Tarragona Arch - Daytona Beach, FL
N 29° 12.038 W 081° 02.768
17R E 495515 N 3230215
The Tarragona Arch, also known as the Tarragona Tower, is located at the intersection of Tarragona Way and International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Waymark Code: WM4MD3
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 09/06/2008
Views: 36
From the
Daytona Highlands website:
The Tarragona Tower was designed by D.J. Emery and built of coquina rock taken from the property on which it was constructed. It was considered the most pretentious of all Florida entrances when it was built in the mid 1920's. Its original design consisted of a grand tower with two arches. When International Speedway Boulevard (then called Volusia Avenue) was widened in the 1940's, one arch was removed. When the road was widened again in the 1980's, the arch was literally moved to avoid demolition. A complete restoration was recently completed in 2004. The arch is now considered a city landmark.
Also on this website, is the following information about the Daytona Highlands neighborhood for which the Tarragona Tower was constructed:
In the mid 1920's, Daytona Highlands was touted as "Florida's Suburb of Hills and Lakes." Originally named "Coquina Highlands," the name was changed to "Daytona Highlands" so that the city of Daytona (not yet called Daytona Beach) might benefit from the nationwide publicity put on by the developers.
Designed as an exclusive golf and country club style community, early plat maps of the development detail a proposed series of canals, lakes, parks, playgrounds, boulevards, two golf courses, tennis courts, pools, and even several hotels.
Plans for new homes in the community required approval by the board of Architects, and homes were restricted to Mediterranean architecture, with the exception of certain sections devoted to various English types.
The community was platted to extend north of International Speedway Blvd (then called Volusia Blvd.) and include the land that now encompasses Daytona Beach Community College and UCF.
To the west, houses nestled among golf courses were planned for what is now Mainland High School. In fact, Daytona Highlands was to become the greatest residential, recreational and year round resort community in all of Florida.
Unfortunately, the Great Depression took its toll on plans for the development. Many existing homeowners lost their properties, and all additional development halted. It wasn't until the mid-1950s when development began again. Although much of the originally platted land was sold off in large parcels, those lots that remained nestled amongst the older original homes in the development were sold to builders and individuals for private construction projects.
The resulting community is an eclectic blend of Florida homes - some modest, some quaint, a few with modern renovations, and others with historical significance -- a perfect reflection of Daytona Beach's past, present and future.