1674-2 Roy FranceWith the Whitman,
New Hotel Tren
Was Usherecl In
similar In design," said
France. "1 ha practical prob-
lems of hotel architecture
were worked out long ago —
long before I became a hotel
architect."
Hotel construction carne
virtually to a standstill with
the building of the Fontein.
bleau, Eden Roc and the
Americana, France had noth-
Exact-Fare Toll
To Foil Thieves
PHILADELPHIA — (AP) —
An cxa, t•t,i•a pl.,n, design -.d
to curb robberies, will be
introduced on the Philadel-
phia Transportation Co, sys-
tem.
Under the plan passengers
must have the exact fare, or
they will be given their
change in the form of a re-
demption slip that can be
exchanged at special centers,
The money the passenger
gives to drivers or cashiers is
dropped into a locked, bolt-
ed-dowd,cash box,
ing to do with the destott of
these big hotels, but In 1956
he did El Embajado at Santo
Domingo and in 1956 the
Intercontinental at San Juan.
''Most of the construction
at Miami Beach since theft
has been apartment houses,"
he said. "When we built the
Kenilworth in 1946 It was
the only high•rlse in Bal
Harbour. Now look at the
ocean front at Bal Harbour.
Not a vacant spot left, and
mostly apartment houses."
France's Iatest work Ls the
North Hialeah Baptist
5^00 Palm Ave.,
Hi•ilrah, dedicated in August,
Born at Hawley, Minn.,
France went to Chicago as a•
'young man and' worked as a
draughtsman in an archi-
tect's office while studying
architecture. He passed the
state board and a reciprocal
agreement between Illinois
and Florida made It possible
for him' to obtain a license to
practice architecture in Flor-
ida without bis having to
take an examination,
10-D THE MIAMI HERALD Thurs., Feb.17,1973
Roy F. France, 83,
Designed the Hotels
Along Miami Beach
By DAVID TEDESCHI
Herald Staff WOO'
Roy F. France, an architect
who influenced the appear-
ance of Miami Beach's sky-
line with his designs of the
Kenilworth, Saxony and Cat
sablanca hotels, died Tues•
day at the Shalom Nursing
and Convalescent Center. He
was S3. •
Mr. France's llst of arch!.
tectural works also includes
the Monte Carlo, Cadillac,
Versailles and Sea View ho-
tels and a number of apart.
ment complexes.
Born in Hawley, Minn.,
Roy F. France
...imprint on Beach
• Mr. France went to Chicago
as a young man and worked 1930s, but has since been
as a draftsman in an archt- torn down.
tact's office while studying • -,Before World War II, Mr.
architecture. He passed the .ranee designed the Edgewa•
state board and a reciprocal ler Beach, Patrician. Shore•
agreement between Illinois ' %'n ede, Ocean Grande, Sands,
and Florida made It possible White House, National, Sea
for him to obtain a license to Isles and Versailles hotels.
. practice architecture in Flora• He also developed' several
da without having to take "Apartment houses and pr--
another examinatton. . , i vete homes,
MR. FRANCE OFTEN rem-
inisced of how he and his
a wife; were attracted to
Miami. They took a train trip
of several weeks in 1931 and
stopped to play golf at places
they figured they woald like.
Eventually their train rolled
into Miami, •
• "One of, the first things Y
did was to play golf at the
M 1 a m (% Biltmore Country
,. Club," Mr, France said In a
1968 interv._w. "I got so sun-
burned I had to spend a day
in bed re:overirg. But we
liked the Miami area so much
that we just couldn't think
about living in Chicago any
longer."
Returning to Chicago
where he was a hotel archi-
tect, Mr, France gathered his
belongings and came to
Mlami Beach, where he set-
tled permanently.
HE ESTABLISHED the
firm Roy France and Son and
his first major design was an
Indian Creek apartment
building. Soon after he was
commissioned to design the
Whitman Hotel.
Built on the ocean between
33rd and 34th streets, the
Whitman ushered in a new
"Construction was at a
standstill during World War
II,' Mr, France once said.
."'The military took over the
hotels and used them' for Air
Force training achools.'This c
saved a lot of hotel owners
from possible bankruptcy at
a time when travel was re-
stricted."
HE WENT BACK to work
as soon as the war was over.
primarily designing hotels to
be built in Bal Harbour. It! •
1950. a construction record
was claimed when his 26S.
room Casablanca Hotel was
built in five months and 10
days.
His designs utilized what
Miami Beach was noted fort
"Let in the air and sun.
That's what people come to
Florida for," he eaid.
MR. FRANCE'S last major
'Yeles'lgn before his retirement
In 1969 was the North Hlaie•
ah Baptist Church, S800 Pa1ns
Ave. ' .f .
His survivors include a
daughter-in-law, Wilma
France, of South Miami; five
grandchildren, and t h r e •
great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m.
Friday at the Miami Beach
Community Church,
Burial will be in Wood.
lawn Park with the Lithgow-
r