Historic photos show the former Bunnell Hotel, which later became the Halcyon Hotel and Carriage Apartments. Courtesy of the Flagler County Historical Society.
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Historic photos show the former Bunnell Hotel, which later became the Halcyon Hotel and Carriage Apartments. Courtesy of the Flagler County Historical Society.
Historic photos show the former Bunnell Hotel, which later became the Halcyon Hotel and Carriage Apartments. Courtesy of the Flagler County Historical Society.
Demolition takes place at the former Bunnell Hotel site at North Railroad and West Lambert streets in Bunnell. Courtesy of the Flagler County Historical Society.
One of Bunnell’s oldest buildings, a structure that once welcomed prospective residents to the developing community more than a century ago, has been demolished.
The building at North Railroad Street and West Lambert Street began as the Bunnell Hotel around 1909 before later becoming the Halcyon Hotel and eventually the Carriage Apartments, according to Flagler County Historical Society President Ed Siarkowicz.
Siarkowicz said the hotel was built by the Bunnell Development Company, which was led by Isaac Moody. Moody and the company played a major role in developing what would become Bunnell, marketing property to Northerners interested in establishing farms and homes in the area.
Many of those prospective residents stayed at the hotel while looking at property.
“The construction of the hotel somewhere around 1909 was where many of the original residents that came down to take a look at land stayed,” Siarkowicz said.
Moody, who was serving as a St. Johns County commissioner at the time, purchased close to 40,000 acres in the Bunnell area, Siarkowicz said. Henry Flagler’s railroad was already running through the community.
Moody’s influence remains visible today through Moody Boulevard. Siarkowicz said Flagler County was even considered for the name “Moody County,” but Moody instead suggested honoring his friend Henry Flagler.
Efforts to save the building
Siarkowicz said the Historical Society had hoped for years that the building could be preserved.
About five years ago, he noticed a for-sale sign on the property and contacted the listing agent. He hoped a buyer might restore the building and possibly turn it into a bed-and-breakfast or museum.
Instead, Siarkowicz was told the property had been sold to someone interested in demolishing the building and developing some form of multi-unit housing.
Just days later, he said, a husband and wife approached the listing agent hoping to purchase the property and turn the historic building into a bed-and-breakfast.
Siarkowicz asked whether the new owner might reconsider the sale so the couple could preserve the building, but that did not happen.
“Ultimately these decisions are made by the people that own the home and the property,” Siarkowicz said. “Sometimes it's frustrating when we see a certain property one way based on the history and the people that owned it and the people that lived there and who they were and what they did. But the owner has other visions.”
Siarkowicz said he does not know what is currently planned for the property and has not reviewed recent planning or building permits.
In recent years, the former hotel had fallen into disrepair. Siarkowicz said the interior had been gutted and, by the time of the demolition, he did not believe any original architectural features remained inside. A chain-link fence had eventually been placed around the property to keep people out.
Still, its demolition came as a surprise to the Historical Society.
Siarkowicz said he learned what was happening when someone who drove past the property called and asked whether he knew the building was being torn down. He went to the site and recorded video of the demolition.
For Siarkowicz, losing the building is about more than losing an old structure.
“Every time we lose a historic structure like this, the community loses its history and its provenance,” he said, paraphrasing a message often shared by Flagler County Historical Society senior historian Claudia Dean-Malo.
Siarkowicz said Bunnell still has historic homes and buildings that could be preserved and incorporated into a broader revitalization effort, including historic districts, walking tours and heritage tourism.
“History is much more than just names and dates and old things,” Siarkowicz said. “It's the history of a community, and it tells the story of the people that came to pass.”
