Built in 1924, the Cargyle Inn was resold in 1925 for $375,000. Demand was high as people flocked to Tampa, and the three-story, forty-room apartment house was filled to capacity when it was purchased. In 1926, excitement grew as excavators began digging here amid rumors that the site possibly held the remains of the oldest burial grounds for foreigners in the Americas.  Speculation arose that the remains of followers of Hernando Desoto from 1539 were buried on this plot, and it was hoped that Tampa could be proven to be the oldest permanent city in the New World.

No determination was ever made. The building closed in 1929 for a year following a possible default and the inception of the Great Depression. It reopened in 1930 as a hotel, hosting clubs, dances, and high teas for Tampa society. In 1935, the building was sold, remodeled, and renamed the Edgewater Hotel, consisting of 36 bedrooms and 12 suites. The building repeatedly changed hands for decades, fell into disrepair, and was eventually vacated. Now known as the Edgewater Building, its former architectural details shining, it is a multi-tenant office building.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved