Clewiston Inn - Clewiston, Florida, USA - Antique Hotels on Waymarking.com

The Clewiston Inn (known locally as ‘The Inn’) is a historic building listed on February 21, 1991 with the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places. It is located at US Highway 27 and Royal Palm Avenue in the heart of Clewiston’s downtown historic area.

‘The Inn’ is the oldest hotel in the area of Lake Okeechobee that still provides lodging for guests. This building is the second building to be called the Clewiston Inn. The first Clewiston Inn was originally built along the unprotected waterfront of Lake Okeechobee in 1926 by the Clewiston Company. The Clewiston Company was the community and real estate arm of the Bror Dahlberg’s Southern Sugar Company. Southern Sugar Company went bankrupt in 1929 and and all its assets including the Clewiston Inn were acquired by the United States Sugar Corporation in 1931 when Charles Stewart Mott formed the company.

The original Clewiston Inn (1926) survived the disastrous hurricanes of 1926 and 1928 that devastated the area and caused massive loss of lives and property. However, on September 19,1937 it was lost due to a fire. The United States Sugar Corporation (USSC) rebuilt the inn in 1938 in the classic revival style structure that is seen today. USSC continued to utilize the inn as its host location for VIP’s, dignitaries, and investors until 2007 when it was sold to private interests.

‘The Inn’ for many years was the social hub of Clewiston and the Glades area due to its lodging, dining, and banquet facilities. It is the only Neo-classical Revival style building in the area and was designed by L. Phillips Clarke and Edgar S. Wortman famed South Florida architects.

Today ‘The Inn’ retains nearly all its original features. These include the lobby’s rich, birds eye cypress paneling, front desk, hearth and staircase. The famous Everglades Lounge has a 360 degree mural painted on the walls. This famous mural was painted in the early 1940’s by J. Clinton Shepherd. Shepherd was a West Palm Beach artist that worked in oils. He made daily trips to the Everglades to study the flora and fauna to paint on this mural. Throughout the hallway leading to the lounge there are historic photographs of Shepherd and his assistants painting the mural.

Name of the Hotel: Clewiston Inn Address: 108 Royal Palm Avenue Clewiston, Florida 33440 Number of Rooms: 57 Height in floors: 2 Hotel Rating: 3 Hotel since: 06/02/1938 Date Building was built: 01/01/1938 Historic Hotel (Historic Building, National Monument or similar): yes Urban Hotel (located in a village or town): yes Mountains Nearby (less than 25 Kms / 15 Mil): no Beachs Nearby (less than 25 Kms / 15 Mil): no Historic Place nearby (Unesco or National monument/site less than 25 Kms / 15 Mil): yes Major Pilgrimage Place Nearby (less than 25 Kms / 15 Mil. Consider any religion).: no Hotel website (if available): [Web Link] First use of building: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/10/2021 BoomersOTR visited it