Nothing materialized, and she is in the state we see today, perhaps to fall to the wrecking ball. Once the bars closed, the Putnam Hotel began its saga of “What if?” The hotel closed, and owners came and went - each with some grand idea of renovating and repurposing the historic structure, in its perfect Downtown location. It was very popular and packed them in on weekends. On occasion, the venue featured the local jazz legend, Noble “Thin Man” Watts.Īfter the Amber Inn closed, the location turned into a country-western venue called JR’s. Tommy pioneered a Tex-Mex menu for DeLand, before any Mexican restaurant had appeared in our community. Yes, that was really the restaurant’s name. Tommy Smith opened the Amber Inn restaurant in the westerly banquet room after another dining spot called Dr. The hotel portion seemed to take on a kind of low-income-housing aspect. It could get pretty wild, with crowds jammed into a tight space. Some really good music was created by top, local bands.
Later, the Cypress Room expanded into the large banquet room adjacent and became the top venue for DeLand’s rock scene. No one was really sure if the elevator worked, so that risk was never taken. There were preserved local animals, such as heron birds, turtles and raccoons, all encased in glass cabinets. You could wander about the first floor and get a sense of its history. It was dark and cozy with pecky-cypress paneling and a real Seminole dugout canoe hanging over the bar where barkeeper Steve Burley ran the show. You could meet friends, have a beer and shoot some pool. Once I came of age, I made it my favorite watering hole. It was in this bar that my first real experience with the Putnam began. It was once a social center for our community with luxury rooms, banquet and meeting facilities on the top floor, lovely grounds, and a cozy bar in the northeast corner called the Cypress Room. At that time, it was simply a building that had seen better times. It was just there, this white and imposing structure.
As a youngster, I thought little about it. I was born in DeLand, on New York Avenue, so the Putnam has been present in my daily life for over 70 years. It is reported that demolition is recommended for this old and tired lady. It now appears that the historic Putnam Hotel could be just a footnote in DeLand’s history. It was built at the beginning of the Florida boom, and became the gathering place for many of the entrepreneurs and the tourists and celebrities who gathered around them. Carpenter’s most recognized buildings, at least in DeLand. in its recently opened glory in about 1923. NOBLE HISTORY - This postcard from the West Volusia Historical Society shows the Hotel Putnam at 225 W.
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