Temple Terraces Country Club Sutton Hall - Florida Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Side 1
The Temple Terraces Country Club was built on the site of the 1910 hunting lodge of world renowned Chicago socialite and businesswoman Bertha Honore Plamer's 19,000 acre "Riverhills Ranch." It opened in 1922 as the centerpiece of the master planned golf course and citrus community known first as Temple Terrace Estates. Designed by distinguished architect M. Leo Elliot in the Spanish Mission style, the building was one of his favorite designs. An elegant entrance featured a glass and wrought iron awning with marble steps and vestibule. The clubhouse became a popular social center for Tampa area society. City of Temple Terrace founder and attorney Cody Fowler wrote that it "was quite an elegant place. The clubhouse was really a hotel, and a large number of guests were also citrus grove and lot owners. In winter, the hotel was filled with wealthy northern gentlemen and their spouses who enjoyed playing golf and tending citrus in the sunny south." By 1926, with the advent of the Great Depression, the building fell into disrepair and became vacant.
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Side 2
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In 1932, the city foreclosed on the hotel and it was sold to the Florida Fundamental Bible Institute. When the school moved to Pinellas County in 1943, the building and campus was purchased by Sherman K. Smith who sold it, on December of 1944, to the newly-formed Florida Christian College, now Florida College. At the time of the purchase, the once lovely hotel and grounds were severely deteriorated. The institution opened in September 1946 with grades 10-12, and the first two years of college. From the earliest days of the college, Sutton Hall served as a residence hall for women and its lobby was a place for special events. The kitchen and dining room served as the college's cafeteria until 1998. Hinely Hall was built in 1998 to replace the original enclosed dance pavilion and loggia. The circle drive to the north of the building was enhanced in 2012 by the addition of the "Florida College Society Circle" with gazebo, walkway, and landscaping. The building acquired the name Sutton Hall in honor of Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Sutton, the parents of Mrs. C.G. McGehee whose husband was a charter member of the college's board of directors.

Marker Number: None Date: February 16, 2015 County: Hillsborough Marker Type: City Sponsored or placed by: Temple Terrace Preservation Society, Florida College, City of Temple Terrace, Hillsbourgh County Historical Advisory Council Website: Not listed

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