Sunday Favorites: The Albion Inn

CORTEZ – The Albion Inn was located in the Village of Cortez and situated over the water on pilings. It passed in and out of the hands of private owners for nearly a century, from its construction during the late 1800s to 1974 when the U.S. Coast Guard purchased it for use as a sea rescue station. Innkeepers at the hotel experienced many events during that time period, including hurricanes in 1921 and 1966 which were described as bone-chilling experiences.

Made of hard pine, the building that became the Albion Inn was originally built to house fishing supplies and sails. In 1901 the loft was converted to an Inn, and six bedrooms were added to accommodate guests. The addition extended from the dock on to the mainland, according to an interview August Antilla delivered to the Manatee Historical Society in 1981 entitled ”Glimpses of Life in Cortez Village, an Inn Keepers Recollections of Cortez 1901 -1975.“

Cortez residents Albert ”Joe“ Guthrie and his wife Bessie Guthrie purchased the Albion Inn circa 1914. Joe was a former fisherman and marketed the locale to sports fisherman, taking his guests deep sea fishing in one of three boats: Ace, Joe Bat or Number 79. The Guthries chronicled everything from the names of their guests to the species and size of the day’s catch in a register that Antilla (another innkeeper) found in the inn and donated to the Manatee Historical Society in 1981.

While the Albion Inn hosted overnight guests, the Guthries mainly accommodated day trippers that fished from the dock, rented fishing boats, purchased groceries from a small general store within the building or congregated along a soda bar on the dock. There was even an outdoor pool table for guests.

During the early years, the Albion also contained a post office where daily deliveries came via boat and Bessie served as the post mistress, distributing mail to the Cortez community.

Joe would also make dinners for his guests, often serving stone crabs or fish caught right off the dock. His cooking was famous, even attracting the Ringlings who would come from Sarasota to Bradenton on their impressive yacht, which probably looked out of place anchored next to the Cortez fishing fleet.

In 1921, the ÔTampa Bay’ hurricane passed over the area, demolishing all the pilings from under that part of the building situated over the dock. The blow split the inn in half, carrying a large portion out to sea.

Joe was not defeated; he simply started over, rebuilding the inn to withstand hurricane force-winds by constructing a 20-in thick cement seawall to anchor the structure to the ground; that seawall is still standing today.

However, Guthrie’s redesign had a flaw. Because the Guthries were mostly concerned with their day business, they didn’t install some of the more modern features, as other innkeepers in the area were doing. Joe’s restoration of the Albion only featured two bathrooms which had to be shared between guests. In addition the electricity was insufficient, making many of the rooms dark and unwelcoming. This was a deterrent for many guests.

In 1952, just a few months after Bessie’s passing. , Michigan native August Antilla purchased in the Inn after finding a FOR SALE ad in the Bradenton Herald. He stopped by the Albion one afternoon, turning down 124th Street Court and taking in the site. Rays from a setting sun were shining through a forest of coconut palms as a high tide carried in the azure-tinted water from the Gulf.

"Who in the world would be selling this paradise?" August thought to himself.

Thinking that the scene he had taken in the day before was too good to be true, he purchased an ice pick on his way to view the property the next morning, believing he would uncover termite damage or wood rot during his scheduled walk-through. On the contrary he discovered just how strong the aged pine used to construct the antiquated building really was. The ice pick broke in half when he stuck it in the wood. August knew it was a sign.

August and his wife Ellen updated the building and advertised it as a low-key retreat intended for a more affluent crowd. Their bed and breakfast was more private and not as welcoming to locals as the day den the Guthries had operated. The Antillas hosted professors from Ivy League universities and other well-to-do winter residents at the Albion.

In 1966 the earliest hurricane in Florida history passed by Manatee County on June 8, tracking just off the West Coast; the eye was only thirty miles offshore. Because of its early arrival, Hurricane Alma received national attention. Although Anna Maria Island had been evacuated, August and his wife Ellen purchased wine, cheese and cold cuts and stayed up late for a hurricane party – it was one of the most terrifying celebrations of their lifetime.

Alma not only frightened the innkeepers of the Albion, it also knocked out telephone communication to 2000 residents, creating $350,000 worth of damage according to historian Pam Gibson, in her speech entitled ”Manatee County Events that Involved the Larger World.“

Two days after Alma hit, the body of a man was discovered floating in Tampa Bay. He was believed to the skipper of a sailboat that smashed into the Skyway Bridge during the storm.

The Antillas ran the inn for 22 years until it was purchased in 1974 by the U.S. Coast Guard to become a sea search rescue station. While the coast guard operated out of the Inn for a number of years, it was demolished in 1991 and replaced with the facility that still stands today, however the core of the building was saved and will soon be part of the Cortez historic village. The only thing left of the famous building is the seawall Joe Guthrie installedÉ and that’s not going anywhere any time soon.