One Building, Four Lifetimes

The Original Orange Hotel

The building which would one day become the “crown jewel” of the town of Inverness, Florida, began simply as a general store. Originally constructed at the corner of Line and Bay Street in the 1890s by Francis M. Dampier, it was the first general store in Inverness. At the turn of the century, the store was moved to Main Street and the building was turned into the Orange Hotel.

But a hotel is only as strong as the people running it. And the Orange Hotel might have never succeeded without Aunt Tom.

Tommie Lou Waits was born to Samuel and Emma Waits on March 12, 1875 in Hawthorne, Florida. Eventually, Aunt Tom, as she was affectionately known in later years, became Citrus County’s most successful hotelier.

But Tommie Lou’s path to hotel proprietorship took some unexpected turns along the way. She married W. H. Johnson in 1896 but that marriage ended soon after with his passing. In 1900, census records show that, at the young age of 25, a recently widowed Tommie Lou Johnson had returned to living with her parents and siblings in the Windsor district of Alachua County.

But on Valentine’s Day, 1908, Tommie Lou Waits-Johnson married William M. Maloy. Originally from Franklin County, Vermont, Maloy was a railroad engineer living in Jacksonville, Florida. He moved to Inverness after marrying Tommie Lou.

While it is believed they purchased the hotel shortly after their marriage in 1908, the exact date and means by which William and Tommie Lou acquired the Orange Hotel is not well documented. But by 1910, census records show that the couple was living in an Inverness building with four lodgers, the first of which was Tommie Lou’s niece, Ethel Waits.

By 1920, the Orange Hotel was proving to be a successful enterprise for the Maloys. Tommie Lou transitioned fully into the role of a hotelkeeper — managing no less than ten boarders — while William continued his work for the railroad.

A travel guide published previous to 1923 listed the services and rates of the hotel:

In the early 1920s, Florida was booming, and soon land men and speculators would make their way to Citrus County, Inverness, and even the Maloys’ modest Orange Hotel.

The Hotel Inverness

In early 1925, Mr. Alfred Olson of Baltimore, MD sought to build a new hotel in Citrus County — a hotel he planned to name Hotel Inverness. Mention of it was made in the Extra edition of the Citrus County Chronicle:

Citrus County Chronicle — Monday, March 23, 1925

New Hotel Started

Work on the new Hotel Inverness has been started. It will be of Spanish architecture and the grounds will be beautified with Palms, Magnolia Trees, Tennis and Roque Courts. Winding drives will lead up to its entrance. Come to the BOOSTERS MEETING at the COURTHOUSE TONIGHT, and see the Beautiful hand painted perspective which will be shown, advises Mr. Olson.

Show your confidence in Florida, in Citrus County and the future of Inverness by lending your attendance by your subscription to the small amount of stock necessary to bring capital to the County.

But for reasons unknown, Mr. Olson’s vision for his Spanish style hotel was never realized. By May 1, 1925 he partnered with Albert B. Walter, a “land man” from Kansas City, MO. Together they purchased the Orange Hotel from Tommie Lou and William Maloy for $52,500.

According to the Citrus County Chronicle, the Olson-Walter plan for the hotel included immediate expansion. The present frame building, with 162 feet of frontage on Main Street, was to be swung around at right angles so that another wing of similar length could be built, with a block of sixteen stores replacing the original structure. An additional $150,000 was to be spent to supply a long-felt want in the city for a combination tourist and commercial hotel, with an arcade between the two wings and 100 rooms in all.

But just four and a half months later, plans had changed and a new player was introduced. Mr. Olson was out — replaced in the Orange Hotel deal by Mr. Edwin J. Geittman, a former lawyer and banker from Kenosha, WI. On September 18, 1925, the Chronicle announced “Deal Closed” on the Orange Hotel purchase, with the new owners to take charge on Sunday, September 20th.

Mr. A. B. Walter and Mr. E. J. Geittman formed the Walter-Geittman Corp., a development company with ambitious new plans for the expansion of the Orange Hotel — plans which dwarfed those announced just months earlier.

Citrus County Chronicle — December 4, 1925

Plans Ready for $500,000 Hotel and Business Block at Inverness
Seminole-Tompkins Corner to be Hub of Inverness

Startling and infinitely progressive changes are to take place in and around that intersection in this city known as Seminole and Tompkins streets. Fronting on Seminole, the imposing new Orange Hotel annex now being moved will stand three stories in height, with a handsome 177-foot sun porch, beneath which will be built fifteen modern and attractive stores and shops, leases for which are now being made.

