Miami-Biltmore_Hotel

The Miami Biltmore Hotel, commonly called The Biltmore Hotel or The Biltmore, is a luxury hotel in Coral Gables, Florida. The hotel was designed by Schultze and Weaver and built in 1926 by John McEntee Bowman and George Merrick as part of the Biltmore hotel chain. The hotel's tower is inspired by the Giralda, the medieval tower of the cathedral of Seville.
When completed in 1926, the Biltmore became the tallest building in Florida at 315 feet (96 m), holding the record as Florida's tallest building until 1928 when the Dade County Courthouse was built. At one time, the pool was the largest pool in the world and employed swimming instructor (and later Tarzan actor) Johnny Weissmuller. It served as a hospital during World War II and as a Veterans Administration Hospital and campus of the University of Miami medical school until 1968. The hotel was then abandoned for many years before again restoring operations as a hotel in 1987.
In 1986, Miami Biltmore Hotel was designated a National Historic Landmark.