The Riverside Hotel is located on a scenic point of Fort Lauderdale's New River in the heart of the city's downtown. The Riverside is the city's oldest hotel, built in 1936 on the well-known Las Olas Boulevard dining and shopping district. To the back of the hotel is the river bank and its constantly changing water traffic.
The hotel was founded by the Wells family of Chicago. Preston and John Wells had a passion for deep sea fishing and regularly chartered a boat in Fort Lauderdale.
Their frequent visits to Fort Lauderdale put them in close contact with Champ Carr, the charter boat's mate. He was a character and a good story teller, so the Wells family decide that he was the perfect person to run a small hotel they had recently bought called the Las Olas Hotel.
The venture went well and in 1936 the brothers began construction on an 80-room hotel 'with baths' on the present site of the hotel. The Riverside Hotel officially opened its doors to guests on December 17 1936, its rooms overlooking Las Olas Boulevard to the north or the New River to the south.
The hotel proved to be an instant success and early guests included Ronald Reagan, members of the Du Pont family and Edgar A. Guest, the well-known Detroit newspaper poet of the time. The hotel's first season was so successful that an addition was constructed in 1937, a six-story wing that increased the number of rooms to 125.
In the years that followed, the hotel was the site of many of the city's important civic and social events. Celebrities and well known politicians passed regularly through the doors of the inviting hotel, enjoying its personalized service and Florida charm.
RIVERSIDE HOTEL 620 East Las Olas Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301
(954) 467-0671 • Fax: (954) 462-2148 • Reservations: 800-325-3280
Located on the famous Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
