The Suwannee Hotel in the mid-1900s.

Last week, we began discussing the well-known Suwannee Hotel. Today, we finish taking a look at this iconic building that no longer exists.

By 1932, Henry Holley had been brought in to manage the Suwannee Hotel. He was elected president of the Kiwanis Club in October of the same year, a fact noted by the Suwannee Democrat. In February 1935, owner Jack Randle died of pneumonia, but his widow continued to own the building. In June 1935, Hayward T. Hall (Mrs. Randle’s brother and formerly manager of the Chipola Hotel in Marianna) became the manager of the Suwannee Hotel; he would go on to manage the building off and on for the next 35-plus years, with John Marvin Phillips and his wife Lillian managing it for part of the interim.

In April 1949, the rooms of the Suwannee Hotel received an upgrade when 56 telephones were installed, bringing the total number of telephones in Live Oak past 1,000 for the first time. Further renovations were completed in 1960, with new furniture and carpeting being added to the hotel’s three stories. The guest room walls were papered and the ceilings lowered. Baths were installed on the first two floors while showers were installed on the third floor. Every room was air conditioned, and every room on the first two floors now had a private tiled bathroom. The old doors were replaced by new, paneled doors. This was in addition to lobby renovations and the installation of an elevator Hall had completed in prior years.

The Suwannee Hotel continued to be a fixture in Suwannee County for many years. The restaurant inside was known by several names as owners came and went. Under the management of John Marvin Philips (who also served as mayor for 26 years) and his wife, Lillian, it was known as the Suwannee Hotel and Dining Room. Maudine Jackson Glisson, who had previously opened the Mayo Café, was recruited to run the restaurant in the Suwannee Hotel; at the time, it was known as the Suwannee Hotel Coffee Shop.

Eventually, the construction of Interstate 10 on the northern outskirts of Live Oak, coupled with a shift in travelers’ tastes, led to the gradual decline of the Suwannee Hotel. By 1974, the Randle Hotel Company, which consisted of one deceased trustee, owned the hotel. A reconstituted Randle Hotel Company, comprising the heirs of the last original trustee, took ownership of the property. However, times had changed, and the old Suwannee Hotel was torn down around 1975 to make way for bank additions.

Next week we’ll discuss more of our history.

Eric Musgrove can be reached at ericm@suwgov.org or 386-362-0564.