HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Bradenton's 1926 'Pink Palace' survived the Depression and a rooftop death to become a Hampton Inn—where staff say a guest never checked out.
309 10th St W, Bradenton, FL 34205
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Hotel room rates vary by season; overnight stay required for access
Access
Wheelchair OK
Downtown hotel with elevator access; fully accessible common areas
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1926 · One of Bradenton's earliest large-scale commercial buildings · Italian Renaissance Mediterranean Revival architecture from the 1920s Florida land boom · Spring training quarters for multiple Major League Baseball teams · Listed in Manatee County Historical Records Library collections
Construction on the Manatee River Hotel began in August 1925, with the building opening in 1926 at 309 10th Street West in downtown Bradenton. The Italian Renaissance-style structure was bankrolled by H.C. Van Sweringen—half of the Van Sweringen brothers who developed Shaker Heights outside Cleveland—along with a group of Manatee County investors. At $850,000 it was one of the most expensive commercial buildings in the region at the time.
The hotel quickly became the social hub of Bradenton's boom years. Local lore, preserved in Manatee County Historical Records Library clippings, credits the register with names including Herbert Hoover, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Rita Hayworth, Babe Ruth, and Al Capone. Baseball teams used it as spring training quarters. During Prohibition, rooftop ballroom events—'Prohibition Balls'—were held on the building's top floor. A man is said to have fallen to his death from that rooftop during this era.
The Great Depression stalled the hotel's ambitions, and it changed hands and purposes repeatedly over the following decades. After sitting largely idle, the property underwent a $21 million renovation completed in 2013 when it reopened as the Hampton Inn & Suites Bradenton Downtown Historic District under the Hilton brand. The renovation preserved the building's historic exterior and public spaces while updating the interiors to modern hotel standards.
Sources
After the $21 million renovation reopened the building in 2013, staff members began reporting paranormal activity. Sarasota Magazine documented balcony doors opening and closing on their own and ghost sightings by hotel employees—activity attributed to 'the spirit of a guest who never checked out.'
The Paranormal Society of Bradenton, which conducts ghost investigations throughout the region, identifies the Hampton Inn as one of their most active sites. Their documentation adds specific traditions: the ghost of Al Capone, who reportedly signed the hotel registry during Prohibition and frequented the rooftop ballroom, is said to ride the elevators. A more somber strand of the lore concerns a man who plummeted to his death from that same rooftop during the Prohibition-era dances. Investigators encourage photographing the building's upper center facade where activity has been documented.
No independent paranormal investigation reports have been publicly published, and the hotel does not market itself around the haunted reputation. The stories circulate primarily through the Paranormal Society of Bradenton and regional ghost tour operators.
Notable Entities
Book a room in the former Manatee River Hotel and explore the floors where staff have reported ghost sightings and self-operating balcony doors. The building's 1920s bones—Italian Renaissance facade, historic corridors—are intact beneath the Hampton Inn renovation.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Pensacola, FL
The house at 203 West Gregory Street was built in the 1890s for William Hazard Northup — a ship captain who arrived in Pensacola in the early 1870s, was elected mayor in 1897, and later served as the city's Collector of Customs and Postmaster. The home was a social center for Pensacola's turn-of-the-century professional class and has operated as a bed and breakfast since its restoration.
Apalachicola, FL
James N. Coombs built the house at 80 Sixth Street in 1905 as a private residence. When a fire damaged the home in 1911, the Coombs couple moved to a hotel during repairs. Mrs. Coombs died of grief at the hotel; Mr. Coombs died of heart failure three weeks later. Both are buried in Chestnut Street Cemetery, across the street from the home they built. The property is now a 24-room inn across three historic structures.
Apalachicola, FL
The Gibson Inn was built in 1907 as the Franklin Hotel at the height of Apalachicola's lumber and shipping trade. Sisters Annie Gibson Hayes and Mary Ellen Gibson purchased and renamed it in 1923. During World War II, the U.S. Army requisitioned it as officers' quarters near Camp Gordon Johnston. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.