News

Florida hotel's storied history ties Sebastian Inn to Earl's Hideaway

By Cheryl Smith, Treasure Coast Newspapers USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
The 1925-built and 1926-opened Spanish-Mediterranean Sebastian Inn on the Indian River Lagoon was built for $750,000 by Georgia engineer James Robert Odom and Fort Pierce developer F.E. Gober. Later additions of a gas station and then a restaurant stretched it northward. Earl Roberts of Earl's Hideaway owned the hotel from 1944-55. That's when he and life partner Grace Martin, the hotel assistant manager and restaurant hostess, moved Earl's Bar & Package Store from the hotel to '3/4 miles north on left,' a sign said.
The 1925-built and 1926-opened Spanish-Mediterranean Sebastian Inn on the Indian River Lagoon was built for $750,000 by Georgia engineer James Robert Odom and Fort Pierce developer F.E. Gober. Later additions of a gas station and then a restaurant stretched it northward. Earl Roberts of Earl's Hideaway owned the hotel from 1944-55. That's when he and life partner Grace Martin, the hotel assistant manager and restaurant hostess, moved Earl's Bar & Package Store from the hotel to '3/4 miles north on left,' a sign said. PROVIDED BY NEWSPAPERS.COM USA TODAY Network, Reuters

Editor's note: Cheryl Smith attributes all reporting in this series to exhaustive research on newspapers.com, archives.com, fold3.com; Indian River County records; historical societies, museums and Facebook groups in Sebastian, St. Lucie County and Wisconsin; Green Bay Packers team historian Cliff Christl; Sebastian resident Judith Swingle; and Vero Beach attorney Eugene J. O'Neill's book, "Raising the Bar: In and Before Indian River County - A History." Contact her at cheryl.smith@tcpalm.com if you have any photos, records or information that corrects or adds to this account.

Earl Roberts bought the Sebastian Inn 20 years after the hotel's grand opening in 1926, and he opened the original Earl's Bar & Package Store there in 1946. He later relocated and renamed the bar Earl's Hideaway.

The 40-room Spanish-Mediterranean hotel was built in 1925 for $750,000 by Fort Pierce developer F.E. Gober and Georgia engineer James Odom, who built many coastal hotels in Florida and Georgia during the 1925 real estate boom. It officially opened Feb. 18, 1926, after a Feb. 11 informal opening.

Its "sister hotel" opened the year before. The 50-room Altadena Hotel in Fort Pierce, which opened Jan. 5, 1925, sat high on the Avenue H hill with "a magnificent view" of the lagoon, port, harbor, inlet and causeway. Materials were furnished by East Coast Lumber & Supply Co., still at 308 Avenue A in Fort Pierce today.

For six years, the Altadena was owned by Alto Adams Sr., who became a notable Florida cattle rancher, chief justice and Supreme Court judge whose name is on the federal courthouse on U.S. 1 in Fort Pierce today. Adams owned the hotel with W.H. Haines and operators Viola Hughes and her son, Nat.

Adams built his two-story house on the south hill, but it was razed in the 1980s, grandson Mike Adams told TCPalm.

Old Sebastian Hotel vs. New Sebastian Inn

The New Sebastian Inn was so named to distinguish it from the Sebastian Hotel that opened in 1912. The latter faced Main Street on the corner of Central Avenue (now U.S. 1), north of the post office and beside Walter's Garage.

During construction, the New Sebastian Inn on the Indian River Lagoon was called Edgewater Park Hotel for the subdivision it was in. It was located where the Sportsman's Lodge & Marina is today at 412 Indian River Drive.

In 1926, the Hylton brothers of Cocoa Beach, who had a five-year lease to operate the hotel, opened the New Sebastian Inn with a free banquet and dinner dance in the main lobby and dining room, with music by The Florida Crackers nine-piece symphony orchestra from Melbourne.

Gabriel Frank Hylton and Thomas Page Hylton were known for their many Florida restaurants, including Hylton's Café in the Raulerson Building on Second Street at Avenue A in downtown Fort Pierce.

