Donald Roebling Estate

The Donald Roebling Estate, also known as Spottiswoode and Spotswood, is a historic residential estate in Clearwater, within Pinellas County on the West coast of Florida.

View of Donald Roebling Estate from Clearwater Bay

Donald Roebling Estate
Spottiswoode residence facade
Donald Roebling Estate is located in Florida
Donald Roebling Estate
Donald Roebling Estate is located in the United States
Donald Roebling Estate
LocationClearwater,
Pinellas County, Florida
Coordinates27°57′27″N 82°48′17″W / 27.95750°N 82.80472°W / 27.95750; -82.80472
Built1929
ArchitectJohn Phillipoff &
Roy W. Wakeling
Architectural styleTudor Revival
NRHP reference No.79000689[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 19, 1979

History

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It was the home of inventor, engineer, industrial designer, and philanthropist Donald Roebling (1908–1959). It is located on the channel at 700 Spottiswoode Lane in Clearwater. Roebling bought and named the parcel of land Spottiswoode, in honor of his fiancée, Florence Spotswood Parker.[2]

Donald Roebling was the great-grandson of John Augustus Roebling who designed the Brooklyn Bridge, and grandson of Washington Roebling who was in charge of the bridge's construction.

The buildings were designed in the Tudor Revival style by architects Roy W. Wakeling and John Phillipoff, and the residence was completed in 1929. The estate includes the mansion, a boathouse on the Intracoastal Waterway, an 'engineering−inventions' machine shop, and other outbuildings.

Harbor Oaks

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The estate was built in the Harbor Oaks Residential District, Clearwater's first planned residential development, that was opened in 1914 by Dean Alvord, a major developer from New York.[3] The development offered then-innovative features such as paved streets, curbs, and sidewalks, underground utility and sewer systems, and tree lined parkways. Other original Harbor Oaks residents included author Rex Beach, Brooklyn Dodgers owner Charles Ebbett, industrialist Robert Ingersoll, and members of the Studebaker, Proctor, and Gamble families.[3]

Landmark

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On December 19, 1979, the Donald Roebling Estate was added to the US National Register of Historic Places.

The estate is also protected within the Harbor Oaks Historic District.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "FamilySearch.org". ancestors.familysearch.org. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Florida Historical Markers Programs: Harbor Oaks Historic District, Clearwater, Pinellas County, Florida
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