The Middle Dollar Inn’s Heyday Years 1967 - 1972 By Mary Craft The Million Dollar Inn Opened its doors in 1967 on the beach between the Holiday Inn (formerly Red Carpet Inn) and the Island House Condos. It was part of a plan to bring South Florida, Fort Lauderdale style development to the Island. The hotel was used to house potential land buyers who came to the Island from as far away as Europe, Canada and South America who hoped (literally) to get in on the ground level of Island development, It was also a Mecca for tourists who just wanted to enjoy the beach plus nightlife with live music and a dance floor. The few homes that were here at the time were located near the Packery Channel. There was a Dairy Queen at Encantada where the school is now, Seven Seas Souvenir Shop next to it, Jito’s Surf/Snack Shop where the Country Store was, In & Out drive thru burger place where Prudential Real Estate building is, Frenchy’s Bar where American Bank is, Loma Alta kitchenette motel where Scuttlebutt’s is and the Western Motel in the building next to Island Italian. Adding a swank hotel to this mix was quite the event, kind of like Schlitterbahn is now. Things were about to change dramatically. The hotel got its name from the amount of money it cost to build it. The hotel with beach view restaurant, large lobby, nightclub, ballroom and pool was reminiscent of the Vegas Strip hotel at the time. The gift shop rented out diving gear, surf boards and metal detectors and you could get a room there for $20/night. The timing of the opening was perfect because shortly after in 1968 the fifty miles of beach was declared a National Park and attracted more tourists here. It was always the dream of the two brothers Joe and Charles Fay to own a hotel although neither had any experience. Wilbur King and Dexter Boyne were investors but were not involved in the day-to-day operations. Charlie oversaw the construction of the u-shaped building that opened to the Gulf. The bottom of the U was the main building and had a glass walled third story that gave a panoramic view of the Gulf and island. The third floor was occupied by the Padre Island Investment Corporation (PIIC) which moved most of their staff here from the building they built that is where Johnny D’s restaurant is. The offices in the hotel included both their corporate and sales offices. In the lounge area they had alarge wall map of what the future development canals and lots would look like and a large tabletop scale model of a street with waterfront homes. At the time there was only a vast land of sand. The first bulkheads and houses were built in l968 and sales agents all over the country here and abroad would show a film of Emerald street. The hotel rooms were located in the attached two story buildings and were made with Zachary pre-cast concrete stackable module units. Each of the 112 rooms was well furnished with an original hand painted mural by the well-known German artist Fritz Von Drieberg. In the center was a fresh water pool with landscaping that was visible from most rooms and the main building. The hotel hosted many events including the annual New Year’s Day Beauty and Swimsuit Contest sponsored by the City of Corpus Chamber of Commerce. There was a large spread of food including black-eyed peas for this popular event. Joe and his wife, Betty, lived in town and owned an Adler Sewing Machine shop on Ayars that Fay managed. They had been in that business since just after WWII. In 1970 Hurricane Celia hit and destroyed their home. The hotel suffered little damage attesting to its construction. Windows were blown out and a corner of the the third floor roof was lifted. A picture in the Caller Times after the storm showed only one car in the hotel parking lot. It belonged to a couple of honeymooners who apparently weathered the storm. Red Carpet Inn and Portofino Condos had heavy damage due to the I-beam and stucco construction. The seawall was in place at the time but the tide was over ten feet and the waves crashed over it. The bottom three floors of both buildings were flooded. The swing bridge, consisting basically of two barges, was also wiped out. Joe and Betty cleaned up a few hotel units to live in and for workers helping with the clean up to live. There was food to last for a while because of the restaurant. The hotel was sold in 1972 because one of the investors died and the other wanted out. Joe and Charlie decided it was a good time to sell and go play but unfortunately Charlie passed away two months later. The hotel flourished during those years and was always fully booked during the season but went into a decline after the sale. Read about how and why in the next Moon issue. The information for this story was compiled from talks with former hotel owner Betty Fay, Coldwell Banker realtor Jack Lavers and former PIIC treasurer Pat Mutchler.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 13:29:25 +0000
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