PBSCV1599
Gen. James Patton Anderson Camp 1599
Celebrating 34 Years 1992 - 2026
OCEAN VIEW HOTEL - PALM BEACH
The Palm Beach Post
Fri, Jan 14, 1927
Page 7
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Announcing the Opening of New Ocean View Hotel 136 WORTH AVE., PALM BEACH
For those who appreciate the convenience and comforts of a modern hotel with a refined home-like atmosphere at moderate rates.
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THE NEW OCEAN VIEW HOTEL
Extends to you a cordial invitation to call and inspect its large pleasant rooms, all with bath.
Telephone and elevator service provided. Special showers and entrance for ocean Bathing.
The large Roof Garden overlooks for miles, the Atlantic Ocean, Lake Worth and the beautiful residential section of the Palm Beaches.
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Reservations Can Now Be Made.
The Ocean View is Seventy-five Yards from the Beach
W. A. Merrill, Prop. Guy Davenport, Mgr.
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The Palm Beach Post
Sun. Jan 16, 1927
Page 12
The new Ocean View hotel situated on Worth avenue, between the County road and the ocean, was opened Friday with Guy Davenport manager. The hostelry was built by W. A. Merrill, and has 50 rooms, all with bath. A roof garden which commands a beautiful view of the Atlantic and Lake Worth is a feature, which is destined to be very popular among guests.
The Ocean View is only 75 yards from the ocean. Cognizant that guests would consider this when selecting a place to live, Mr. Merrill provided a private entrance for bathers.
The hotel is modern in every appointment, including elevator, telephone and other services cherished by those seeking a comfortable place in which to live. To accommodate those who desire to live at the hotel and dine out, and also guests who choose to have their meals there, Mr. Davenport announced that the plan will be either American or European, the wishes of guests prevailing.
The furnishings and equipment are modern and attractive. The lobby is so furnished that a home-like atmosphere is obtained, adding to the comfort of guests. A number of reservations were received Saturday, according to Mr. Davenport, who added that several guests have arrived from the North for the season.
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The Palm Beach Post
Tue, Jan 18, 1927
·Page 10
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Ocean View Hotel Is Popular House
The new Ocean View hotel on Worth Avenue has already earned a reputation as one of the smaller hostelries in the colony and many people from the north have been arriving to spend a few days at this charming new hotel which is close to the lake and has all of the advantages of the larger resorts at a smaller cost.
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The lounge is very attractive, with comfortable chairs placed about a glowing fireplace and heavy divans and tapestry hangings on the wall and everything in true Spanish style giving a warm and cheery aspect. Miss A. Fleming has come from New York, and Mr. L. Haas and his family have come from St. Paul, Minnesota, for a winter's visit in Palm Beach. Mrs. M. P. Ryan is also here from one of the Twin Cities and Miss Alice Moran has registered from St. Paul.
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Mr. G. Davenport, the manager of the hotel reports that he is prepared to serve many guests during the winter and a number of reservations have been made for the season. The Ocean View hotel will remain open the year round and is owned by Mr. W. A. Merrill who is well known in Palm Beach. The house has fifty rooms each with a private bath and elevator ser- vice and no stone is being left unturned by the management to give the very best in service to the guests.
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The Palm Beach Post
Sun, Dec 08, 1929
Page 9
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OCEAN VIEW HOTEL OPENING SET TODAY
Opening today of the Ocean View Hotel, situated on Worth Avenue, near Gus Bath, is announced.
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The hotel will be under the managership of W. J. Merrill with O. Schoelz as assistant manager. W. A. Merrill is owner of the Ocean View Hotel. Opening for the fourth season, the establishment has been redecorated. The dining room is scheduled to open next week under the same managership as the hotel, it was announced.
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The Palm Beach Post
Sun, Apr 05, 1964
Page 71
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Virginian Acquires Ocean View Hotel
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The Ocean View Hotel, 136 Worth Ave., Palm Beach, will be sold to Henry J. Rolfs of Oakton, Va., effective June 30. Announcement of the sale agreement was made by Rolfs and the sellers, Ocean View Hotel of Palm Beach, Inc., and the W. A. Merrill Estate.
The sale includes the residence of the late Mr. Merrill, the hotel and all its furnishings and equipment. Merrill built the hotel in 1926. It has been operated continuously by the Merrill family ever since, with its seasonal operation extended from early December until mid-April. One of the earliest settlers in Palm Beach, Merrill made his first trip to Florida in 1916, going to Miami because of ill health.
Three years later he went to Palm Beach and purchased land, including tracts on Worth Avenue — a sandy road in those days. He built a home there. His son, W. J. Bryan Merrill, became manager of Ocean View Hotel after his father built it in 1926. Rolfs is a builder and developer in the Washington, D. C., area. He plans to continue operating Ocean View Hotel in the Merrill tradition, it was announced.
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The Palm Beach Post
Sun, Dec 04, 1966
Page 85
THE OCEAN VIEW HOTEL —
A long-time landmark on famous Worth Avenue, Palm Beach, has been purchased by Henry J. Rolfs of Palm Beach and Washington, D.C., and is managed by the Walton Universal Management Corp. The Ocean View will open for its 43rd consecutive Palm Beach season this week.
