Heritage Hotel and Hammerheads Resturant
Jun 24th, 2008 by swfpi
Heritage Hotel and Hammerheads Restaurant was investigated by SWFPI in conjunction with S.P.I.R.I.T.S of St Petersburg. Southwest Florida Paranormal Investigations (SWFPI), a TAPS family member, performed an investigation and assessment of suspected paranormal activity at the Heritage Hotel. The investigation was conducted under the guides of employees and guests of the inn have reported experiencing possible paranormal activities within the inn. Also, under the supervision and participation of SPIRITS of St Petersburg.
SWFPI conducted an investigation in order to determine an opinion as to the level of suspect paranormal activity and to possibly present data that supports suspected paranormal activity. SWFPI visited the site on May 10th, 2008 and conducted their investigation between the hours of 9:00pm, May 10th and 2:15am, May 11th.
Historical Report
Heritage Hotel
234 Third Ave. North
St. Petersburg, FL
Formerly known as the Martha Washington Hotel, although she and her husband never slept there, has traditionally been a hotel for seasonal residents. It was built by Charles Helt in 1926 and was only opened during the winter months.
Realtor William C. Tourtelot and Pinellas County hotelier, William Bond, Jr. (also a former St. Pete Council Member) bought and renovated the 100-room hotel at a cost of $2.2 million in August, 1985. There plans include adding a restaurant, lounge, swimming pool and some shops. The developers also plan to install central heating and air conditioning, color televisions and private telephones in each room. The hotel’s courtyard will be converted into a parking area, and the 5-car garage will be converted into a bar and lounge area. The renovated hotel plans to open next fall (‘86) as a full-service, year-round hotel.
Tourtelot and Bond purchased the hotel from Helt’s grandson, Ogden Helt, who is also listed as one of the investors of this new project.
It is reported at the time of this sale, the investors are requesting to have the Martha Washington Hotel put on the National Register of Historical Places which will allow the group to be eligible for investment tax credit for renovations.
The completely refurbished Martha Washington reopened January 1, 1987 as the Heritage Inn. It is being managed by Heritage Resort Management, Inc. and is owned by limited partnership. Bill Tourtelot Jr. is the general partner, Bill Bond is chairman, and Derwin Smith is president.
The 1920’s-vintage colonial-style hotel now has 71 guest rooms and suites plus banquet facilities for 300. The banquet room can be divided into 3 sections. Within a year, plans are a new restaurant and kitchen to be built inside the atrium located at the back of the property. The restaurant will be named Heritage Gardens and will include a bar in the form of a “cracker” home that once stood on the premises.
An outdoor pool and sauna were added on the east side of the hotel. The entrance was modified to include a glass portico, fountain, and bricked driveway. Inside the entrance of French doors, large, many-paned stained-glass ceiling in shades of pink and green set the tone.
In a St. Petersburg Times article dated May 4,1990, The Citizens & Southern National Bank (C&S) submitted a winning $1.4million bid to take back the Heritage Hotel in a foreclosure auction on the first St. Petersburg industrial revenue bond ever declared in default. The bank’s action gave Bill Bond, Jr., the hotel’s managing general partner, until the following Tuesday to come up with enough money to keep C & S from taking title. The bank is owed $2.2 million on the $2.7 million it fronted the hotel partners in 1986. C & S plans to keep the hotel open if Bond isn’t able to come up with the needed money.
The hotel’s owners filed for protection from creditors in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in September, 1989. C & S objected, claiming the partners were seeking a “bad faith filing” to avoid foreclosure. Judge Alexander Paskay dismissed the case on March 15, 1990 after the partners missed a deadline to submit a plan to reorganize their finances. The partners listed debts of $4.3 million and assets of $1.4 million in the bankruptcy filing. A circuit judge later ordered the hotel be put up for auction after C & S secured a foreclosure judgment. The hotel is reported to never have been a financial success. Court records indicate occupancy never topped 20-percent on an annual basis. The Heritage need 52 - 55 percent year-round occupancy in order to break even.
Charles A. Jaffe, St. Petersburg Times, Hotel in downtown St. Petersburg to be renovated, August 2, 1985.
Joe Walles, St. Petersburg Times, Downtown hotels get face lifts, January 13, 1987.
Mark Albright, St. Petersburg Times, C&S may buy Heritage Hotel, May 4, 1990.
