 1895 by the Florida East Coast Railway under superintendent of the hotel system, C. B. Knott.

A Closer Look

Alongside the photos and drawings of the different grand hotels, readers find descriptions of their amenities and services. In addition to the world-famous beaches of Florida, these include Turkish and Russian baths, cactus gardens, swimming pools, casinos, tennis courts, bowling alleys, bicycle riding academies, pineapple plantations, and entertainment halls. Among the unique hotels included is the Palm Beach Inn. It is the only hotel depicted as a drawing, a feature that may suggest this hotel was still under construction when the pamphlet was issued.

This particular edition of the pamphlet is equipped with a double-page map entitled 'Map of Florida and the East Indies Published by the Florida East Coast Railway' measuring 8 x 4.25 in. (20.5 by 10.5 cm). The map bears the imprint of The Matthews Northrup Co. (Buffalo, NY) and was, as indicated in the title, based on survey work commissioned by the Florida East Coast Railway.

The Florida East Coast Hotel System

The Florida East Coast Hotel System was a series of luxury hotels developed by Henry Flagler (1830 - 1913), an American industrialist and railroad magnate, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The system was part of his larger vision to develop Florida's east coast and turn it into a major tourist destination. This hotel network was closely tied to Flagler's expansion of the Florida East Coast Railway, which made these areas accessible to wealthy travelers from the northern United States. The railway ran parallel to the coast, making it easy for travelers to access these remote resort hotels. As the railway extended farther south, so did the hotel system, reaching places like Miami and eventually Key West.

Catering to a very wealthy clientele, the hotels were opulent, even extravagant, and often alluded to Florida's Spanish past with Spanish Renaissance Style architecture. The grandest of all (though not necessarily the most popular) was the Royal Poinciana, which was likely the largest hotel (1,100 rooms) and largest wooden structure in the world at the turn of the century. Most of these hotels eventually fell victim to fires or the wrecking ball, though The Breakers in Palm Beach still survives as a hotel.

Florida Land Boom(s) and the Florida East Coast Railway

In the second half of the 19th and throughout the early 20th century, Florida experienced a series of land booms and crashes. The initial land boom established Florida as a center for the citrus industry in the 1880s - 1890s, and its collapse allowed for the easy acquisition of large tracts of land at cut-rate prices. Industrialist and founder of Standard Oil Henry Flagler seized the opportunity to build his Florida East Coast Railway and extend it to the region that would develop into Miami and other communities on the state's southeastern coast.

Flagler and other Florida boosters successfully promoted the state as a paradisical escape from the grimy cities and cold weather of the North. Land prices shot up at an astronomical rate, and developers carved entirely new cities out of wetlands in mere months. In addition to Flagler's railway, the arrival of the highway system in the 1920s made the region more easily accessible. However, the speculation around land prices in Florida had reached irrational heights, and the damage caused by two hurricanes, followed by the financial crash of 1929, led to a collapse in the real estate market, ruining many investors in the process.

Publication History and Census

This pamphlet was issued in several editions and versions, all of which are scarce. It is undated but presumed to be c. 1895, given the state of the Palm Beach Inn being under construction (it opened in January 1896). OCLC lists some editions with different dates, numbers of pages, and hotels listed, but there are no listings for this 28-page version ending with the 'Palm Beach Inn' in the subtitle.