Across from this, the new fireproof Orange hotel will rise four stories at first and later six or eight stories as the need demands — and will contain 90 of the finest, most attractive and comfortable rooms to be found in any hotel in Florida, according to its builders. The new Orange hotel front will be of brick and stone and every room will have an adjoining bathroom.

The annex expansion in more detail: The building was enlarged in 1926 when it was moved to its present resting place on Seminole Avenue. The two-story structure became three when the original two floors were moved from Main Street and hoisted into the air on top of a new first-floor lobby. The guest room count was expanded to 40 when wings were built on both the North and South ends. The center section — between two brick walls that protrude through the roofline — is the original Orange Hotel.

Despite the fact that construction of the new annex was far from complete, by January 8, 1926 the Walter-Geittman Corp. was already placing ads in the Chronicle announcing the opening of the hotel dining room.

Citrus County Chronicle — Friday, January 15, 1926

Geittman Makes Stirring Speech

One of the most inspiring speeches ever delivered before Inverness business men was made yesterday noon before members of the Inverness Kiwanis club by E. J. Geittman, former Kansas banker and one of Inverness’ greatest city builders, Orange hotel proprietor.

It was the roaring twenties in America. Walter and Geittman had come into Citrus County with a bang. But on Sunday, March 14, 1926, a little less than three months before the official opening of the new annex, everything changed. Forty-four-year-old Geittman suffered a sudden stroke and died.

Left to helm the corporation alone, Mr. Walter vowed work would continue without interruption — but his idea for the development changed yet again. Plans to build the new fireproof hotel across Seminole were scrapped. Now, the “Orange Hotel Annex” would, in fact, be the complete new hotel. Looking into his not-too-distant past for a name, Walter chose a new one. On June 4, 1926, Inverness celebrated the opening of a brand new hotel — the Hotel Inverness.

Citrus County Chronicle — Friday, June 4, 1926

Inverness’ Handsome New Hotel Completed

The city of Inverness, with many guests from surrounding towns, will join tonight in appropriate festivities to celebrate the completion and opening of the new Hotel Inverness, just completed by the Walter-Geittman corporation. The Citrus County Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Club have co-operated in the staging of an elaborate banquet to be held tonight in the hotel dining room.

Perhaps no more beautiful and luxurious a hotel can be found in the state of Florida. The structure is three stories and has been built for the accommodation of one hundred guests. On the second floor is located one of the chief attractions of the inn — the large sun parlor, eighty feet long and twenty-four feet wide, enclosed on three sides with glass. In the twinkling of an eye this charming room can be changed into an ideal ballroom.

All bedrooms are equipped with bath or connecting bath, telephone, steam heat and electric lights. The organization of the Walter-Geittman corporation is composed of A. B. Walter of Kansas City, president; George A. Maher of Detroit, vice-president; and E. B. Webb of Sarasota, secretary-treasurer.

Entering the winter season of its first year, the Hotel Inverness announced special rates — single with bath at $3.50 per day, double with bath at $5.00 per day — to attract guests from the north. It appeared the corporation was off to a healthy start. But the Great Depression was right around the corner, and by many accounts banks began failing early in Florida.

Tommie Lou’s Orange Hotel

The Hotel Inverness might not have been the success the Walter-Geittman Corp. and its investors had hoped for. By the end of 1927, just a year and a half after opening, big changes were once again underway.

Somehow, either through good business, good fortune or a little of both, William and Tommie Lou Maloy became the owners of the hotel again. By January of 1928, the society pages of the Chronicle were referring to the hotel once again as the Orange Hotel. With the Maloys back in charge, the Walter-Geittman corporation and the “Hotel Inverness” seemed all but forgotten.

The Maloys would operate their newly remodeled hotel together for a couple more years until William’s passing on January 2, 1931. After his death, Tommie Lou took charge of the business.

But Tommie Lou wasn’t a single widow for long. In 1932 she married Mr. Archie Scott in Hernando County. Mr. Scott, also a railroad engineer — from Franklin County, Vermont — was a longtime friend of her late husband William Maloy.

Under the ownership of Archie Scott and his wife Tommie Lou, the Orange Hotel boasted 40 rooms offered at reasonable rates as well as home cooking. Around 1935, the couple added the portico to the front of the building, giving the hotel a more pronounced entrance.