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Landmark In Palm Beach Bought By Henry J. Rolfs
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​Henry J. Rolfs, who is in process of shifting his financial-developing operations from Washington to this area, has bought the Ocean View Hotel, a Palm Beach landmark on Worth Ave. Also acquired by Rolfs is 400 feet of property fronting Worth Ave. adjacent to the hotel, which is located at No. 135. Both acquisitions are in the prime block between the Atlantic Ocean and S. County Road. The purchase of the 38-year-old hotel was from Charles Merrill Jr., son of the builder, and other members of the Merrill family.
The purchase was announced prior to the opening of Ocean View this week. This marks Rolfs' second major acquisition here. Earlier this year, he purchased some 4,000 acres — slightly more than six square miles — in an area extending north and west from the intersection of Okeechobee Road and the Sunshine State Parkway.
The property extends westward to SR 7 along Okeechobee Road. The latter artery is scheduled for extension by Palm Beach County westward from its terminus near the Parkway. Rolfs has been a prominent developer in Washington and in Fairfax County, Va., for several years, and makes his home at Oakton, Va.
About a year ago he purchased a residence at 1495 N. Lake Way, Palm Beach.
The Palm Beach Post
Sun, Nov 10, 1968
Page 159
The Ocean View Hotel, only a few hundred feet from the Atlantic, possesses the only lawn area on Worth Avenue. General management of the hotel has been placed with the Walton Universal Management Co., which dates back to 1941, and is currently headed by William P. Walton. E. Ben Walton Jr. is vice president andsecretary. The hotel's new resident manager, the Waltons said, is Mrs. Norma Smith, widely experienced in hotel management and the food industry business.
She was most recently with the Howard Johnson organization, managing North Florida operations, and earlier had been with the Mount Vernon Motor Lodges. The hotel's creator, Charles Merrill, came to Palm Beach in the 1920's from the North, where his doctors said he had just a short time to live. Florida and this area proved a magic tonic and Merrill lived on nearly a half-century.
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A graduate of Rutgers, with a master's degree from Columbia University, Rolfs served in World War II in the Navy, and is a lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve. A former president of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, Rolfs was a candidate for Congress, 10th Virginia District in 1958. "Palm Beach County is as fine a place to live as I know," declared Rolfs, "and an area of increasing value and importance for business growth and development. I could not be more enthusiastic about any area elsewhere than I am Palm Beach County."
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The Palm Beach Post
Wed, May 10, 1978
Page 25
By GAYLE PALLESEN Post Staff Writer
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PB To Get New Shops And Garage
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Towers Postponed,
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Worth Avenue, with its world-renowned wares for the wealthy, stands to lose some parking and gain 30 new shops as the result of separate actions taken yesterday by the Palm Beach Town Council. Plans for a multimillion-dollar Mediterranean-style shopping center with valet parking on the eastern end of the avenue won unanimous approval from councilmen.
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Later in the meeting, a majority of councilmen said they favor removing all on-street parking on Worth Avenue and instructed council President Robert Grace to encourage merchants to begin plans for a three-story parking garage to handle customers.
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Palm Beach resident Murray Goodman was given approval for two stories of shops in the ocean block of Worth Avenue with parking both under and atop the building. With the exception of a specialty department store at the west end of the development, all shops will open only onto a winding, landscaped via open to the sky. "No shop entrances are planned on Worth Avenue," Goodman said, explaining that the building will be patterned after a design brought to Palm Beach in the 1920s by Addison Mizner.
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Architect Eugene Lawrence said Goodman hopes to have the first level of parking completed by Dec. 1 and the shops ready to open by November 1979. The approved plans show 90,000 square feet of retail area, which will include a small restaurant in addition to high fashion apparel stores, Goodman said. he center will provide parking for 334 cars.
Lawrence stressed that the plans meet every code of the town and the owner wasn't requesting any variances or special exceptions for the development.
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Demolition of the buildings presently on the site — an art gallery, restaurant, the Ocean View Hotel and a gas station — will begin early this summer, Goodman said. Traffic engineers for the project estimated it will create a total of 1,200 vehicle trips a day when completed.
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In a separate action, Grace said he would like to see merchants on Worth Avenue put on notice that by November 1979, the town plans to remove parking on the north side of the avenue and at a later date, on the south side. Councilman Tom Mettler agreed with the concept but said he isn't ready to vote until town officials have had time to get together with merchants and discuss construction of a privately funded parking garage.
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He said merchants have been talking about the idea but have been waiting for some direction from the council. Councilman Blitz Robinson said he, too, would prefer a parking garage to the on-street parking. Grace agreed to discuss the concept with merchants.
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The Palm Beach Post
Mon, Jul 31, 1978
Page 25
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FABULOUS HOTEL COMING DOWN ANTIQUES
The old & new, approximately 40 rooms of antique furniture, 40 rooms of modern. Dealers & quantity buyers welcome. Mirrors, desks, dressers, beds, chairs, bamboo couches, carpeting, lamps, ice cream chairs & tables, drapes, pillows, complete salvage, plumbing & electrical, doors, windows, office furniture, shrubberies, office combination safe, heavy duty washer & dryer, hot water heaters & boilers, etc. etc. Ocean View Hotel, 136 Worth Avenue, Palm Beach. 655-1882. Open 7 days, 9AM-6PM.
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