Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. 6 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1952.
“The Old Pinecrest Hotel is a historic site in Avon Park, Florida, United States. It was located at 1609 South Lake Lotela Drive, on the shores of Lake Lotela.”
Wikipedia article Old Pinecrest Hotel, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 17 National Register listings published here for Highlands County · listed in 2000 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
The ground this property stands on, surveyed 36 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 376 fires within 5 miles of Pinecrest Hotel, Old between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,093 acres in total. 38 started naturally. 61 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 69 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 67 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 61 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 60 |
| Natural | 38 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 19 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 17 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 10 |
| Smoking | 6 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Other causes | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 2002 | Debris and open burning | 1.5 acres | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 3 September 2000 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 28 September 2006 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | (HI) TROJAN (1502) |
| 27 September 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 24 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 32 acres | Florida Forest Service | YARBOROUGH (28 ) |
| 23 September 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | COD TRAIL (28) |
| 20 September 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 2.5 acres | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 6 August 2006 | Natural | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | (HI)-DUNKIN-1259 |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Avon Park, the town this property stands in, in 32 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 14 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 4 tornado, 3 heavy rain. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon Park | 1 hurt, $60,000 | Thunderstorm winds caused minor to moderate damage to the roofs of two mobile homes, tore off the awnings of a few homes and downed several trees in a trailer park in Avon Park. Several roadside billboards were toppled or splintered by thunderstorm winds along U.S. Highway 27 south of Avon Park.Two businesses in Avon Park received roof and gate damage from the thunderstorm wind. One person received minor cuts at the Bonnie Brae Estates mobile home park when the thunderstorm wind blew the roof off an extension to her mobile home. |
| March 1998 | Tornado (F1) | Avon Park | $437,000 | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Lightning | Avon Park | $290,000 | Lightning struck the garage of a house on North Rehrer Road and started a fire that destroyed the entire house and two cars. |
| March 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon Park | $150,000 | Downburst winds from a thunderstorm caused structural damage to several metal buildings and sheds along State Road 64 near the intersection of U.S. Highway 27 in Avon Park. The downburst winds blew from north northwest to south southeast which damaged several north facing roof overhangs and facades of commercial buildings along State Road 64. |
| September 1999 | Flood | Avon Park | $50,000 | Three to five inches of rain fell in less than three hours and caused localized flooding of homes, businesses and woodlands in low-lying areas along the U.S. Highway 27 corridor from Avon Park to Venus. |
| July 1998 | Flood | Avon Park | $50,000 | Four to six inches of heavy rain fell in less than three hours and caused localized flooding of low lying areas along the U.S. Highway 17 corridor between Avon Park and Sebring. A few homes and several vehicles incurred water damage in the Highland Lakes area near Avon Park. |
| April 1993 | Tornado (F0) | Avon Park | $50,000 | A small tornado moved through the Mobile Home Village at Charlie Creek on SR 64 near Avon Park damaging 14 mobile homes. |
| January 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon Park | $30,000 | Thunderstorm winds caused minor damage to the roofs, porches, lanais and carports of few homes along the U.S. Highway 27 corridor between Avon Park and Sebring. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon Park | $25,000 | Highlands County EM relayed reports and pictures of 2 barns damaged by straight-line winds associated with a downburst from thunderstorms in the area. Mostly minor damage consisting of metal siding or roofing peeled away from the structures. |
| April 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon Park | $15,000 | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Lightning | Avon Park | $10,000 | Lightning struck a tree then trenched its way to a storage shed that caught fire. The shed and its contents of generators were a total loss but heavy rains kept the fire from spreading to a nearby group home. |
| January 1998 | Tornado (F0) | Avon Park | $10,000 | A tornado briefly touched down and blew over five to seven toppers at a recreational vehicle dealership along U.S. Highway 27 before it lifted and dissipated. |
| February 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon Park | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds removed the roof of a shed and downed several power lines in Avon Park. |
| April 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon Park | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees which damaged the roofs of a few homes in Avon Park. |
| March 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon Park | $5,000 | A stationary thunderstorm blew the roof off a gabled secion of a roof-over of a mobile home |
| April 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon Park | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed a few antennas, power lines and trees in Avon Park. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon Park | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed two large trees onto a house which caused moderate structural damage. Another house in the same vicinity received minor roof damage from thunderstorm winds. Several fences were ripped down and a numerous large trees were downed. |
| November 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon Park | $3,000 | Florida Department of Emergency Management relayed a report of a secondary roof pulled off of an older mobile home that downed a power line in Avon Park, along with a trampoline flipped over. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon Park | $2,500 | The large business sign at the Market 27 store in Avon Park was destroyed. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon Park | $2,000 | Power lines were downed near Avon Park. There were also numerous reports of damage received from across the county. |
| June 2022 | Hail | Avon Park | - | Social media video showed estimated quarter size hail near Avon Park. |
| July 2015 | Hail | Avon Park | - | Employees of the Market 27 store in Avon Park reported quarter size hail. |
| August 2008 | Heavy Rain | Avon Park | - | The observer recorded 9.49 inches of rain. |
| September 2004 | Heavy Rain | Avon Park | - | A National Weather Service observer recorded 5.97" of rain. |
| September 2004 | Heavy Rain | Avon Park | - | A National Weather Service observer two miles east of Avon Park recorded 6.37". |
| May 1998 | Hail | Avon Park | - | Dime sized hail was reported at the Avon Park Municipal Airport. |
| April 1997 | Tornado (F0) | Avon Park | - | A tornado briefly touched down over a rural, semi-wooded area of extreme western Highlands county near County Road 634 with no apparent damage. |
| April 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon Park | - | Thunderstorm winds blew a shed off it's foundation. |
| May 1998 | Hail | Avon Park | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Avon Park | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Hail | Avon Park | - | no account filed |
| July 1995 | Hail | Avon Park | - | no account filed |
United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Avon Park Historic District | 2.5 miles | 1990 |
 | Elizabeth Haines House | 4.5 miles | 1993 |
 | Santa Rosa Hotel | 5.6 miles | 2017 |
 | Paul L. Vinson House | 5.7 miles | 1989 |
 | Central Station | 5.7 miles | 1989 |
 | Sebring Downtown Historic District | 5.8 miles | 1990 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 00000266 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Highlands County | All 17 listed properties in this county. |
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