This month we are leaving the United States and heading to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas’ capital, Nassau!
The American Civil War (1861-1865) brought an unusual increase in affluent American southern tourists to the Bahamas when Nassau acted as a blockade for the exchange of American goods. The Bahama government, hoping to cash in on the industry, built its first luxury hotel, the Royal Victoria Hotel.
The stone building was four stories high, held 221 rooms, and could accommodate up to 220 guests. British Army Surgeon Major Bacot wrote often in 1869 of the health benefits of the warm climate for winter health issues. Unfortunately, the hotel was not as successful as the government hoped and it went up for auction in 1877.
Henry Flager, steamship mogul, eventually bought the hotel property and set up transportation lines from Florida to Nassau by 1900. Dangerous travels still made tourists unsure if the travel to Nassau was worth the risk. The hotel and surrounding community then saw swings in tourism.
Pan American began daily flights from Miami to Nassau; the 2 ½ hour flights were more tourist-friendly, but the stock market crash of 1929 ended the quick flights as well as disposable income of many Americans.
Bootlegging and American prohibition also increased tourism. Wealthier Americans used the quick flight as a boozy vacation, while some used it as a chance to exchange rum to smuggle back in the United States. After prohibition ended in 1933, the island again saw a decrease in tourism.
During World War II, the British and American airmen used the island and hotel as a home and a chance to unwind and relax while listening to the tenured musician at the hotel, Bahamian folk singer, Blind Blake.
The hotel ceased operation in 1971, and much of the building was destroyed by a fire in the 1990s and was demolished. A portion of the surviving hotel now act as the Bahamas Ministry of Health, while the other portion is now a parking lot. Fortunately, the gardens of the hotel remained and can be visited at the site under the name, The Royal Victoria Gardens.
Resources:
Neely, Wayne. (2013) The Great Bahamas Hurricane of 1929: The Story of the Greatest Bahamian Hurricane of the Twentieth Century. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse.
“Royal Victoria Gardens.” The Island of the Bahamas, 2018. Web. https://www.bahamas.com/vendor/royal-victoria-gardens
Royal Victoria Hotel. (Medical Trade Ephemera Collection) Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.
Taylor, E.B.A. “For Sale – At Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas.” The New York Daily Herold. December, 19, 1877.