A View of the Future

"While "Preservation 101" participants were dazzled by the gala's lavish buffet, created right in the midst of a major construction site, the real star of that May 10th evening was the old hotel herself.

With her venerable hallways and extraordinary views tightly secured for this special occasion with plywood sheets, planks and hand rails, guests could fan out to tour the amazing work in progress at the White House Hotel.

They ventured where only hard hat crews had been in previous months - to gaze up at exposed ceilings on the East Wing’s spacious fourth floor, peer down where concrete had been ripped up on the Center Wing’s first level, and look through the old West Wing’s 19th century dormers.

But perhaps the most stunning discovery waited on what once was the original roof of the Hotel’s famous columned façade.  There, overlooking the tops of centuries-old water oaks, visitors were rewarded with a sweeping panorama of the shimmering Gulf.  They were the first formal guests to soak in the view from the Hotel’s future roof garden, which owner Jim Love feels will be a very popular spot when the newly-restored White House finally opens her doors again.

And for the many locals who hold this Grand Lady near to their hearts, with memories of summer days spent diving off her old wooden pier… and summer nights spent dancing at her beach-side pavilion… those gracious doors will also open to welcome back old friends.