Streamline Hotel

Streamline Hotel
General information
Location Daytona Beach, Florida 32118
Address 140 S. Atlantic Ave
Opening 1941
Owner Eddie Hennessy
Technical details
Floor count 4
Other information
Number of rooms 47
Number of bars 2
Parking Yes
Website
Official website
[1]

The Streamline Hotel is a hotel located in Daytona Beach, Florida. Opened in 1941, it's the recognized birthplace of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR).[2]

NASCAR

NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. and numerous drivers, officials, and promoters gathered in the Ebony Club's rooftop hotel bar on December 14, 1947. The meeting concerned various issues such as drivers failing to get paid due to promoters leaving races with the gate receipts before they ended, along with the lack of consistent rules.[3] After 69 days of conversations and ideas, the meeting adjourned on February 21, 1948[4] with the formation of the National Stock Car Racing Association (NSCRA), but was later renamed to NASCAR after it turned out that there was another sanctioning body by that name. NASCAR's first offices were located three blocks away from the hotel at the Selden Bank Building.[5] Daytona International Speedway is located six miles (9.7 km) west of the hotel.[6]

Features

The mint green-painted Art Deco-themed hotel opened in 1940.[7] It's a four-story building located on the west side of Road A1A, which was once used as the Daytona Beach and Road Course.[8] A plaque located outside the building proclaims that the hotel is the first building in Daytona Beach to be fireproof, and was also considered as the city's first bomb shelter.[9] The Streamline Hotel also is the oldest standing hotel in Daytona Beach.[10]

Decay and restoration efforts

The hotel has later grown more decrepit through the years, such as rusty walls and sun damage.[11] A police chief once called the building a "den of iniquity." However, the plaque stated that the building was restored by owner Eric G. Doyle. In 2006, Frank Heckman, chairman of the Main Street-South Atlantic Avenue Redevelopment Board stated that Daytona Beach expressed interest in purchasing the hotel, potentially converting the building to a NASCAR museum and tourist attraction. $400,000 had reportedly appeared on the board's budget under the "historic preservation" category, which is apparently intended to help restore the hotel. However, Daytona Beach's finance director denied any knowledge of the funds.[12] The building has also been used as a youth hostel and a retirement home owned by an evangelist who claimed to have ministered Elvis Presley.[13] In 2011, Zetta Baker, one of the founders of the Victory Lane Racing Association (VLRA), an organization that helps racing families in need, announced at the group's annual meeting that they would purchase the building;[14] however, the deal fell through. In 2014, it was announced that the hotel had been sold to local businessman Eddie Hennessy, who planned to renovate it into a "South Beach, art-deco style boutique hotel".[15] As part of this effort, the hotel was featured on an October 2014 episode of Hotel Impossible. The hotel is currently under construction and slated to open during the summer of 2016.

References

  1. ↑ "Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach". Yahoo! Local. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  2. ↑ "History of NASCAR". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. March 8, 2010. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  3. ↑ "NASCAR". Motorsportshistory.com. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  4. ↑ MacWatters, Sandra (December 15, 2012). "NASCAR Birthplace at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona 65 Years Ago". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report, Inc. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  5. ↑ Busbee, Jay (February 13, 2010). "Strolling through NASCAR's storied Daytona Beach history". sports.yahoo.com. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  6. ↑ Wetzel, Dan (February 25, 2012). "Birthplace of NASCAR is a historic, highfalutin, hidden gem in Daytona Beach". sports.yahoo.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
  7. ↑ Moore, Chris (January 13, 2013). "What Hotels Are Near Daytona Beach Pier?". USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Before The Speedway, NASCAR Raced On Daytona's Beach". raceweekillustrated.com. Every Other Man Productions. February 16, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  9. ↑ "2011 NASCAR News & Rules". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  10. ↑ Zeigler, Cyd (February 28, 2012). "Streamline Hotel, the birthplace of NASCAR, is now a gay bar". outsports.com. Outsports. Archived from the original on May 21, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  11. ↑ MacGregor, Jeff (February 27, 2012). "This Sporting Life: Daytona". ESPN.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  12. ↑ Lafferty, Mike (September 17, 2006). "Birthplace of NASCAR ages ungracefully". Orlando Sentinel. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  13. ↑ Smith, Kevin (August 4, 2004). "The Race Is Over, and NASCAR Wins". Motor Trend. Los Angeles: TEN: The Enthusiast Network. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  14. ↑ Lehman, Hilary (April 19, 2011). "Group wants to buy Streamline Hotel for racing history". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Daytona Beach, Florida: New Media Investment Group. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  15. ↑ Cassady, Jeffrey (April 16, 2014). "NASCAR birthplace Streamline hotel sold, to be reborn as boutique inn". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Daytona Beach, Florida: New Media Investment Group. Retrieved April 16, 2014.

Coordinates: 29°13′25″N 81°00′24″W / 29.2235°N 81.0066°W / 29.2235; -81.0066

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