The Great Depression devastated the area’s tourist economy and hoteliers were hit hard. Fuller and the Jungle Hotel were having financial troubles, and he ended up losing it to his uncle O.C. Fuller. The uncle lost it to Judge J.M. Lassing, who eventually lost it to Commonwealth Life Insurance Company.
After the United States entered World War II in late 1941, St. Petersburg, like many Florida cities, transformed into a military training facility. The U.S. Army invaded St. Petersburg, taking over nearly all the hotels, including the Jungle Hotel.
In 1944, the luxurious Jungle Club Hotel was sold to Admiral Farragut Academy for $300,000. Then an all-boys prep boarding school, Admiral Farragut sold portions of the original golf course to a developer for construction of single-family homes.