North Padre Island Moon
April 11, 2008
by Mary Craft The Million Dollar Inn opened its doors in 1967 on the beach between Holiday Inn (formerly Red Carpet Inn) and Island House Condos. It was the only structure on The Island at the time and was part of a plan to bring South Florida style development to The Island. The hotel was used to house potential buyers who came to The Island from as far away as Europe to get in on the ground floor of Island development. It was also a Mecca for tourists who just wanted to enjoy the beach. There was little in the way of homes on The Island at the time and most investors were buying
raw land. There were several homes in the Packery Channel area and the Country Club golf course had only nine holes. The Hotel got its name from the amount of money it cost to build. It was a very swank hotel reminiscent of the Vegas Strip at the time. You could get a beachfront room for $20.50 for two people per night. The timing of the opening was perfect because shortly before the causeway drawbridge was constructed and the fifty miles of beach was declared a National Park in 1968 both events attracted more tourists to the Island. It was always the dream of the two brothers Joe and Charles Fay to own a hotel although neither had any experience. Wilbur King and Dexter Boyne were investors but were not involved in the day-to-day operations. Charlie oversaw the construction of the U-shaped building. The bottom of the U was the main building and had a third story with many windows that gave a panoramic view of the Gulf and the Island. The third floor was occupied by the Padre Island Investment Corporation corporate and sales offices. In the lounge area they had a scale model master plan, a large wall map of what the future development would look like with the manmade canals, and the different subdivisions and their lot numbers. They brought potential lot buyers here from Europe, Canada, Mexico and all over the United States and they would stay at the hotel. (There will be a story on this venture in a later issue.) The other two floors had a top-notch restaurant, two bars with live music, a ballroom, meeting rooms and lobby. The gift shop rented out scuba equipment, diving gear, surf boards and metal detectors. The hotel rooms were located in the attached two story buildings and were made with
PAC cont. from page A1 asking for input from residents to help in that task. In addition, one of the other tasks to be taken on immediately is to set up the committee structure to concentrate on various aspects of the decisionmaking process. The group’s stated purpose is to establish a block of voters on North Padre Island to hold sway in citywide elections, with the goal of forwarding issues of interest to Island residents. A vote was taken at the April 9 meeting that limits membership in the PAC to Island residents. A motion was made to include residents of Flour Bluff as well but board members said they feared a difference in interests and voting patterns would split the PAC vote and dilute the voting power of the group at the ballot box. The board did approve a move that will set aside one place on the board of directors for a member of the Flour Bluff Business Association. The annual meeting of the PAC will be held each July to elect officers and amend the by-laws as
necessary. It has not been determined if the PAC will have the organization in place in time to take positions on the city bond issues set for November. The board also voted at the meeting to allow mail-in ballots for board members but not to allow proxy votes. A current list of board members is as follows: Ronnie Voss, Richard Pittman, Colleen McIntyre/Vice-President, Dan Winship/ Treasurer, Glenn Lyons, Linda Walsh, Steve Johnson, Pat Marschall, Eddie Aguilera, John Vaughn, Skip Greenstreet, Carroll Blackie Pitzer, Dave Yonke, and Norm Baker/President. According to the by-laws the board must consist of between 7 and 17 members and they will be chosen by the general membership. The next meeting is scheduled for May 14th at Island Italian at 6 p.m. and the public is encouraged to attend.
A little Island history
The Million Dollar Inn’s Heyday Years 1967-1972
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Zachary pre-cast concrete stackable module units. Each of the 112 rooms was well furnished with an original hand painted mural by the well-known German artist Fritz Von Drieberg. In the middle of the U-shape was a fresh water pool with landscaping that was visible from most rooms and the main building. The hotel hosted many events including the annual New Year’s Day Beauty and Swimsuit Contest sponsored by the City of Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Jaycees and the Chamber of Commerce. There was a large spread of food including black-eyed peas for this popular event. Joe and his wife, Fay, lived in town and owned an Adler Sewing Machine shop on Ayers that Fay managed. They had been in that business since after World War II. In 1970 Hurricane Celia hit Corpus and destroyed their home. The hotel suffered little damage attesting to its construction. Windows were blown out and a corner of the third floor roof was lifted. A picture in the Caller-Times after the storm showed only one car in the parking lot. It belonged to a couple of honeymooners who apparently never knew there was a storm. Red Carpet Inn and Portofino Condos had heavy damage due to the I- beam and stucco construction. The thirteen-foot seawall was in place at the time but the tide was over ten feet and the waves crashed over largely because the wall did not have the curved top it
A3
has now. The bottom three floors of both buildings were flooded. The drawbridge was also wiped out. Joe and Fay cleaned up two hotel units to live in and to let workers who came to help with the rebuilding stay at the hotel. There was food to last for a while because of the restaurant. The hotel was sold in 1972 because the investor Wilbur died and the other investor wanted out. Joe and Charlie decided it was a good time to sell and go play. Charlie died of a heart attack two months later. The hotel flourished during those years and was always fully booked during the season but went into a downward decline after the sale. Read about how and why in the next Moon issue. The information for this story was compiled from talks with former hotel owner Betty Fay, Coldwell Banker realtor Jack Lavers and former Padre Island Investment Corporation treasurer Pat Mutchler.