the hotel's revenue in the 1930s came from aquatic galas. As many as 3,000 would come out on a Sunday afternoon to watch the synchronized swimmers, bathing beauties, and alligator wrestling. Johnny Weissmuller, before he was known for his role in Tarzan, broke a world record at the pool. With the onset of World War II, the War Department took over the hotel, converting it to a 1200-bed hospital in November 1942. The building was transferred to the Army in 1946 and renamed Pratt General Hospital. Many of the windows were sealed with concrete, and the marble floors covered with government-issue linoleum. The hospital was transferred from the Army to the Veterans Administration (VA) in July 1947. Also the early site of The University of Miami's School of Medicine, Pratt General Hospital remained a VA hospital, with 450 beds, until a newer facility opened nearby in May 1968 and the building was vacated. In 1973, through the Historic Monuments Act and Legacy of Parks program, the City of Coral Gables was granted ownership control. The building remained unoccupied for almost 10 years. Then in 1983, the City oversaw its full restoration to be opened as a grand hotel. It was reopened on December 31, 1987 as a luxury hotel and resort. In June 1992, a multinational consortium led by Seaway Hotels Corporation became the new operators of the hotel under a long term management lease with the City of Coral Gables, and again made extensive refurbishments to the property. New lighting and telephone systems, repairs to the pool, furnishings, a complete guestroom renovation program and spa were completed. In February 2009, the hotel opened a Culinary Academy. The Biltmore Culinary Academy is a recreational hands-on cooking school with classes for adults and children taught by the hotel's chefs. On April 18, 2012, the AIA's Florida Chapter placed the building on its list of Florida Architecture, 100 Years, 100 Places. The hotel is on a list of supposedly haunted locations. Mobster Thomas Walsh was killed while staying at the hotel in 1929. The hotel has been used as a setting in various movies and television programs such as Bad Boys, The Specialist, Shock Waves, CSI: Miami, Popi, and Miami Vice. Golf The hotel has an 18-hole, par 71, championship course designed by Donald Ross. Reopened in November 2007, following a $5 million investment, the course was restored and updated by Brian