The Don CeSar is one of the more well known hotels in the Tampa Bay area. It stands tall, pink, and proud with 277 rooms, 40 suites, and 3 restaurants spanning a total of around 40,000 sq.ft. The Don CeSar hasn’t always been all glitz and glamour. From being a hotel, to a hospital, to a VA center, to abandoned, back to a hotel, it’s history is long, and almost didn’t even make it to where it is now! The Loews corporation has taken a great place and is owning/operating one of the finest hotels in the area by offering the very best in service, guest satisfaction, and plenty of amenities to keep everyone happy.
The Don Cesar has a very long history, starting in 1924, when Thomas Rowe spent $100,000 on 80 acres of land in St. Petersburg, Florida. He had a plan to make his dream hotel, his ” pink castle. ” Henry Dupont, and Indianapolis architect, was hired to design the hotel, along with Carlton Beard as the contractor. In 1926, construction began on his dream resort. The hotel was modeled in a Mediterranean style, with arches, red clay tiled roofs, balconies, and tower like upper floors. The initial plan was for a six-story hotel with 110 rooms, but was later expanded to twice that size, and the budget went from $450,000 to over $1.25 million. Rowe decided to name the hotel The Don Ce-Sar, after the lead character, Don Cesar de Bazan, from the opera Maritana. The grand opening, January 16, 1928, was a lavish, extravagant affair, attended by the Bay areas high society. Shortly after the opening, the hotel became a prominent hang out place for the rich and famous. Al Capone, Lou Gehrig, and Franklin D. Roosevelt are just some of the many that enjoyed the lavishness that was, and still is, The Don CeSar. After the stock market crash of October 29, 1929, many people were out of jobs, businesses were suffering or closing all together. The pink lady was able to maintain, mostly, due to a deal made between Thomas Rowe and then New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert to house the Yankees during spring training for three years, which kept the hotel full of athletes, sports writers, the athletes families, and fans trying to be near their favorite baseball stars.
In 1940, Thomas Rowe (photo on right) collapsed in the hotel lobby. He refused to be taken to a hospital, and instead moved into one of the hotels rooms, where he remained until his death. Upon his death, Mr. Rowe wanted the hotel to be left in the hands of the staff, but unfortunately, he did not have a will made out. The pink lady, instead, ended up being left to his estranged wife, Mary, who was indifferent as to the well being of the hotel. Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor, people stopped going to the beaches for recreation, out of fear of attacks. With this fear, the Don CeSar stopped making money, and was sold to the U.S. government for a sum of $400,000. The hotel was converted into a military hospital, and reopened in December of 1942. Two years later, February 1944, it was again remodeled, this time as a U.S. Air Force convalescent center. The Don CeSar remained as such until June of 1945, when it was ordered to be closed, and was vacant by September of the same year. By the end of 1945, it was yet another time repurposed as a Veterans Administration Regional Office. The VA remained until November 1967, when it began moving out. Around Spring of 1969, the hotel was completely vacated. The General Services Administration wanted to demolish the structure, but was met with intense and passionate opposition.
In March of 1972 the Don CeSar was purchased by C.L. Pyatt and William Bowman Jr, and was reopened on November 23, 1973. Between 1985 and 2001 there were multiple renovations and additions done to the hotel, totaling $7.5 million, including a 4,000 sq.ft. spa, a signature restaurant called the Maritana, and a second pool. The name of the hotel was changed from The Don Ce-Sar, to The Don CeSar, following the addition of the beach club and spa. In 1975 the hotel was named to the National Register of Historic Places and became a founding member of the National Trust Historic Hotels of America in 1989.
In 2003 The Don Cesar was purchased by Loews Hotels, and was renamed to Loews Don CeSar. Loews Corporation has a long history, starting around the end of World War 2. Brothers Preston
Robert and Laurence Tisch received an early business education from none other than their own rathe, Al, who owned a manufacturing plant in Manhattan. Preston and Laurence were tasked with making phone sales to retailers and wholesale distributors, along with helping operate a few summer camps owned by their parents, Al and Sayde Tisch, in New Jersey. Preston, after a brief stint in the Army, graduated from the University of Michigan in 1948 with a degree in economics. Laurence graduated with honors from New York University of Commerce, then earned an M.B.A. from Warton School in Philadelphia, and later attended Harvard’s Law School. In 1946, Al and Sayde Tisch sold their summer camps and purchased Laurel In The Pines Hotel in Laurelwood, New Jersey. The hotel business went well, and soon beam more than the parents could handle. Laurence dropped out of Harvard Law in order to help his parents run their lucrative hotel business, soon followed by his brother, Preston. Not long after that, the elderly parents signed over their share of the hotel, which at the time was valued at $75,000, to Preston and Laurence. The two brothers then started leasing other properties and were well on their way to becoming successful businessmen.
The brothers soon leased two small New Jersey hotels and were profiting. In 1952 they purchased two opulent but aging hotels in Atlantic City name the Brighton and the Ambassador. One was demolished, with a motel being built in its place. The other was soon sold for a profit. Shortly thereafter, the brothers decided to sell a portion of their New Jersey investments in order to purchase two hotels in New York City. This was the beginning of a diverse and valuable business career.
