Excitement in Clearwater ran high as the new 11-story Fort Harrison Hotel began to rise. Above: The Ballroom under construction - 1926.

But like other Florida cities, Clearwater was growing faster than predicted. Accommodations were at a premium, the city’s small hotels were swamped. Fast action was needed to service the flood of tourists and new residents that continued to pour in. What Clearwater needed was a large luxury hotel.

Clearwater city planners turned to civic-minded real estate broker Ed Haley to help procure the land and bring the project to fruition. The idea of a grand luxury hotel in Clearwater sparked Mr. Haley’s imagination and he swiftly gathered the funds necessary to accomplish this goal. His first plan was to purchase and renovate the Grey Moss Inn, then the city’s largest downtown hotel. It offered twelve hotel shops, a sun parlor, telephones in every room and a beautiful view of the Gulf, but with renovation it could be made to accommodate many more visitors.

The Grey Moss owners, however, refused to sell, thwarting Mr. Haley’s plans. Legend has it that Mr. Haley then purchased the land directly across the street from the Grey Moss for his new skyscraper, expressly to block his rival’s view of the Gulf.

Construction began in the spring of 1925. Excitement ran high as the hotel began to rise. Articles on the building’s progress ran frequently in the Clearwater Sun, leading up to the grand opening planned for December of 1926. Dubbed “The Aristocrat of Florida Hotels,” the Fort Harrison was to offer “every comfort and convenience.” The Grand Opening was held on December 31, 1926, with guests arriving from throughout Pinellas County for a gala celebration to welcome both the new building and the New Year.

As the Clearwater Sun reported:

“One of the most brilliant social events in the history of Clearwater was celebrated at the Fort Harrison Hotel last night on the occasion of the formal opening of the roof garden. More than 500 guests dined and danced in the new institution that is one of the most attractively and richly decorated dining rooms on the West Coast of Florida....

“Table and wall decorations were in harmony with the ivory and blue decorations of the walls and hangings of the balconied room. The balcony was filled and the space around the smooth oval for dancing was an endless round of brilliantly gowned women and their escorts, immaculate in the formal black and white of evening wear.”