The hotel had electric signs on the roof, sun decks on the first and second floors overlooking the lagoon, an ornamental fence around a yard full of plants, flowers and three large fountains with five fish varieties in the basin, plus a stretch of parkway along the lagoon.

The "new and modern" Riverside Tavern and cocktail bar opened on New Year's Eve 1938.

Sebastian Inn expands north along Indian River Lagoon

In 1939, a flurry of improvements and northward expansion occurred under the new owner, George W. Scholtz, a native of Lisbon, Portugal, whose father, Henry, was a U.S. ambassador to Spain and board chair of Armstrong Cork Co. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He bought the hotel for $22,000 cash and spent over $35,000 on upgrades:

  • Added a bar, gas station, Marine Terrace restaurant
  • Built a 680-foot-long concrete bulkhead that was filled to widen the hotel property by 150 feet.
  • Built an 850-foot-long dock with an archway entrance and 200-foot-long T-shaped fishing pier at the end.
  • Placed sunbathing cabanas opposite the spoil islands for camping and outdoor cooking.
  • Had Western Union Telegraph Co. install a teletype machine
  • Donated land and arranged for Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Co. to install a telephone exchange building in Sebastian.
  • Boasted a French chef, guided hunting and fishing, and shows by manager "Dr. Frank Pickard, one of the most popular magicians in America," who owned Frank's Magic Shop in Miami.
  • Promoted Marine Terrace Dining Room and Patio Grill in 1942, featuring George Lefrere, a former Ritz-Carlton Hotel chef, and Eddie Byers, a nearly 30-year bartender at The Breakers for 11 years and Grand Union Hotel in Saratoga Springs, New York, before that.

You could set your watch and clocks by the nightly fireworks he shot off at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.

"Regulation aerial bombs such as used by the Coast Guard patrols and ships in distress are fired from the Marine Terrace … casting brilliant stars in all directions and then slowly descend carrying a succession of intensely bright magnesium flares," the newspaper reported. "People for 20 miles around could set their watches by it instead of the ‘old-fashioned sound of the musical note.' "

Sebastian Inn owners: 1925 until it was razed in 1968

Owners over the years, with too many managers to list them all, included:

  • 1926: Builder James Odom and Joe Montgomery, who replaced City Councilman E.W. Vickers in 1927
  • 1927: Nannie Loula Baker, a married, multi-business proprietor in Jacksonville
  • 1937: George D. Barrick of Coshocton, Ohio
  • 1939: George W. Scholtz
  • 1942: Scholtz sold it back to Barrick
  • 1944: Earl Roberts of New Smyrna Beach, where he lived circa 1942
  • 1955: Attorneys R.S. Swing and J.W. Ball of Vero Beach, after it was foreclosed and sold
  • 1968: Orvis and Jackie Coursey of Fort Pierce, who razed it to build Sportsman's Lodge & Marina

Navy commandeered Sebastian Inn for WWII in 1944

Earl bought the Sebastian Inn in 1944, but didn't reopen it until after the Navy vacated in 1946, having immediately commandeered it for WWII military barracks.

Hotel ownership is fuzzy. U.S. vs. Sebastian Inn, a legal action to take over the hotel, named these interested parties:

  • George D. Barrick of Coshocton, Ohio, who bought the hotel in 1937
  • Earl L. Roberts, in care of the Depot Restaurant in New Smyrna Beach
  • Charles Cleveland "C.C." Braswell and wife Mary Ruby of Miami

Records and news articles give conflicting accounts of the sales transactions:

  • March: Barrick sold it to Braswell
  • May: Braswell sold it to "parties in New York," which may have meant Earl
  • June: Barrick sold it to Earl

In July, Earl left New York for Florida, "where he is closing a contract with the Navy to take over his hotel," a news article says. The barracks were for the expanded U.S. Naval radar team's Night Fighter Training Program at the Naval Air Station in Vero Beach. They protected the Florida coast from German ships.