On June 6, 1942, at the age of 67, Tommie Lou became a widow for the last time when Archie Scott passed away at the age of 71. She never remarried.

Tommie Lou continued to run her hotel on her own for 17 more years until August 13, 1959 when, at the age of 84, she finally decided to sell.

By most accounts, Tommie Lou owned and operated the hotel for over fifty years. In later years, she and her sister Jane both lived in duplicate houses right behind the hotel. She survived three husbands. And while she had an extended family of nephews and nieces (one named Tommie Lou after her), she never had children of her own.

Tommie Lou spent the majority of her life taking care of others, providing home-cooked meals and warm beds to strangers and friends alike. On September 14, 1960, just one year after serving her last guest, Tommie Lou passed away. She was 85 years old.

The Orange After “Aunt Tom”

On August 13, 1959, the Citrus County Chronicle reported that Mrs. Archie Scott had sold the property to Lynnwood N. Smith, a local businessman responsible for creating several subdivisions. His plans included enlarging the Shangri-La Dining Room to accommodate more guests as well as modernizing the ground floor and redecorating and air conditioning some of the guest rooms.

But Mr. Smith would not own the hotel for very long before succumbing to financial woes. On May 23, 1961, the New Hampshire newspaper The Nashua Telegraph reported:

Leslie Mercer and his charming wife, long winter residents of Inverness, Florida, have become hotel owners in that growing city. A recent story in the Citrus County Chronicle reports that the Mercers have bought the Orange Hotel at a foreclosure sale for $25,000. Mercer says he does not plan to operate the place permanently as a hotel. Knowing Les, one can be sure that something profitable will come from the venture.

Almost a year later, the Ocala Star-Banner reported he purchased the food and beverage side of the business as well:

Shangri-La Dining Room Bought By Mercer — April 27, 1962

Leslie D. Mercer, operator of the Orange Hotel here, has recently purchased the adjacent Shangri-La Dining Room and is in the process of remodeling and redecorating it. Mercer, a former New Hampshire auto dealer, has operated the hotel since last May.

A January 17, 1963 feature in the Citrus County Chronicle revealed the allure of both the Orange Hotel and Inverness for guests who returned year after year. One of them, Mrs. Mary Nash, had been coming to the Orange Hotel for 27 years.

Arkansas Woman Makes Local Hotel Her Home For 27 Years

Inverness holds a special place in the heart of Mary Nash. For 27 years this “capital” of Citrus County has been her second home — and the Orange Hotel, in particular, has been her home away from home. Mr. and Mrs. Nash found the hotel to be a delightful and refreshing place. The food was delicious and incredibly inexpensive. Folks were unusually friendly. Where else could she and Mr. Nash get a nice room and the finest home-cooked meals all for just $35 a week!

“Why, I’ve seen many times when dozens of people were turned away from both the hotel and the dining room… some with tears in their eyes,” recalls Mrs. Nash. “And you should have seen the banquets put on in the dining room!”

Committed to re-opening the restaurant, Mr. Mercer brought in new talent. On May 2, 1963, the Citrus County Chronicle announced that the popular Shangri-La Dining Room had re-opened under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Spafford and family, of Hernando, joined by their son Wilbur Jr., a trained chef freshly discharged from the Air Force.

But by the summer of 1965, after owning the hotel for just over four years, it seems Mr. Mercer was ready to divest himself of the hospitality business altogether. The following classified ad was placed in the St. Petersburg Independent on July 31, 1965:

HOTEL, 36 rooms, 5 apartments, 3 business rentals, beautiful air-conditioned 70-chair dining room, fully equipped kitchen, at new shopping center, just off U.S. 41, full price $55,000. Orange Hotel, Inverness, Fla. Phone 726-9939.

The Inverness Colonial Hotel

The Orange Hotel was purchased by Victor and Hermine Soto of New York. Born March 10, 1937 in Coamo, Puerto Rico, Victor Soto eventually made his way to New York City where he worked in the local hotel business. There, he met his soon-to-be wife, Hermine. They moved to Inverness in 1965 when they purchased the Orange Hotel from Leslie Mercer for $50,000.

Upon taking ownership, Hermine thought it best to keep the hotel’s original moniker, the Orange Hotel. But Victor believed the Colonial Hotel was more befitting “a property of that size and beauty.”

In their first years, the Sotos sought permission from the Inverness City Council for improvements — greater lighting in the parking area opposite the hotel (December 1966), and a beer, wine, and eventually full liquor license for a new cocktail lounge (1969).

