Manufacturer: Syracuse China
User: Hotel Seminole – Jacksonville, Florida
Date of plate: circa 1911

The Indian Room at the Hotel Seminole

Advertisement for the Hotel Seminole

Photograph showing the terra cotta ornaments above the balcony roof

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Notes: The Hotel Seminole, on the corner of Hogan and Forsyth Streets in Jacksonville, Florida, opened January 1, 191o. It was ten-stories high, with 250 rooms and 175 baths. It had three cafes, and two convention halls, or ballrooms. One hall seated 500 and the other 400.  Below the third-floor windows were terra cotta ornaments depicting the bust of a Seminole chief. Over the entrances, on the second floor of two facades, there were covered balconies. These were popular gathering places on hot days, before air conditioning was available.

When it opened the Hotel Seminole was owned by the Florida Hotel Company. By 1917, Ucita Investment Company was the owner, with J. B. Pound as company president. By 1946, the J. B. Pound Hotels Company was the operator. The Seminole closed September 14, 1967, and was torn down in 1974. A couple of the Seminole chief terra cotta ornaments were salvaged and reused  nearby.

Syracuse China made a green transfer crested  china service for the Seminole. The crest is a bust of the Seminole chief, with braided hair, that is similar to the artwork used on the terra cotta exterior ornaments. There are thick and thin green lines at the rim and a green pin line at the verge. The back stamp on the one known example of this pattern has the impressed circle with number date code that was used from 1903 until December 1911.

The Indian Room was one of the Seminole Hotel dining rooms, and probably where this pattern was used.

For additional info:
Seminole Hotel by Maddock Pottery
Seminole Hotel 3 by Unknown German Pottery
Seminole Hotel 4 by Sterling China

Contributor:
Author and photos: Larry Paul