Dixie Hotel, Hotel Kelley
a.k.a. John F. Seagle Building
408 W. University Ave., Gainesville, FLThe Seagle Building has many areas of significance. It is a Gainesville landmark, by virtue of its height and location, 45 years of public ownership, and Gainesville's most ambitious commercial building project of the Florida Land Boom era. It is Gainesville's best illustration of the economics of the Florida Land Boom and the WPA period. The Seagle Building is significant for its association with two nationally recognized architects, J. Lloyd Preacher and Rudolph Weaver. It is Gainesville's best expression of a type and method of construction that came into widespread use at the time it was built, namely a reinforced concrete frame with a masonry curtain wall. It remains a distinct and significant entity as an eleven-story building within a context of one, two, and three-story structures. Due to the existence of complete architectural, engineering, and shop drawings, the building is likely to yield information important to the history of building technology.
Local significance of the building:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.