Florosa Inn: The glamorous version of The Soundside

  • Published
  • By Jeffrey Michalke
  • 1st SOW History Office
Hurlburt Field, FL --  T he year was 1925. The Charleston and bootleg liquor were the talk of the times. And so was the Florosa Inn which had just opened on the shores of Santa Rosa Sound (eventually across from Hurlburt Field's main gate). 

A man named Krause, who constructed the inn in 1924, selected the name Florosa by combining Florida with Santa Rosa. 

The young people of the area were especially attracted to this showplace of Western Florida. They came from Pensacola and Crestview, from Opp and Andalusia, Ala., a few came from Camp Walton (now Ft. Walton Beach) a fishing village of a few hundred people. It was quite common for a number of Navy personnel from Pensacola to rent an entire floor of the hotel for weekend parties. Belles from Birmingham, New Orleans, Montgomery and Baton Rouge would accompany their parents for extended visits at the Florosa. The spreading oaks dripping with Spanish moss and the magnolias resplendent with blooms enhanced the romantic setting of this hotel on Santa Rosa Sound. 

There were special buses from the Florosa to meet trains at Crestview and Pensacola transporting its guests with a minimum of confusion. This was a vital link in the chain of success that the Inn enjoyed for nearly 10 years. The area surrounding the Florosa was sparsely settled. There were no surfaced roads, no bridges linking Pensacola or Destin to the mainland, or Santa Rosa Sound. The roads from Southern Alabama to the Gulf were mere buggy tracks with sand pits to snare the driver of the early automobiles. 

The hazardous traveling conditions did not deter the Florosa's clientele. The Inn's popularity grew as the word of its excellence spread. The fishing in the virgin waters of the area was superb. A fleet of fishing boats and one of the fastest speed boats in the area were maintained for the use of its guests. Winter and summer, the Florosa had its familiar friends about. Since the inn generated its own electricity and had its own laundry facilities, it could provide its patrons with every comfort. Excellent accommodations and food, particularly seafood, entertainment (a year-round orchestra) and relaxation enticed people back year after year. 

The unforgettable depression years changed the country's tastes and habits. The Inn, however, did not feel the strain until the middle 1930s. Frequent changes in management at that time began to be reflected in the change of clientele. By 1937, the elegance had tarnished and an unsavory reputation hovered over the name Florosa Inn. 

Finally, in 1943, a new branch of life restored its former vitality. It was leased by the Armed Forces to house earnest young fliers who were training for combat. The fun was now of a different character. It was a wartime excitement underlined with anxiety. 

From 1943 to 1946, the Florosa Inn was leased to be used as officers' quarters and as a club. The flying corridor between the Eglin military reservation and the Gulf went directly over the Florosa. The bombing practice by squadrons flying out of Hurlburt made it imperative that the land on which the Florosa sat be acquired by the military. Negotiations were not completed until August of 1946. At that time, Florosa Inn and surrounding acres became a vital part of the Hurlburt Field complex. 

From that time until 1955, it was used as a guest house or a bachelor officers quarters. In 1955 the 17th Bomber Wing moved into Hurlburt and for nearly a year the NCOs used the Inn as a club. When their own club was completed on Hurlburt Field, the NCO's left the Florosa which was immediately taken over by the officers as their club. Extensive changes were made to help the hotel function with greater efficiency. 

The white organdy curtains at the dining windows were banished. The wicker furniture in the lobby had worn out; its rose-sprigged covers had long since faded. A bar and office were installed where once had been a hotel desk. In 1956, a steam line was installed and showers were put in a number of rooms on the two upper levels. The Florosa Inn had changed a great deal from its early days, but fun still reigned. 

Then in 1958, the Missile Age had descended upon the Florosa and Hurlburt. As soon as the 17th Bomber Wing transferred to England, the 4751st Air Defense Wing (Missile) took over the base and the club. Few physical changes took place except that the rooms on the second and third floors of the Florosa were assigned to the Boeing Airplane Company as offices; a sharp contrast to the parties held by the Navy in the 1920s and early 1930s. 

The Florosa Inn had a colorful history but was torn down in the late 1960s to make room for the present day Soundside Club. This new facility was built at a cost of $471,678. As part of Hurlburt Field's "Bob Hope Day," Bob Hope cut the ribbon officially opening the new club on September 25, 1969. As with the Florosa Inn, the Soundside is tentatively slated for demolition in 2008 to make room for three modern facilities.