In 1956 Preston and Laurence paid $17 million to construct the Americana Hotel in Bal Harbour, Florida. Even though the Americana was later sold to Sheraton in the 1970’s, it was a pivotal part of their careers. The Americana helped solidify their roles as major hotel owners which aided them in purchasing such prominent hotels including the Drake, the Belmont Plaza, and the Regency.
In 1959 a major antitrust ruling mandated that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to forfeit ownership of Loews Theaters. This provided a unique opportunity for the Tisch brothers. Six months before MGM was to dismantle Loews, Preston and Laurence purchased a major share of the company, and by May of 1960 they owned the controlling stock. The brothers knew nothing of the motion picture industry, and knew the theaters were not profitable. Playing one film at a time to a scant audience was actually causing the theaters to lose money. The brothers, however, knew that the theaters were on very valuable land. Almost immediately upon taking control of the company they demolished the theaters and began selling off the land to wealthy developers.
The Loews brand was already a well known and long established name, and knowing this, the brothers created Loews Corporation. They began operating under this title, including already owned properties. They ran the corporation very smoothly and efficiently, allowing them to turn profits year after year, and by 1969 the brothers had earned enough capital and desire to further expand their portfolio in a completely different type of business. That opportunity came in the form of one of Americas oldest tobacco manufacturers, Lorillard industries.
Lorillard, makers of Newport and Kent cigarettes, was once a major company with a large share of the tobacco market. Poor management and bad investments nearly crippled the company. Upon taking control, Laurence went to work examining all of the companies subsidiaries to see where they could make losses and improve profits. He realized that too much time and money was being spent on products that accounted for such a small percentage of the overall profits. He quickly divested those companies and redirected the company back to solely manufacturing tobacco products. This helped turn things around and launch the company back to the top of Americas tobacco market.
A similar thing happened in 1974, when Loews purchased CNA Financial Corporation, a large, Chicago based insurance firm. The company had reported a loss of $208 million that year, with the expectations of more loss. Similar to Lorillard, money was being wasted superfluously on bad investments and over paid executives. When Loews took over, they quickly got rid of any unprofitable subsidiaries and fired many of the over paid executives. This streamlining process provided an almost immediate positive effect. In 1975 CNA profited $10 million and remained financially stable and profitable.
Loews next major purchase was Bulova Watch Company. In 1979, they bought 93% of the troubled company for $38 million. At the time, quality control was lacking and competition was fierce. The Tisch brothers applied their proven formula, trying to streamline and turn Bulova into a profitable company, without complete success. Part of the problem came in the form of a product that was not as modern or cheap, and the lack of proper quality control. They remedied this with new watch styles, extended warranties, better quality control, and an impressive ad campaign. These efforts resulted in the losses being cut in half by 1984, to around $8 million. In 1986 the company was finally turning a profit.
In late 1985 Laurence Tisch sold any remaining Loews Theaters and purchased a large share of CBS Incorporated stock in order to help fight of a merger with Ted Turner. During 1986 Loews holdings in CBS increased to 24.8% and Laurence was placed on the board of directors, and was soon elected president of CBS. Using the streamlining method, he cut spending and wages, along with mass layoffs. Eventually Loews sold a portion of its stocks, reducing their share to 18%.
During the 1990s, Loews started investing in yet another field. Loews spent $75 million buying oil rigs and purchasing Diamon M Offshore Incorporated, a Houston, Texas drilling company. With the 1992 purchase of Odeco Drilling Incorporated, Loews had amassed the largest fleet of offshore drilling rigs in the world. Yet, despite all of their efforts, the drilling company ended up losing $103 million over the course of 3 years.
In 1995 Loews purchased Continental Corporation for $1.1 billion. That, combined with CNA Financial, became the third largest property insurer in America. Another critical move was made when Loews brokered a deal to sell CBS to Westinghouse Electric for $5.4 billion. This ended Laurences’ reign at CBS, but also provided Loews with nearly $900 million from their shares. In late 1995 Loews sold about 30% of their oil drilling subsidiary, netting them an additional $300 million.
Late in 1996 Loews Hotels entered into a joint project with MCA Incorporated to develop three themed luxury hotels in Orlando, Florida. The first, the Portofino Bay Hotel, opened in 1999 with 750 rooms. The Hard Rock Hotel opened in 2000, with the Royal Pacific Hotel following in 2001. Loews, as per the contract, would provide management for the hotels. Loews furthered their expansion, opening Loews Miami Beach Hotel; an 800 room hotel located on Miami Beach. In early 2000 they opened Loews Philadelphia; a 590 room hotel and also purchased the Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego, California. In 2003 Loews purchased the Don Cesar Hotel on St. Petersburg Beach, renaming it to the Loews Don CeSar Hotel. They also provide management for their properties, providing the very best in accommodations and guest service.
In closing, the Loews Don CeSar, along with its owner/management company have long, and very interesting pasts. They seem to work very well together, providing one of the best hotel experiences around. Loews strives itself to make sure every guest leaves happy, and with memories they can cherish for the rest of their lives, and if their past is any indication, it would appear they have a long future doing just that.
By: Ronald Blakeslee
Date: October 2013