The Gulfport Casino, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is the third casino on this site. The first was destroyed in the 1921 hurricane, and the second was demolished in the early 1930s. Built with funds from the Works Progress Administration's Civil Works Authority, the present building was dedicated on December 1, 1935, before a crowd of 1,200 people with a flag raising and a concert by the Florida Military Academy. Throughout Gulfport's history, it has served as a gathering place for residents and visitors. At the first casino, Gulfport's first tourists stepped off a trolley and could board a ferry to Pass-A-Grille, and in 1910 Gulfport's incorporation was held there. The term casino comes from the Italian casa and means a public hall or gathering place, and the Gulfport Casino has never been a gaming facility. It is one of two Works Progress Administration projects in Gulfport, along with the municipal pier to the east.