There was a housing shortage in Tampa in 1925, and the three towers of the Hotel Biscayne on Davis Islands hoped to relieve some of it. The buildings were constructed in record time. Seventy-five days after the concrete footings were poured, the light fixtures were switched on for the first time. Designed to have a home feel, bedrooms were painted in Indian red and Jade green, tinted to harmonize with the lavish furnishings. The lobbies for each building were luxurious, furnished with elaborate furniture, decorative lighting, and wrought iron accents.  Special summer rates were $3 per day for a single bed and $5 per day for a double. The hotel closed in 1929 as the Great Depression took its toll.

In 1931, the Flanigan Brothers from Georgia purchased and reopened the Biscayne and operated it for five years until putting it up for sale in 1936. The M H Mabry real estate company negotiated a lease instead to an Atlanta company. In 1940, it was leased to Dr. Sherman K Smith, who changed the name to the Casa Del Mirasol and refinished the building. In the mid-1940s he changed the name again to the Casa del Sol Hotel and opened the Golden Horseshoe cocktail lounge in it. The building was sold in foreclosure in 1950 and was renamed the Davis Islands Hotel.  In 1962, Berkeley Preparatory School bought it for $225,000 and moved their school here from St Andrews Episcopal Church parish house on Plant Ave. with big plans to add athletic fields and science labs. It never happened. The school held its last class there in 1978, and the building was demolished in 1979. Eight townhouses have been built in its place.

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