ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — The iconic Don CeSar Place neighborhood will host a 100th anniversary party at the Don CeSar Hotel on Sunday in St. Pete Beach to celebrate the founding of the Thomas J. Rowe corporation in 1925.
“This corporation created Don CeSar Place, which was to include a fabulous hotel for guests who wanted to come in the winter and stay temporarily,” said Matthew Bane, local historian. “And this neighborhood for those residents who wanted to come and spend the entire season.”
What You Need To Know
The 100th anniversary event celebrates the founding of the Thomas J. Rowe corporation in 1925
Rowe built the Don CeSar Hotel first on the 80 acres of land he purchased, followed by the neighborhood
Some of the original homes Rowe built around 1930 are still standing and occupied
The 100th anniversary celebration begins at 5 p.m. at the Don CeSar Hotel on Sunday and tickets for the event have been sold out
St. Petersburg developer Thomas Rowe built the Don CeSar Hotel first on the 80 acres of land he purchased, followed by the neighborhood, which currently has more than 300 homes.
“He then was going to fund the ongoing operations of the hotel and the neighborhood through the sale of residential lots and homes,” said Bane. “We started to see houses being built more and more quickly as we approached the end of World War II.”
Some of the original homes Rowe built around 1930 are still standing and occupied. Bane said one of those homes at the foot of the Don CeSar Hotel has lasting importance.
“The house is incredibly historically significant… because of its proximity to the hotel and because it was built in a style that reflects the Spanish architecture of the Don CeSar Hotel itself,” he said. “This is one of the very first houses that was built in Don CeSar Place.”
Kathy Garchow lives in the neighborhood and is a board member on the Don CeSar Property Owner Corporation. She helped to plan the anniversary celebration and has been trying to help save the iconic neighborhood from flooding by pushing the city for more resiliency projects.
“I can’t tell you the outpouring of people that still want to keep this neighborhood booming and growing,” she said. “This is just a beautiful little neighborhood of people that I think reach out and care.”
The legacy of the Don CeSar Hotel includes hosting the New York Yankees in the 1930s, along with presidents, celebrities and notable people from all over the world. Rowe named the hotel after an opera character and passed away there at the age of 69. The hotel was then run by the military for nearly three decades, sat vacant for a few years before being refurbished and reopened in 1973.
“This hotel will stand long beyond the vision of Thomas Rowe or the Hubbards or anybody else that has passed through the neighborhood,” Bane said. “This hotel and this place are special.”
Special for visitors and those who live nearby, as the Don CeSar Place residents get ready to honor their history both past and present. The 100th anniversary celebration begins at 5 p.m. at the Don CeSar Hotel on Sunday. Tickets for the event have been sold out.