The Lost Skyscrapers of Jacksonville

5. Seminole Hotel - 10 floors


The hotel with many decorations inspired by the Florida Seminole Indians.

The 250 room Seminole Hotel was advertised as being absolutely fireproof and exclusively European when its doors opened on January 1, 1910. Designed by Henry J. Klutho, the 10-story building was located at the southeast corner of Forsyth and Hogan Streets. It was built on land owned by William Dawson and operated under a 99 year lease. During the early 20th century, the Seminole provided popular dining and meeting facilities including two large banquet rooms: The Grand Ballroom seating up to 600 and the Seminole Room which accommodated 300.


William Dawson owned the land that the Seminole Hotel was built on.

The Seminole remained in business for 57 years before closing its doors on September 14, 1967. In need of updating to modern standards, it was decided that it was too costly to add fire escapes to the structure and its owners handed over the aging structure to Dawson's family.  In 1974, a few years later, it was demolished and replaced with a parking garage. In the early 1990s, the former Seminole Hotel site became the location of Barnett Bank's 42-story Barnett Center. Today, the former Barnett Center is known as the Bank of America Tower. Standing 617' tall, it is the tallest skyscraper between Atlanta and South Florida.