Remember Sutton Hall

01/17/2026

January 16, 2026.

12/21/2025

No change. 🤔

12/01/2025

Silence.

11/25/2025

Sutton Hall interior, weeks before demolition. At center, a wooden mantle with geometric paneling anchors the room. Fluted columns frame a mirrored wall, extending symmetry and depth. Even amid debris, there's an intentional architectural language, one that sought dignity and balance in a communal space. All gone now.








City of Temple Terrace
Florida Division of Historical Resources
Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, Inc.
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Florida Historical Society
UF Historic Preservation Program

11/21/2025

Weeks before Sutton Hall’s demolition, this interior view captures, despite the disarray and trash, glorious architectural details: the fluted column crowned with a classical capital, the brick-framed fireplace inset with black tile. The symmetry of the wall sconces and the molded paneling above the mantel reflect a design era that valued proportion, texture, and permanence. All of it now lost.








City of Temple TerraceFlorida Division of Historical ResourcesFlorida Trust for Historic Preservation, Inc.National Trust for Historic PreservationFlorida Historical SocietyUF Historic Preservation Program

11/15/2025

Nothing yet.

11/14/2025

In this frame, the architectural bones of Sutton Hall linger amid disarray and scattered furnishings, not too long before the building's demolition earlier this year.

Look at the patterned tile floor. Notice the generous natural light coming in, thanks to the structure's Mediterranean Revival roots, in harmony with the environment. Check out that cabinet in the foreground. Its clean lines, recessed paneling, and warm wood tone suggest mid-century influence.








City of Temple Terrace
Florida Division of Historical Resources
Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, Inc.
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Florida Division of Historical Resources

11/08/2025

Before its demolition, Sutton Hall stood as a quiet triumph of Spanish Mission Revival architecture. Designed in 1922 by M. Leo Elliott, its textured stucco walls, red clay tile roof, and hand-carved ornamental reliefs weren’t just decorative, they were declarations of civic pride.

Look at these details in the photos below: Wooden corbels supported the eaves with elegance. Steel casement windows framed reflections of a changing campus. Every detail, from scrollwork to symmetry, spoke of a time when architecture was meant to inspire. Sadly, that is not the case anymore.








City of Temple TerraceFlorida Division of Historical ResourcesNational Trust for Historic PreservationFlorida Trust for Historic Preservation, Inc.Florida Historical Society

11/03/2025

This rear entrance to Sutton Hall once embodied the Spanish Colonial Revival style: red clay tiles, stucco walls, and a bell-crowned parapet that suggested ceremony and purpose. Notice that the doorway was blocked.

10/30/2025

This interior photo of Sutton Hall was taken just weeks before its demolition in 2025. The image shows a stairwell leading to a lower level, with exposed beams, missing drywall, and a “Do Not Enter” sign marking restricted access. The damage and neglect visible are stark reminders of the building’s sad, final chapter.








Florida Division of Historical ResourcesFlorida Trust for Historic Preservation, Inc.Florida Historical Society

10/20/2025

The VP Shoots Photography Blog (below), created by Temple Terrace locals Linda Perdue and Jim Vargas, offers heartfelt glimpses into our community’s past and present.

One post from their archives features Sutton Hall (the Temple Terrace Clubhouse), with several photos taken in 2016, including a striking interior shot with its tiled floor.

With Sutton Hall now demolished, these visuals offer a rare and touching tribute to a building that shaped generations.

Historical Markers in Temple Terrace

10/19/2025

Before its demolition in 2025, Sutton Hall stood as the architectural heart of the City of Temple Terrace. The Florida Historic Golf Trail, maintained by the Florida Department of State, reminds us what this building once meant.

Originally designed in 1922 by M. Leo Elliott, Sutton Hall first served as the clubhouse for the Temple Terrace Golf & Country Club, a Mediterranean Revival centerpiece in Florida’s first master-planned golf community. While Tom Bendelow designed the course itself, Elliott’s clubhouse gave the development its civic and architectural soul.

The course hosted the 1925 Florida Open, billed as the “Greatest Field of Golfers Ever to Play in Florida.” The clubhouse welcomed players, guests, and generations of residents, first as a social hub, later as a dormitory for Florida College.

The Florida Historic Golf Trail (FHGT) is a program created by the Florida Division of Historical Resources to promote Florida's historic golf courses that are publicly accessible without restrictions.