Four Points Sheraton Tallahassee

I develop fixations on certain buildings that call to me for whatever reason; sometimes I manage to go back and figure out what it is about the edifice that restimulates unexplained feelings but mostly I don't bother. The building and I just nod at each other as we pass, and we go about our business.

This building in Louisville is one example, and displayed here is another - the Four Points Sheraton hotel in Tallahassee. Though it's certainly a cool building, there's no real reason for me to perk up and stand at attention when seeing it. But I do.

It was even cooler back in the day, in its original incarnation as a Holiday Inn. You can see a snippet of film footage of it in its glory days here, and a photo of it halfway through its transformation here.

Hotel Marion

Each time I'm in Ocala, I always wonder what used to be in this big imposing gray building with a sign bearing the city's name. I just now decided to surf around the interwebs and see what I could see.

As it turns out, this used to be the Hotel Marion (or Marion Hotel - they seem to have waffled back and forth on the nomenclature themselves) which, though it was no Pink Palace, looks to have been a humdinger as far as antiquated commercial lodging facilities go. It opened in March 1927.

Then came the Ocala National Bank, which occupied the building for some years before it failed on January 30, 2009. The word "Ocala" at the top of the building is a remaining vestige of the bank's sign.

So what, if anything, is in there now? Not sure, but I'll be filing a report soon live from the streets of Ocala. Wait for it.