The Royal Casino: the Hottest Spot in Englewood
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the June 15, 2007 issue of The Englewood REVIEW.
October 23, 2009 at 12:13 p.m.
The Royal Casino: the Hottest Spot in Englewood
By Ken Kocab
The Royal Casino was located at the end of the dock at Buchan's Landing by Dearborn Street. It was built in 1924 and featured hundreds of brightly lit electric lights, a beautiful view of Lemon Bay, and enough room to hold 150 or so patrons. The casino, which was built on pine pilings, had two floors. The lower level served as a kitchen and the upper level housed a 24x30 open air room which included a dance floor, bar, and restaurant.
Peter Buchan, who owned a store and dock at what is now known as Buchan's Landing, sold the property in the early twenties to a Mr. Chapin. Chapin felt that the end of the dock would be a perfect spot to build what would eventually become the hottest spot in Englewood. In 1924 he partnered with a man named Royal to construct what would become the Royal Casino. Chapin became the general manager and also oversaw an excellent kitchen. The prospect of a delicious meal now began to draw patrons from all over the area.
Although the food was important, the casino had many other attractions as well. On weekends dancing was featured with tunes from a player piano providing the entertainment. On many occasions bands were also brought in from Bradenton and Arcadia. Although prohibition was in full swing, the casino featured illegal whiskey and other spirits. Gambling was also offered in the form of slot machines or cards.
All of these fun activities drew patrons from as far away as Bradenton, Punta Gorda, and Arcadia. Wealthy winter residents of Boca Grande also enjoyed themselves as well. The sight of the casino at the end of the dock overlooking Lemon Bay lit by hundreds of light bulbs was an overpowering attraction for many fun seekers.
Since Englewood had incorporated as a city in the twenties, the casino also became the central meeting place for various local groups including the Englewood Chamber of Commerce.
Whenever land buyers would visit Englewood they would definitely be wined and dined at the casino by developers.
The good times would go on at the casino however for only three years. With the end of the land boom in 1926, the number of casino patrons dwindled. By 1928 the local bank failed and most local citizens lost all of their savings. Unable to keep the casino business profitable, Chapin eventually defaulted on his mortgage and Peter Buchan regained control of the store and the casino building.
The casino was closed and remained vacant until Buchan rented the building to Stuart Anderson in 1929. The Depression hit the Englewood area very hard and to avoid starvation, Anderson organized area fishermen into a cooperative. Every fisherman in town would pool their catches and transport them north in iced trucks to be sold or bartered for any food they could find. Anderson's plan worked well and the town was saved. Anderson's company now became known as the Lemon Bay Fishery. Anderson thought the location and structure of the building was very useful since fishing boats could dock at the casino and easily unload their catches.
Everything was going well until the hurricane of 1936 struck. The casino building was severely damaged with the lower level nearly being destroyed. The former casino kitchen, which had housed Anderson's office was rendered unusable. Anderson now was forced to seek out another location for his Fishery business and moved to the end of Wentworth Street.
The dilapidated casino building would now sit for vacant for three years. In 1939, Ollie Abraham Tate, J. D. Tate's father, bought the building from Peter Buchan. Knowing it would be impossible to restore the structure where it sat, Ollie Tate and his sons decided to take the building apart and try to reassemble it at another location. Every piece of salvageable wood was saved, taken down the dock, and put on the back of a model T converted into a trailer. The remnants of the casino were then reassembled on a property on the corner of Maple and Dearborn Street, next to Kelly's Tavern.
The Tate's built a two-bedroom home complete with a living room, dining room, and a kitchen. Ollie Tate lived in the house for a short while before his death, but his wife Emma lived there until her death in 1962. To this time the house has remained a private residence. If you drive or walk past the old casino building today it hardly resembles the showplace it once was. The hundreds of light bulbs that illuminated the casino are gone and the view from Lemon Bay is just a memory.
A few of the sources that were utilized in the writing of this article told of various ghost stories that have taken place in the house over the years. They tell of strange noises at night, perhaps the sounds of all the dancing, drinking and debauchery that took place in the twenties.
In any case, after you have seen the casino building, take a walk on a moonlit night to the end of Buchan's Landing, look out into Lemon Bay, and see if you can still see a string of lights or hear the faint sound of a player piano in the distance.
I would like to credit the following sources in the writing of this article:
The Elsie Quirk Library local history archives.
Lindsey Williams, "Casino and Pier was a Popular Englewood 'Speakeasy", The Sarasota Sun Herald, September 28, 1997
Diana Harris, "The Royal Casino moves ashore", The Englewood Sun, June 11, 2005
Micheal Bergstrom, "Royal Casino was center of activities in 1920's", Sarasota Herald-Tribune January 22, 1997
Ben Stickney, "Longtime Resident Recalls Heyday of Royal Casino", Sarasota Herald Tribune
February 20, 1973
Thomas Becnel, "Royal Casino was Crown Jewel of Old Englewood", Sarasota Herald Tribune, (undated)
Josephine O.Cortes, The History of Early Englewood, Englewood Florida, 1989