The Miami Biltmore Hotel (commonly called The Biltmore Hotel or The Biltmore) is a luxury hotel in Coral Gables, Florida. The hotel was designed by Schultze and Weaver and was built in 1926 by John McEntee Bowman and George Merrick as part of the Biltmore hotel chain. The tower is inspired by the Giralda, the medieval tower of the cathedral of Seville. When completed in 1926, the Biltmore became the tallest building in Florida at , holding the record as Florida's tallest building until 1928 when the Dade County Courthouse was built. At one time, the pool was the largest pool in the world and employed swimming instructor (and later Tarzan actor) Johnny Weissmuller. It served as a hospital during World War II and as a VA Hospital and campus of the University of Miami medical school until 1968. Abandoned for many years it became a hotel again in 1987. In 1986, Miami Biltmore Hotel was designated a National Historic Landmark. History In 1925, land developer George E. Merrick joined forces with Bowman-Biltmore Hotels president John McEntee Bowman at the height of the Florida land boom to build "a great hotel...which would not only serve as a hostelry to the crowds which were thronging to Coral Gables but also would serve as a center of sports and fashion." In January 1926, after ten months of construction at a cost of $10 million, the hotel debuted with an inaugural that brought people down from northern cities on trains marked "Miami Biltmore Specials." Visitors included the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Ginger Rogers, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Al Capone, and assorted Roosevelts and Vanderbilts as frequent guests. Franklin D. Roosevelt had a temporary White House office set up at the Hotel when he vacationed in Miami. There were many gala balls and aquatic shows by the grand pool, with the grounds acting as a venue for weddings and golf tournaments. Just months after the hotel opened, on September 18, the 1926 Miami Hurricane struck. While the hotel was undamaged, providing shelter for over 2000 survivors, the disaster signaled the end of the Florida land boom. Merrick's Coral Gables company declared bankruptcy on April 13, 1929, and Merrick's stake in the hotel was bought out by his partner, John McEntee Bowman in November 1929 for $2.1 million. Bowman resold the hotel in September 1931 to millionaire Henry Latham Doherty. A large part of