Bounded by N.E. 2nd and 5th Sts. and N.E. 6th and 7th Aves., Gainesville, Florida. County/parish: Alachua.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places July 16, 1973. NRIS 73000563.
2 contributing buildings.Also known as:
The Thomas Center, formerly known as Hotel Thomas and Sunkist Villa, is an historic building in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It was built starting in 1910 in the Classical Revival style by noted Atlanta-based architect, William Augustus Edwards, designer of academic buildings at 12 institutions in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, including the original University of Florida campus, as well as a dozen or more county courthouses in those states plus other building and houses,
The building began as the private home of William Reuben Thomas, his wife Kathryn, and their five children, when it was known as Sunkist Villa. In 1928 Thomas more than doubled the size of the home and converted it to a hotel. The building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on July 16, 1973, and in the following years it underwent a restoration and adaption that involved significant repairs to the structure and replacement of the original Ludowici tiles.
The Thomas Center celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 12, 2010.
(read more...)National Park Service documentation: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/77842008