Each winter for 70 years, the social life of Altamonte Springs centered on this hotel. A 3 story wooden hotel was erected on this site in 1882/1883, two years after the railroad from Sanford to Orlando was built. The Altamonte Land, Hotel and Navigation Company acquired 1,200 acres of land, extending from the railroad station more than a mile west, intending to create a "Little Boston" for northern residents who wished to winter in a more salubrious climate. The hotel, with accommodations for 150 guests, stood on the northern end of Lake Orienta. It was designed by Bostonian Nathaniel Jeremiah Bradlee, built by Boston contractor Joseph M. Lewis, and opened in February of 1883. Until the Jacksonville/Sanford railroad connection was made in 1886, guests traveled from Jacksonville to Sanford by steamboat, then boarded a donkey-drawn tram at the Altamonte station to reach the hotel; the donkey was named "Dixie Flyer." Known for fine dining, the hotel offered Lake Orienta activities including fishing contests, pleasure boating, and rowing regattas, as well as golf, tennis, bowling, horseback riding, swimming, hunting, concerts, and plays. Improvements were added over the years, including an annex after WWI that was later enlarged. Gas lights were first lit at a gala New Year's Eve party in 1900, telephone service came in 1917, and electric lights in 1923. George Bates purchased the hotel in 1901, and he and his son Everett operated it from the 1912-1913 season, from Dec. 1 to April, until it was destroyed by fire in the summer of 1953.