![]() But by the 1980s, the once grand and luxurious hotel had begun decline. It was truly a hotel fit for a king - Elvis Presley stayed there in 1955 after a concert at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory. ![]() The bar’s wild reputation at the time earned it the nickname “The Surefire Room.” Many of the service men at that time were housed in makeshift barracks located underneath the bleachers at the old Florida State Fairgrounds racetrack a few blocks away. The hotel’s bar, the Sapphire Room, was a popular nightspot during World War II for servicemen who were training at nearby Drew Field to fly B-17s over Europe. At the time, the Floridan was the tallest building in Florida and would remain the tallest building in Tampa until 1966. The Floridan Hotel opened in 1927 with 19 floors and 316 rooms, at a cost of $1.9 million to build.
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