But in four years, the stress of running a hotel, coupled with working sixteen-hour days, seven days a week, had taken its toll on their marriage. By March of 1969, Victor and Hermine divorced and Victor re-married Wilma Rogers, a waitress in the hotel. Leaving the hotel to Hermine in the divorce, Victor moved with his new wife Wilma and her two teenage sons, Ed and Danny, to Ponce, Puerto Rico in June of 1969.

According to Ed Bowman, son of Wilma Rogers and stepson of Victor Soto, leaving the Colonial Hotel behind was a very difficult choice, “because he loved it. He had a sense of loss leaving the hotel but he looked forward to going back to Puerto Rico and starting over with people who loved and cared about him.”

Ed, also a former employee, has great memories: “I painted every room in the hotel the summer of 1967. What a way for a 15 year old to spend his summer.” The Colonial, he says, was THE place to work for high school students. “I think probably half the kids that attended Citrus High School during the mid to late 60’s worked for Victor at one time or another as waiters, waitresses, maids, bell hops, busboys, gardeners, painters, and general handymen.”

After the divorce, Hermine Soto was left as sole proprietor. She advertised for a management team and offered the restaurant for lease, but by the end of 1970 she had had enough of the hotel business. On January 1, 1971, the Ocala Star-Banner reported she had sold the Colonial Hotel to Mr. & Mrs. Bill Shannon, formerly of Webster, Massachusetts, who obtained a full liquor license and retained the name.

In the spring of 1986, Victor and Wilma Soto moved back to Inverness to care for an ailing grandparent. Victor Soto passed away on February 23, 1990. Wilma remained in Inverness and still resides there.

After purchasing the hotel, Bill and Theresa Shannon expanded the business, adding a cocktail lounge with dancing and live music on Friday and Saturday nights. In March of 1972, they asked the city council to permit the lounge to stay open until 2 a.m. on weekends. Their request was granted.

A Royal Make-Over

By the late 1970s, the Shannons’ Colonial Hotel had become a dilapidated boarding house. Around the end of 1979 to early 1980, John Brierly was looking for investment properties in Florida when he happened to drive through Inverness. Once he saw the deteriorated hotel, its potential was clear to him.

Wasting no time, in May of 1980, Brierly and Inverness City Attorney Michael Kovach established Epicure Investments, Ltd., which purchased the property from Bill and Theresa Shannon on May 21, 1980 for $105,000. Shortly thereafter, Epicure began ambitious renovations.

Inverness’ Colonial Hotel Sold — Landmark brings $105,000

The aged Colonial Hotel on North Seminole Ave. was bought May 21 by an investment firm headed by Michael Kovach, city attorney and president of Epicure Investments, Ltd. “The entire place will be renovated into the style of a British pub,” Kovach said. “When we re-open, the Colonial will be a Hotel, not a rooming house.”

A companion article that day, “Hotel’s Origins A Mystery,” noted that there were no registered blueprints for the wooden structure and that county records trailed off near the turn of the century. The earliest reference of any kind was found in Hampton Dunn’s book Back Home, which described the 1959 sale by Mrs. Archie Scott, “Aunt Tom,” owner since 1901.

Note: That 1980 article erroneously reported that Mrs. Scott sold to an Auburndale businessman named “William H. Malloy.” In fact, that businessman’s name was Lynwood N. Smith. William Maloy (one L) was actually Mrs. Scott’s second husband, with whom she originally bought and ran the hotel. Mr. Maloy died in 1931.

The first physical stage of renovation was dramatic. On December 8, 1980, the St. Petersburg Times documented what was called the largest fumigation job in Citrus County’s history: the entire hotel was draped under a 600,000-cubic-foot tent for dry-wood termite fumigation. “Sidewalk superintendents” watched the three-day procedure with interest.

Key artisans in the remodel included architect Frank Kalinski, contractor Doug Puterbaugh, interior designer Marilee McIntyre, and glass works by V. L. Berthelsdorf.

On July 19, 1981, the Ocala Star-Banner reported construction well underway — still calling the hotel by its former name, the Colonial, even at this late date.

Hotel To Bring A Little Of Britain To Inverness

Come September, Inverness residents and tourists will be treated to a little class with the opening of the Colonial Hotel. According to those involved, the hotel will reflect a British atmosphere complete with English-accented cocktail and restaurant waitresses. “That’s where the dart board is going,” the bearded general contractor Doug Puterbaugh said. “And this here… this will be the bar — genuine copper-top.” He estimated the overall renovation bill at about $800,000. “But you can’t cheat on class.”

By December 24, 1981, the project was nearing completion but would miss perhaps its most important deadline: the new Crown Hotel would not be open for the holidays. General Manager Jade Rivers was training staff — more than 400 applications had been received for service jobs — and an early-to-mid-January opening was anticipated.

In the end, Epicure Investments spent 18 months and an estimated $2 million creating what would in time prove to be the seminal figure in the revitalization of downtown Inverness.

The Brand New Crown Hotel

The Crown Hotel opened for business Tuesday, January 5, 1982. It proudly featured 34 individually decorated guest rooms complete with brass beds, antique-styled furnishings and private baths. Renovations also included the addition of a sweeping, suspended spiral staircase in the lobby, a swimming pool and a guest elevator.

Two new dining outlets — the upscale Churchill’s restaurant and an English pub called The Fox & The Hound Tavern — required the addition of a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen.

For weddings and community events, two banquet rooms known as The Windsor and The Buckingham could accommodate up to 25 and 80 guests respectively. Reproductions of the renowned Crown Jewels were displayed in the lobby.

And finally, to complete the look, Epicure purchased a red 1909 double-decker bus at a London auction, shipped it across the Atlantic, and parked it just outside the hotel’s entrance.

The Crown opened with an original management team of four: General Manager Jade Rivers, Assistant Manager Ian Young, Chef Dennis Malone, and Maître d’ Salvatore Vaccarino. Around 1983, Jade Rivers became Managing Director and Ian Young was promoted to General Manager.

New Hotel Makes Headlines

Quickly becoming the star of Inverness and Citrus County, the Crown Hotel was the darling of travel scribes who wrote countless vanity pieces about it for newspapers, magazines and books. On April 26, 1984, the Lakeland Ledger wrote:

The Crown’s dining room suggests Victorian comfort — chairs upholstered in red felt, gold draperies and crystal chandeliers. More informal is the hotel’s pub, where you can throw darts and sip ale.

The Crown impressed guests from all around, but just a few years in, the business struggled to turn a profit. On July 2, 1986, the St. Petersburg Times reported that an outside investor would be buying stock in the business.

New Investors May Buy Large Block of Crown Hotel Stock

The hotel is currently owned by Epicure Investments, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the British firm Epicure Holdings. A group of American investors is negotiating to purchase a “large portion” of the stock, but less than half of it, said Michael Kovach, president of the company. Kovach, who was involved with the hotel’s massive renovation, said it is worth more than $3 million.

It was later reported that an unnamed Buffalo, New York investment firm purchased interest in the hotel for $1 million. While some staff left, major department heads — General Manager Ian Young, Assistant Manager Keitha Stoney and Chef Dennis Malone — remained.

A Gem Loses Its Luster

The cash infusion may have helped save the hotel for a while, but the Crown continued to hemorrhage money. Just four years later, on March 31, 1990, the St. Petersburg Times reported the Crown Hotel was up for sale.

Crown Hotel Is For Sale, Will Stay Open

The Crown Hotel, promoted by Citrus County business leaders as the elegant symbol of what downtown revitalization can accomplish, is for sale. According to a prospectus, the property at 109 N. Seminole Ave. has been appraised at $1.7 million. The business — 34 hotel rooms, a restaurant for formal dining and a pub — has been operating at a loss for each of the last three years. Last year, the loss totaled $137,000.

One of the primary investors recently had a serious heart attack. In a letter to newspapers, general manager Ian Young said the hotel was on the market because the man’s family “would like him to slow down and divest himself of some of his investments.”

But selling the hotel didn’t take as long as some might have thought. By June 6, 1990, the St. Petersburg Times reported that a sale was just around the corner.

Historic Crown Hotel May Get New Owner

A prospective buyer is showing interest in the Crown Hotel, the historic inn that has been on the market for three months. Sheila Mohs, the sales and marketing representative, said she has been told that contracts may be exchanged in the next 15 to 20 days. Epicure Investments is looking for a buyer who wants to continue operating the hotel and become a part of the local community.

New Owners Check In

On October 1, 1990 the Crown Hotel was sold to a private family from Wales. Nigel and Jill Sumner, along with their teenage children Caroline and Simon, moved to Inverness to operate the hotel. Proprietors of two other hotels in the past and having just sold one, the Sumners were originally looking to Florida for retirement when they stumbled upon the property.

