[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 21, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E107]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BELLEVIEW

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                          HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 21, 1997

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, one of the great privileges of 
serving from the 10th Congressional District of Florida is to represent 
one of our Nation's landmark hotels, the Belleview of Belleair, FL, 
which celebrates its 100th anniversary later this month. Not only is it 
world renowned as a tourist destination, but it is listed on our 
National Registry of Historic Places.
  Henry B. Plant, the railroad magnate who became known as one of 
Florida's greatest developers, opened the doors to his elegant hotel 
named the Belleview on January 15, 1897. Built on a bluff that 
overlooks Clearwater Harbor, the original 145-room hotel quickly became 
recognized as a favored winter retreat.
  Later, as golf courses and swimming pools were added, the hotel 
became uniquely modern for its time. In addition to serving its guests, 
the hotel was also the location for the Belleair post office and fire 
station. While the hotel ownership changed and the railroad cars left 
the siding, the importance of the Belleview to the area did not wane. 
In fact, during World War II, the hotel was leased to the U.S. Army Air 
Corps to serve as the auxiliary barracks for MacDill and Drew Fields in 
Tampa.
  Several years later, the hotel, now with more than 500 rooms, 
reopened as a resort and began a new chapter that led to its being 
qualified for a listing in the National Register of Historic Places on 
March 7, 1980. I was privileged to have been a part of that program, 
and it is a special honor for me to be able to salute the Belleview 
Hotel--now the Belleview Mido--on this its 100th anniversary.
  The Belleview has always been known for its hospitality and its 
graciousness. It has hosted countless numbers of dignitaries, 
conventioneers, and others who wish to enjoy its golf course, its pools 
and sunshine, its cuisine, and its spa and fitness center. Today its 
guests are no less important than those who were greeted by Henry B. 
Plant, and as we look to the new year and the 21st century, I 
congratulate the Belleview Mido on its 100th anniversary and I thank 
the management and staff for their work in preserving this magnificent 
structure, its history, and contributions to the Town of Belleair and 
to Pinellas County.

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