Part 2 Historical Report
According to author Deborah Trethem, in Ghost Stories of St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and Pinellas County October, 2007, the Heritage Hotel was once known as Mrs. Davis’s boardinghouse from the proper identification of Dr. Marry Davis. Dr. Marry Davis came to Florida from Pennsylvania where she earned her degree (note: it was rare to find a female doctor at this time). In addition to her medical practice in St. Pete, she ran the boardinghouse, which she had built in the early 1920’s. There is also an Elda Davis listed in city records as owner of 244 Third Ave. North; a small house now connected to the hotel. To add to the confusion, there is a death record on file with the city of a Dr. Mary (spelled with one “r”) T. Davis dated February 4, 1905 which precedes the building of the hotel. Like many other establishments in St. Petersburg during this time, it was only open during “season”; January, February and March. According to research of St. Petersburg public records provided by Mary Noell of SPIRITS of St Petersburg, early city records list a J. Walter Lanier and Lucius Patton as owners of the property. Also, according to city records, a Mary E. Ervin owned the boarding house in 1926. Charles Helt purchased the Davis boardinghouse in 1926, added several rooms; turning it into a fine hotel and renamed it the Martha Washington. As described in St. Petersburg Historical Society’s “St. Petersburg’s Old Hotels”, WWII crippled the tourist industry in St. Petersburg. Its’ empty hotels, including the Heritage, as well as any vacant apartments were used for barracks. St. Pete became a major training center for the Army Air Corps. Trainees began arriving in June of 1942, and by mid-summer there were 10,000 trainees staying in St. Petersburg. The Air Corps leased every major hotel (except the Suwannee) and many of the smaller ones as well. After the war ended, most of the hotels went back to civilian use. According to research of St. Petersburg public records provided by Mary Noell of SPIRITS of St Petersburg, a paranormal research organization currently researching the location , the property was named the Connor’s Hotel during the 1960’s. The hotel fell on hard times in the 1970’s and was left vacant for a long period of time. According to locals, the property could well have been occupied during this time by the area’s many homeless. Columnist Mark Albright in an article for the St. Petersburg Times/Evening Independent, Money Section entitled Around Town, Martha Washington Hotel’s Identity undergoes change, dated October 17, 1986, a group of investors purchased the property from Charles Helt’s grandson, Ogden Helt, in 1986. The building was completely renovated and reopened in 1987 as the Heritage Hotel.
Note: According to the same article, a rather large towering oak stood where the pool was installed in 1986 and had to be removed. A cracker bungalow that once stood beside the hotel was to be turned into a huge glassed-in restaurant featuring a canopy of full-grown trees for indoor shading. According to research of St. Petersburg public records provided by Mary Noell of SPIRITS of St Petersburg, 232 Third Ave. North was once a grocery store, until becoming a Garden Cafeteria.
According to author Tim Reeser, in The Ghosts of Downtown St. Petersburg, during renovations in 1986, a night watchman was hired by the Tourtelot Management Co. to look after the property. This watchman was a practicing Wiccan and felt there was something strange about the property and invited his high priestess to the hotel. Together they went through the hotel carrying a bell, book, and candle trying to identify the source radiating the unhealthy feelings the watchman was experiencing.
According to author Tim Reeser, in The Ghosts of Downtown St. Petersburg, one area of concern was the cellar storage area. The high priestess claims to have experienced a feeling of pain and terror in this area. During the years the hotel was vacant, many homeless people took temporary refuge in this area of the hotel. It is speculated that the basement may hold the trapped spirit of one of these homeless people.
According to Tim Reeser Tales of a Haunted Peninsula, The Martha Washington Hotel to another area that bothered the high priestess was the third floor hallway, which is located in the oldest part of the hotel. She claims to have felt two forces; one good and the other evil. After the hotel reopened in 1987 there was one-third floor room that was almost never rented out due to the frequency of things being broken in the room (ex. the heat or a/c wouldn’t work, the faucet in the bathtub wouldn’t run, or the lights would continually blink and then go out altogether). The hotel eventually gave up trying to rent out this room and nicknamed it “the cursed room”. The 3rd floor room location and number is currently unknown.
According to Tim Reeser of Tales of a Haunted Peninsula, The Martha Washington Hotel, the night watchman informed his high priestess of the trouble the hotel was experiencing with the room on the third floor. The high priestess responded by telling him the good spirit and the evil spirit she had experienced during her visit to the hotel are now occupying this room. She claims it is not the evil one breaking things, but the good spirit in order to protect guests from staying in this room who might otherwise be harmed by the evil one.
The current managers are well aware of the spirits who may walk the hallways of the hotel. According to hotel staff and management, the most sightings have been reported on the third-floor landing located at the rear of the hotel. One ghost seen here is that of a young girl described as being between the ages of eight and twelve. According to a visiting psychic mentioned in The Ghosts of Downtown St. Petersburg by Tim Reeser, this girl’s name was Sarah Ratcliff, who often visited the hotel with her mother during the winter season for health reasons. The psychic believed Sarah succumbed to polio in the 1940’s. Currently, no historical records have been identified backing up the claims the psychic referenced in The Ghosts of Downtown St. Petersburg referring to the little girl named Sarah. It is important to note, she is often seen between the months of December and April which would have been when her family visited Florida during the season months while she was alive. According to employees, the spirit of the girl has not been seen since the hotel’s renovation (1986-87).