Despite the previously reported $1.7 million appraisal, the Sumners purchased the property from Epicure for only $1 million. In an effort to lower overhead, cuts were made from the top: General Manager Ian Young and Chef Dennis Malone moved on. Only Assistant Manager Keitha Stoney would remain to help the Sumners run the hotel.

The Sumners would successfully operate the hotel for almost twelve years before once again opting for retirement. In late 2001, they offered the hotel for sale.

The Sumners Check Out

On November 30, 2001, the Sumners sold the Crown Hotel to husband & wife team Thomas Dryburg and P.C. Hyland.

But dark days were just around the corner. Under the management of the inexperienced new owners, the business spiraled out of control, unpaid taxes piled up and the property fell into foreclosure in less than a year.

By September 2002, local newspapers reported that the couple, accused of defaulting on a $1.15 million loan, had absconded in the middle of the night with a moving truck full of the hotel’s furnishings and valuables, leaving the mortgage company, the state, and the employees unpaid.

Workers struggle to keep Crown alive
By Carrie Johnson, St. Petersburg Times, September 15, 2002

With its pristine white clapboard exterior and navy-blue striped awnings, the Crown Hotel looks frozen in time from the outside. Inside, however, is a different matter. A week after assuming control, employees from a Jacksonville hotel management company are still trying to sort out the mess left by the previous owners, Thomas Dryburg and his wife, P.C. Hyland.

According to Crown employees, Dryburg and his wife spent Labor Day weekend loading a large U-Haul trailer with bedding, pictures and furniture from the hotel. While they told workers they were leaving for vacation, Inverness police concluded they had absconded.

The new owners had immediately announced plans to restore the British-style inn and pub to its former glory, even planning a European-style spa. But it was not to be. Within weeks they offended the Rotary Club by barring it from the conference room; police were called numerous times for disturbances; the structure caught fire in February, forcing about 10 guests to evacuate; and Hyland was accused of slapping a 66-year-old guest during a dispute over a meal coupon.

Jill Sumner said she is “heartbroken” over the current state of the Crown. “They’ve done too much damage. In nine months, they’ve managed to destroy everything we had worked for.” “He told us all these wonderful stories and I believed him,” she said.

On April 24, 2003, with foreclosure proceedings complete, the court put the hotel in the hands of the lender, the Small Business Loan Source of Houston, Texas. SBLS hired Landcom Hospitality Management, Inc. of Jacksonville to operate the hotel until it could be sold. Unable to attract a suitable buyer, the hotel sat on the market for a year, prompting SBLS to put the Crown up for auction with an opening bid of $1.4 million.

A New Start: Crown Court

Despite the reported opening bid of $1.4 million, new owners Cary & Brenda Jensen purchased the hotel for just $900,000 on May 3, 2004. But they would spend another $200,000 transforming the building once again — this time into an assisted living facility called Crown Court.

Today, the property continues to provide guests with a cozy, comfortable place to stay — just as it has for over 100 years.

The Story of the Stairs

Without debate, one of the most unique gifts that renovation brought to the hotel was the addition of the suspended, spiral staircase. The elegant fixture that became the centerpiece of the new hotel lobby was designed and built by the Driwood Moulding Company of Florence, South Carolina.

Randell Gelzer, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Driwood, started with the company in 1971 at the age of 28. Despite the many projects he has helmed over the years, Mr. Gelzer recalls working on the staircase his company designed specifically for the Crown Hotel back in 1980.

A former pilot in the US Air Force, Mr. Gelzer would periodically fly his twin-engine Navajo airplane from Florence to Inverness to discuss the project and take measurements. He recalls landing on the rural runway of the Inverness Airport one time when he was met by a Sheriff’s deputy who questioned him about his visit. On another occasion, he arrived to supervise the installation and was met with quite a unique sight — the entire hotel was covered in tarps for termite fumigation, an event which accidentally coincided with his visit.

His two-man crew of artists worked tirelessly back in South Carolina for over 12 weeks — in excess of 1,000 man-hours — building and crafting the one-of-a-kind staircase. Once completed, the one-piece staircase was loaded onto a truck and traveled almost 450 miles to Inverness. A testament to the skill and craftsmanship of its builders, the grand staircase installed with ease and took its proper place as part of the new hotel lobby — an object of art and wonder which, to this day, does not cease to amaze those who walk through the front doors.