I noticed a photo of the Florence Hotel on today's flicker pool, which prompted me to write this post. Some may recall that up to about 15 years ago (maybe a little longer) the Florence was opened on weekends for lunch, dinner and Sunday Brunch. My family dined there fairly often. The hotel was also opened for self-directed tours of sleeping rooms as well as common areas. At that time the hotel was still full of many original furnishings and was an amazing time capsule of an earlier day. I believe the restaurant as well as maintainance for the building was under the supervision of a local non-profit preservation group. Then, the city and state, with a great deal of fanfare, announced they were going to begin a major renovation of the hotel as well as other historical Pullman buildings. Former Governor Thompson was named as the head of the effort. Just like that the hotel and restaurant were closed. Needless to say, 15 or more years later the hotel remains closed and appears to be nowhere near rehabbed. I stopped by last fall and looked in a couple of windows and from what I was able to see, all of the furnishings were gone. I suppose it is possible that they are being stored somewhere safe, but I doubt it. More likely, they've been heisted over the years. It's really a shame. This local group seemed to be doing a good job, but government decided it could do a better job.