Homestead's oldest building, scarred by a deadly 1913 fire that killed sleeping guests on the upper floor
5 S Flagler Ave, Homestead, FL 33030
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Standard hotel room rates; check website for current pricing
Access
Wheelchair OK
Downtown streetscape; one accessible ground-floor room
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1904 · Oldest surviving building in Homestead · National Register of Historic Places — Homestead Historic Downtown District · 1913 fatal hotel fire
The Hotel Redland opened in 1904 on Flagler Avenue in what was then a small agricultural settlement at the southern edge of Miami-Dade County. The building served triple duty as a rooming house for travelers and laborers, a supply store, and a post office — the kind of commercial anchor that frontier towns in South Florida's newly drained farmland depended on.
On November 10, 1913, fire broke out in the attic of the upper floor. The blaze spread quickly through the wood-frame construction, and multiple guests were killed while still asleep in their beds. The precise death toll has been disputed in local lore, with some accounts citing as many as 17 fatalities; contemporaneous sources describe it as multiple deaths without a confirmed number. A replacement structure was announced just nine days later, and the rebuilt hotel continued to serve the Redland agricultural district throughout the twentieth century.
The building survived hurricanes, the bust years of the Great Depression, and decades of neglect in a downtown that grew up around it. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Homestead Historic Downtown District. After a 2020 pandemic closure idled the property, new ownership took over and completed a renovation in 2023, reopening the hotel with thirteen rooms — eleven on the second floor where the fire originated — along with the City Hall Bistro & Martini Bar on the ground floor.
Sources
The paranormal lore at Hotel Redland centers on the second floor, which suffered the worst casualties in the 1913 fire. Room 202 attracts the most specific claims: local oral history offers three competing accounts of a woman's fate in that room — that she attempted to open the window to escape the smoke, that an ex-lover threw her through it, and a third variation involving a bootlegger during Prohibition. The window story circulates without documentary support, but it has attached itself persistently to Room 202.
In August 2017, the paranormal research group PRISM conducted a documented investigation using night-vision cameras, infrared sensors, and audio recorders. The team reported capturing an EVP that they interpreted as the name 'Lonnie Lee' — corresponding to a framed portrait displayed in the hotel hallway identified as 'Lonnie Lee Hood, 1935.' Psychic medium Ana Echeverri, who accompanied the investigation, described sensing a tall, thin male presence connected to the window incident on the second floor. The Miami New Times covered the investigation in a feature on South Florida ghost hunters.
Guests and staff have reported disembodied sounds on the upper floor during quiet overnight hours, particularly near the stairwell that accesses the rooms above the original attic. The hotel does not market formal paranormal programming; the haunted reputation has grown through word of mouth and coverage in regional paranormal media.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Thirteen rooms in the oldest surviving building in Homestead, opened in 1904. The on-site City Hall Bistro & Martini Bar occupies the ground floor. Guests stay in the same upper-floor rooms where the November 1913 fire began.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Las Vegas, NV
The Aladdin Hotel opened in Las Vegas in 1966 as a major resort and casino property. The hotel underwent renovations and continued operations until its closure in 2003. Planet Hollywood Entertainment acquired the property in 2005, completely renovating and reopening it in 2007 as Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The 7th floor Panorama Suite emerged as the property's most paranormally active location during Aladdin Hotel operations.
Genoa, WI
Big River Inn dates to either 1879 or 1896 (sources vary) in Genoa, Wisconsin. The building originally functioned as a restaurant before evolving into a combined inn and restaurant. It now operates as Water View Inn, maintaining its paranormal reputation while serving contemporary hospitality functions.
Coral Gables, FL
The Biltmore Hotel opened on January 15, 1926, as a palatial resort designed by acclaimed architects Schultze and Weaver and founded by developer George Merrick and hotel magnate John McEntee Bowman. Its tower was modeled after the Giralda in Seville, Spain. The hotel featured the world's largest swimming pool at the time and hosted high-society galas, fashion shows, and golf tournaments. During World War II, the federal government converted the property into a military hospital; it later operated as a veterans hospital and university campus until 1968. A comprehensive $55 million restoration returned the hotel to operation in 1987.