The rich and famous, as well as well-to-do locals, found a home away form home at the Langford.
Central Florida’s reputation as a vacation destination began long before the first theme park was even a dream. Visitor’s looking to escape the bleak winters of New England and the Midwest found the warm climate irresistible, and many made it their home. In 1934, the same year Robert E Langford graduated from the University of Chicago; his grandmother visited Winter Park, fell in love with the area and said, “This is the place.” She couldn’t have known her choice to buy a 9 year old house for $12,000 at 716 Interlachen Avenue would lead to her grandson building the prestigious Langford Hotel.
Robert Langford spent a lot of time in Winter Park, and his first major project in the city was the construction job the 24 unit Langford Apartments that opened December 2, 1950, on the north side of New England Avenue, east of Interlachen Avenue. He soon was scouting a location for a first class hotel somewhere in Florida; his family had owned and operated Chicago’s Del Prado Hotel. He considered Fort Lauderdale and a location on the state’s west coast, but with a little coaxing from representatives of the city and Rollins College, he decided downtown Winter Park was the best site for a large, modern, luxury hotel, which the city hadn’t had since the Seminole burned in 1902.
A cool, year-round hotel
In addition, he saw the Orlando Winter Park area as a potential destination for air travelers for business or pleasure. He also recognized the major plus and hotel in hot, sunny Florida would have if it was air conditioned, and amenity that was missing from local hotels. Earlier hotels in Winter Park were open only for the winter season; a hotel open every day of the year would be different and desirable.
Langford bought land across from his apartments in the early 1950’s and made plans, visiting other resorts to see what worked and what didn’t. Meanwhile, the city accommodated his needs by rezoning the area from residential to commercial. Langford lived in Chicago with his wife and four children but frequently came to Central Florida while his hotel was in the planning and construction phases. He hired William Harvard Jr. of St. Petersburg and B.E. Jolly of Chicago as his architects, and local contactor James Mann Construction Company was selected to build the hotel.
The Winter Park Sun on March 3 1955 reported that ground would be broken the following week for the million dollar Langford Hotel. It was scheduled to open on January 1, 1956, an ambitious goal. On January 12, 1956, an editorial in the Sun announced that the hotel was about to open:
All Winter Park joins this week in congratulating Robert Langford on completion of the Hotel Langford, which will be one of the show places of Winter Park for many years to come.
by: Tesha Daniels / [email protected]
