HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
St. Petersburg's 1921 European Art Deco boutique hotel, where the Cordova family butler is said to still patrol the hallways in full uniform decades after dying at his post
253 2nd Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Boutique hotel room rates; see website for current pricing
Access
Wheelchair OK
Multi-story hotel; elevator access available
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1921 · St. Petersburg Preservation Society Restoration of the Year (2002) · 1920s Florida Land Boom Architecture · Downtown St. Petersburg Historic District
The building at 253 Second Avenue North opened in 1921 as Hotel Scott, one of several new downtown properties that appeared during the land-boom years that preceded Florida's mid-decade bust. St. Petersburg's population was growing rapidly in the early 1920s, and the hotel's European Art Deco style — grand archways, ornate detailing — positioned it toward the upper end of the downtown market.
In 1923, the property was renamed Hotel Cordova after the Cordova family of Michigan who owned it and installed their personal staff. The family employed a butler known by the staff designation of major-domo — the title indicating a senior household manager responsible for the hotel's service operations. That butler ran the hotel's day-to-day guest services for approximately twenty years before dying in the building, at some point in the mid-twentieth century.
The Cordova family maintained ownership until the 1950s, after which the property passed through several owners and periods of varying maintenance. During the 1980s and 1990s the building was closed; during that period, local accounts describe young people breaking in and reporting disturbing sounds. A thoughtful restoration in the early 2000s returned the building to operation and earned the 2002 Restoration of the Year Award from the St. Petersburg Preservation Society. The 32-room inn operates today as part of the New Hotel Collection.
Sources
The Cordova Inn's haunted reputation centers on a single figure: the major-domo, the Cordova family's personal butler who managed the hotel for roughly twenty years before dying there. His name does not appear in the documented accounts, which refer to him by his professional title or simply as "the butler."
St. Petersburg ghost tour operator Denielle Kennett described the haunting as a residual type — a spirit that may not be aware it has died and simply continues the routines it performed in life. Staff have reported seeing a man in old-fashioned formal dress walking through the foyer and hallways. Front desk agent Kayla Bentley described finding an impression on the bed in Room 305 that disappeared as she entered the room. The butler is characterized consistently as benevolent — a figure maintaining standards rather than menacing guests.
During the building's closed period in the 1980s and 1990s, young people who broke in at night reported hearing an unhappy howling sound, which they attributed to the butler objecting to the intrusion. The framing in local oral tradition — that the butler "saved the building from demolition" by maintaining a presence during the years it was at risk — is a piece of retroactive narrative that tells you more about the community's relationship to the building than to any documentable supernatural activity.
Notable Entities
Book one of the 32 rooms in the restored 1921 building in downtown St. Petersburg. Room 305 has been specifically cited by staff for paranormal activity. The butler presence is most commonly reported in the foyer and hallways. The inn received the St. Petersburg Preservation Society's Restoration of the Year Award in 2002.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
St. Petersburg, FL
Built in 1910 as the winter home of Pennsylvania oil magnate Perry Laughner, the property passed to his son Aymer Vinoy Laughner, from whose front porch the idea for the Vinoy Hotel — built across the street in 1925 — was reportedly conceived during a wager at a 1923 party.
Key West, FL
The house at 534 Eaton Street was built between 1890 and 1898 by Thomas Otto as a Queen Anne-style residence. His son Robert Eugene Otto — a painter who studied in New York and Paris — inherited the home and lived there with his wife Anne from 1930 until his death in 1974. The doll known as Robert lived in the home with Gene Otto throughout this period, occupying the turret room in its later years. Following the deaths of Gene and Anne Otto, the property was converted into a guest house in 1978.
Key West, FL
William Curry arrived in Key West from the Bahamas and built his fortune through the salvage trade, working wrecks off the Florida reef and reportedly purchasing salvaged goods at distressed prices. His son Milton demolished the original 1869 house in 1901 to build the Georgian Revival mansion that stands today. It has operated as a bed and breakfast since 1988.