The hotel had "recently turned back to the owners" in February 1946 when a fire caused "considerable" damage. When the Vero Beach Fire Department arrived within 20 minutes, the kitchen, boiler room and part of the hotel were engulfed in flames. Ten minutes later and the hotel would have been destroyed.

The Sebastian Volunteer Fire Department formed in 1949 and had fundraising dances at the hotel.

Earl Roberts and Grace Martin were life partners

When WWII ended, Earl posted a legal notice declaring himself the hotel's sole owner, and opened for business.

He commissioned local artist Dale Wimbrow to create 20 scenic oil-covered photographs of the St. Sebastian River.

He opened Earl's Bar & Package Store, renamed the restaurant from Marine Terrace to Marine Room, and began building the Picture Window Cocktail Lounge, which he opened in 1948.

Regular ads touted Grace as the restaurant hostess, "assisted by those two famous chefs." Grace came from National Foods and brothers Thomas and Louise King came from the Old Ebbitt House, both in Washington, D.C.

Earl and Grace were life partners who moved to Florida circa 1942 and lived in the hotel.

Guests could take two Cris-Craft speedboats on a 1¼-hour trip to Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, "where thousands of pelicans and other tropical birds could be seen," and a 2½-hour trip to the St. Sebastian River. Or they could take scenic boat tours of the lagoon, river and Pelican Island on the Jungle Belle and Leading Lady.

In 1947, Earl and Grace accompanied esteemed guests on the hotel's first charter airplane tour in a twin-engine Cessna that stopped in several cities and ended in New Smyrna Beach, "where the party was royally entertained" by that city's hotel owner.

An unnamed hurricane damaged the hotel and riverfront circa Sept. 24, 1948.

Sebastian mayor-judge and hotel owner

The Sebastian City Council mayor-judge election on Dec. 8, 1947, ended in a 72-vote tie between Earl, 50, and incumbent Leonard M. Shafor. Councilmen Archie Smith, Charles Sembler Sr. and J.R. Middleton chose Earl to unseat the mayor. He served in 1948 and 1949, but was not reelected.

The seasonal hotel was open only in winter until Earl stayed open all year starting circa 1949. Earl heavily advertised in Northeast newspapers, offering:

  • $50 per week for a "room, best of food, day and moonlight tropical scenic cruises, speed boat rides, boats for fishing, beach and swimming parties, entertainment and dancing every night in the famous Marine Room."
  • $179.50 "all expense rail trip (from Pittsfield) to Vero Beach."
  • Rail excursion to Dodgertown (in Vero Beach) with on-board entertainment "to keep travelers in a gay mood from start to finish."

By 1950, business wasn't booming anymore. Earl, 53, who was "just getting around" again after being badly hurt in a car crash, closed the hotel - but not the bar, lounge and restaurant. He blamed the proliferation of cheap new motels on the new Old Dixie Highway, now U.S. 1.

"At one time, it was really the place to go," Earl, 71, said in a 1968 news article before the hotel being razed. "We just couldn't keep up after the motels came in."

Sebastian Inn foreclosed and auctioned in 1955

Things kept going south. Florida's beverage director cited Earl for an "unauthorized transaction" in 1951 and the Reconstruction Finance Corp. filed suit in 1952 over a $44,000 unpaid loan Earl (and wife Bea) got in 1951.

In a last hurrah, the hotel hosted the Florida Outdoors Writers Association's four-day clinic and annual officers election meeting. Earl, Pete Wimbrow Jr. and Harney McCain gave the writers and state wildlife conservation officials Pelican Island tours and beach buggy tours to discuss a controversial sea turtle issue in 1954.

Among them was former president Ernie Lyons, a renowned editor of The Stuart News, whose impactful and sometimes poetic columns urged an end to damaging Lake Okeechobee discharges to the St. Lucie River.

In 1955, the bank foreclosed and auctioned the hotel at the Vero Beach courthouse to the highest bidders: attorneys R.S. Swing and J.W. Ball of Vero Beach.