As mentioned in Tim Reeser’s The Ghosts of Downtown St. Petersburg, there are also reports of an old woman in a wheelchair along with her ghostly attendant. The psychic described this woman in The Ghosts of Downtown St. Petersburg, as being well-loved and admired for her kindness. She is further described as having a wicked sense of humor. The psychic believes her name would have been Mary or Marry and that she did die within the hotel. Could this be the original owner, Dr. Marry Davis known for her gentle and good spirit? According to Mary Noell of SPIRITS of St Petersburg, others believe this woman very well may be Mrs. Helt who was married to Howard Helt for 66-years and died in Room 234 of natural causes. According to research of city records provided by Mary Noell of SPIRITS of St Petersburg, Mrs. Helt’s son-in-law, William B. Connor, who operated the Garden Café also survived her. According to speculation stated by Mary Noell of SPIRITS of St. Petersburg, Mrs. Helt’s son, Howard Helt, supposedly died at the Heritage Hotel as well on October 7th, 1968.
Also reported by SPIRITS of St. Petersburg, according to the hotel staff and management, more recent phenomenon involves a smoking T.V. set in Room 118 and a guest reported his wife was hit in the back by her jacket which was hanging close by.
Denise Tuson & Tracy Niesent/SWFPI research acquired @ St. Petersburg Museum of History, Friday, March 28, 2008. Research of St. Petersburg public records by Mary Noell of S.P.I.R.I.T.S. of St. Petersburg.
Tim Reeser “Tales of a Haunted Peninsula, The Martha Washington Hotel, The Ghosts of Downtown St. Petersburg” (pg. 80 and 81)
St. Petersburg Historical Society “St. Petersburg Old Hotels”, (pg. 21, dated March 30, 1993)
St. Petersburg Times/Evening Independent, Money Section- Around Town, Martha Washington Hotel’s identity undergoes change by Mark Albright, dated October 17, 1986.
Findings
Out of the qualitative data suspected Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVPs) were recorded during the investigation. The recordings include EVPs captured during the sweep conducted by SWFPI investigators Tracy and Denise at a 12:46am. Their recordings can be reviewed via the data disk attached to this report. The recording labeled EVP 1 on the data disk is suspected of saying “OK” or “I’m Back”. However, there is a possibility of this EVP being explainable and being identified as one of the investigators. In identifying EVPs investigators must look at all the possibilities. In most cases, investigators are looking for direct responses to questions or general conversation. EVPs, are some of the hardest forms of evidence to analyze due to the complexity of the environment from which suspected EVPs are captured. Typical video phenomenon, orbs from dust and other particulates in the air were recorded and were not suggestive of paranormal activity. No unusual photographic phenomenon was collected during the investigation. Personal experiences consisted of heavy or tightness in the chest and temperature fluctuations from Room 211 described by SPIRITS members. Auditory or muffled sensations were felt by SWFPI investigators within Ballroom #3 adjacent to the staging area. No unusual observations were made from Hammerheads restaurant during the sweep conducted at 12:15am. Some suspected EVPs were captured during the walk through conducted between the hours of 12:15am and 12:43am. The areas within the restaurant that were investigated were the dining areas and bar of the first floor and all areas of the second floor. One EVP labeled EVP 2 was captured in the bar area. The sound between the investigators questions sounds like laughter or conversation, but was not heard during the investigation. The second EVP, captured at the top of the restaurant’s stairwell labeled EVP3, is unidentifiable. All three investigators present were male and the voice is described as a possible female’s voice. This EVP is not clear enough to identify and is inconclusive.
Out of the quantitative data collected, SWFPI found that all areas of the hotel contained electro-magnetic fields (EMF) that where moderately high and incredibly frequent. The electromagnetic fields found were of a static nature and most likely a product of the buildings electrical utilities. EMF is theorized to have a direct relationship with suspected paranormal activity whether the EMF is produced artificially, as in this case or not. Many universities have studied the effects of EMF on the mental state of its subjects by bombarding them with excess amounts of EMF. Conclusions have stated there are varying effects ranging from hallucinations to hearing sounds in a sound proof box. Many conclusions about the relationship between paranormal and EMF are still inconclusive, due to the factor that many people are still experiencing the same situation without being predisposed to the stories. Therefore EMF may be a catalyst for the paranormal activity or “Ghost” to manifest. The manifestation of the figure in the lobby was not experienced by our investigators during the May 10th, 2008 investigation. We did receive varying but similar reports from both SPIRITS of St. Petersburg and employees of this occurrence. The only factor to the lobby that may help explain, or at least attribute to this reported activity, is that the EMF levels within the lobby area were numerous and in most areas did not dip below 2.5 milliguass. In comparison, a level of .5 milligauss is a normal EMF level for an indoor modern environment. All data collected form the temperature data loggers do not show any abnormal fluctuations in temperature during the entire investigation.