Dances, dinners and club meetings continued until circa 1962. "Boots" was known for his annual Easter and Thanksgiving dinners, and the Indian River Sport Car Club's 136-mile race ended at the hotel and started in Canova Beach in Indiatlantic east of Melbourne.

Earl said the hotel was beautiful when he owned it, but neglected after 1955. There also was a bad fire in 1956. The last dance the newspaper mentioned at the hotel was in 1962.

Orvis and Mae Coursey of Fort Pierce bought and razed the dilapidated hotel at 412 Indian River Drive in 1968 and built Sportsman's Lodge & Marina.

By then, Earl and Grace had moved the bar "3/4 miles north on left" to today's location at 1405 Indian River Drive, according to a handmade sign propped up against the outside wall. The rest is history.

Cheryl Smith is a TCPalm editor who can be contacted at cheryl.smith@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida hotel's storied history ties Sebastian Inn to Earl's Hideaway

Reporting by Cheryl Smith, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Sebastian Inn on the Indian River Lagoon was built in 1925, opened in 1926, and expanded northward over the years to include a gas station (short middle building) and Marine Terrace restaurant (far right). Earl Roberts of Earl's Hideaway owned the hotel from 1944-55. That's when he and life partner Grace Martin, the hotel assistant manager and restaurant hostess, moved Earl's Bar and Package Store from the hotel to '3/4 miles north on left,' a sign said.
The Sebastian Inn on the Indian River Lagoon was built in 1925, opened in 1926, and expanded northward over the years to include a gas station (short middle building) and Marine Terrace restaurant (far right). Earl Roberts of Earl's Hideaway owned the hotel from 1944-55. That's when he and life partner Grace Martin, the hotel assistant manager and restaurant hostess, moved Earl's Bar and Package Store from the hotel to '3/4 miles north on left,' a sign said. PROVIDED BY SEBASTIAN AREA HISTO USA TODAY Network, Reuters
This circa 1940s photo shows the Sebastian Inn staff with a man on the far right and a woman in the center in the blue dress, who may have been the owners, managers or guests. The hotel on the Indian River Lagoon was built in 1925, opened in 1926, and expanded northward over the years. Earl Roberts of Earl's Hideaway owned the hotel from 1944-55. That's when he and life partner Grace Martin, the hotel assistant manager and restaurant hostess, moved Earl's Bar & Package Store from the hotel to '3/4 miles north on left,' a sign said.
This circa 1940s photo shows the Sebastian Inn staff with a man on the far right and a woman in the center in the blue dress, who may have been the owners, managers or guests. The hotel on the Indian River Lagoon was built in 1925, opened in 1926, and expanded northward over the years. Earl Roberts of Earl's Hideaway owned the hotel from 1944-55. That's when he and life partner Grace Martin, the hotel assistant manager and restaurant hostess, moved Earl's Bar & Package Store from the hotel to '3/4 miles north on left,' a sign said. PROVIDED BY SEBASTIAN AREA HISTO USA TODAY Network, Reuters
The Sebastian history museum displays memorabilia of the 1925-built Sebastian Inn on the Indian River Lagoon and its Marine Room restaurant, Picture Window Cocktail Lounge and Earl's Bar and Package Store. The hotel was built on the Indian River Lagoon in 1925, opened in 1926, and expanded northward over the years. Earl Roberts of Earl's Hideaway owned the hotel from 1944-55. That's when he and life partner Grace Martin, the hotel assistant manager and restaurant hostess, moved Earl's Bar & Package Store from the hotel to '3/4 miles north on left,' a sign said.
The Sebastian history museum displays memorabilia of the 1925-built Sebastian Inn on the Indian River Lagoon and its Marine Room restaurant, Picture Window Cocktail Lounge and Earl's Bar and Package Store. The hotel was built on the Indian River Lagoon in 1925, opened in 1926, and expanded northward over the years. Earl Roberts of Earl's Hideaway owned the hotel from 1944-55. That's when he and life partner Grace Martin, the hotel assistant manager and restaurant hostess, moved Earl's Bar & Package Store from the hotel to '3/4 miles north on left,' a sign said. PROVIDED BY SEBASTIAN AREA HISTO USA TODAY Network, Reuters
This 1967 Miami Herald photo of Earl's Hideaway founder Earl Roberts accompanied an article about him being the first person to buy a Howard’s Insta-Light unit. The first portable emergency battery pack was invented by Vero Beach resident Howard Menger. A large unit could power a TV, refrigerator, other appliances and backup lights for 10 hours. It even had a cigarette lighter. Once plugged into an outlet, it automatically turned on when the power failed, and it sounded an alarm if it heated to 140 degrees. Menger installed it in a filing cabinet drawer in Earl's Hideaway at 1405 Indian River Drive in Sebastian.
This 1967 Miami Herald photo of Earl's Hideaway founder Earl Roberts accompanied an article about him being the first person to buy a Howard’s Insta-Light unit. The first portable emergency battery pack was invented by Vero Beach resident Howard Menger. A large unit could power a TV, refrigerator, other appliances and backup lights for 10 hours. It even had a cigarette lighter. Once plugged into an outlet, it automatically turned on when the power failed, and it sounded an alarm if it heated to 140 degrees. Menger installed it in a filing cabinet drawer in Earl's Hideaway at 1405 Indian River Drive in Sebastian. PROVIDED BY NEWSPAPERS.COM USA TODAY Network, Reuters
The original bar that became Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, was in the Sebastian Inn on the Indian River Lagoon from 1946-55. In 1942, Earl Roberts moved from New Lebanon, New York, where he owned two restaurants and the famous Showboat nightclub, to New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where he bought a train station restaurant in 1943. The Sebastian Inn was built in 1925, opened in 1926, and expanded northward over the years. Earl bought the hotel in 1944, but didn't reopen it until the Navy vacated after WWII in 1946, having immediately commandeered it for barracks. Earl renamed the bar Earl's Bar and Package Store, he renamed the restaurant the Marine Room, and he opened the new Picture Window Cocktail Lounge in 1948. Earl and life partner Grace Martin lived in the hotel and she was the restaurant hostess and hotel assistant manager. The hotel portion was closed circa 1950 and the entire property was foreclosed and sold in 1955. The couple moved the bar "3/4 miles north on left," a sign said. In 1960, they co-leased the bar, restaurant and two cottages at 1405 Indian River Drive, where they lived. In 1965, Grace bought the bar; the liquor license was in her name; and they soon renamed it Earl's Hideaway. In 1968, the Sebastian Inn was razed to build today's Sportsman's Lodge and Marina at 412 Indian River Drive.
The original bar that became Earl's Hideaway biker bar in Sebastian, Florida, was in the Sebastian Inn on the Indian River Lagoon from 1946-55. In 1942, Earl Roberts moved from New Lebanon, New York, where he owned two restaurants and the famous Showboat nightclub, to New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where he bought a train station restaurant in 1943. The Sebastian Inn was built in 1925, opened in 1926, and expanded northward over the years. Earl bought the hotel in 1944, but didn't reopen it until the Navy vacated after WWII in 1946, having immediately commandeered it for barracks. Earl renamed the bar Earl's Bar and Package Store, he renamed the restaurant the Marine Room, and he opened the new Picture Window Cocktail Lounge in 1948. Earl and life partner Grace Martin lived in the hotel and she was the restaurant hostess and hotel assistant manager. The hotel portion was closed circa 1950 and the entire property was foreclosed and sold in 1955. The couple moved the bar "3/4 miles north on left," a sign said. In 1960, they co-leased the bar, restaurant and two cottages at 1405 Indian River Drive, where they lived. In 1965, Grace bought the bar; the liquor license was in her name; and they soon renamed it Earl's Hideaway. In 1968, the Sebastian Inn was razed to build today's Sportsman's Lodge and Marina at 412 Indian River Drive. PROVIDED BY SEBASTIAN AREA HISTO USA TODAY Network, Reuters

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 8:57 AM.