Frederick Robert Sass
This article was published 11 Dec 2024 by Paul Herman, digital media archivist, West Pasco Historical Society
Frederick Robert Sass was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 1, 1871. He had a brother named George, and together they attended art school in St. Louis. Later, they both attended the Julian Academie in Paris where they studied under the guidance of renowned artists Benjamin Constant and Jean Paul Laurens. Fred also studied in London, and found inspiration in many of the major European art museums. After returning from his studies in France, Fred married Ollie May Warden in Kansas City on April 30, 1901.
George went on to make art his profession. But even though Fred was also an accomplished artist and painter, he chose a different path in life by pursuing a career in the hospitality and restaurant business. By 1908, he was the proprietor of the Centropolis Hotel Cafe in Kansas City. And on July 24, 1911, an article in the Kansas City Star newspaper described his operation of the “Sass Open Door Restaurant” that served meals to workers and needy people on the north side of Kansas City for as little as five cents – or as much as they could afford.
On the 5th of January, 1912, influenced by his wife’s poor health and hopes for its improvement, Fred sold his restaurant business, and the couple left Kansas City, Missouri and traveled by train to Florida. After arriving in Tampa and being met by one of his friends, Fred began searching for the best place to settle. After a couple of months of study, he heard about the Port Richey Company, and accepted an invitation from W. E. Guilford, manager of the company, to inspect their land offerings.
Sass Hotel in 1915 Upon arrival in New Port Richey, he found a half-finished hotel that was under construction by the Port Richey Company – which at that time was owned by P. L. Weeks. Located on Circle Drive near the south bank of Orange Lake, it was a two story wood frame building with wide verandas, a large dining room and ten or twelve guest rooms. The hotel’s original purpose was to provide a comfortable place for land buyers to stay while they spent a few days looking over the lands available from the Port Richey Company. Fred decided to buy the hotel.
On February 5, 1912, Mr. and Mrs. Sass left their accommodations at the Tampa Bay Hotel and traveled with their carload of belongings as far as the railroad could take them – which was a bit south of Elfers. From there they took a truck along a dirt road and over the Pithlachascotee River to their new hotel and home in New Port Richey.
When they first arrived, the hotel was still under construction. So the couple slept on the floor. By his own account, Fred Sass said that at that time, his wife was the first woman to live in New Port Richey.
The first year or so of owning the hotel was not as successful as Fred Sass had hoped. To help make ends meet, he hauled freight from the railroad depot – which was completed later in 1912 – to the banks of the Cotee River at Enchantment Park (now known as Sims Park). He charged 25 cents per load and was able to make about eight dollars a month.
Apparently, the Florida climate was beneficial to Mrs. Sass’ health, because she made her own contributions to the struggling hotel business with her culinary and social skills. To attract customers, she organized the “Port Richey Settlers Benefit Club” that had monthly dinners in the hotel dining room for 35 cents per person.
An extension of the hotel was built that was used as a small general store with household and dry goods. Later the extended portion of the building was expanded to two floors in order to add additional guest rooms.
By early 1916, George Sims had arrived in town and purchased the Port Richey Company from P. L. Weeks. His promotional efforts had a vast impact on the company’s sales, and on the economy of New Port Richey. As things started looking up, Mr. and Mrs. Sass made extensive improvements to the hotel, including enlarging the dining room and the erection of a large water tank so that guests could have running water available.
An advertisement appearing in the Port Richey Press on March 6, 1919, stated that the Sass Hotel had electric lights and rates starting at $2.50 per day with special rates for weekly or monthly stays. The electric lights were powered by the hotel’s own generator. This was before there was any electric service in New Port Richey.
The Sass Hotel was one of three hotels in the area at that time – the others being the Newport Hotel and the Sheldon House in Old Port Richey. Due in large part to the culinary skills of Mrs. Sass, and Fred Sass’s management skills, it became a social hub of the community. Visitors and residents alike raved about the fine meals available at the hotel, and also praised its excellent accommodations and low rates.
One of the attractions popular with travelers was “Alligator Jack” – a large alligator that lived in Orange Lake. Every day, Fred Sass would stand on the end of the dock and pound on the railing with a stick. This would attract “Jack”, who would come from any part of the lake and take bits of meat that Fred fed him from the end of a long stick.
In 1920, Fred Sass sold the hotel to the Enchantment Inn Company, and it was renamed “The Enchantment Inn”, or just “The Inn” for short. The hotel was then sold to Miss H.A. Turnbolt of Lincoln, Illinois, on April 13, 1922. In January of 1923, Miss Turnbolt fell ill and the hotel was leased to Mr. and Mrs. Sass to continue operating. This was a temporary arrangement, and “The Inn” was sold once again on June 23, 1923 to Fred Walsh, then to Thomas Swope and L.A. Mosely in April of 1925. Finally, the historic hotel had a tragic ending when it burned to the ground at midnight on May 25, 1926. It was reported that about 500 residents gathered to watch firefighters attempt, without success, to put out the flames.
After selling the hotel in 1920, Mr. and Mrs. Sass toured the country by automobile, traveling all the way to California and back. In his correspondence, Fred relates, “We traveled more than 13,000 miles, and saw many places of many kinds, but found none that could win our hearts away from The Wonder Town and our New Port Richey friends. And so we came back in September, 1921, to build our present home on the Cotee and the Paradise Loop of the Dixie Highway. The homesite he describes was on Grand Avenue (formerly the old Dixie Highway) just north of Massachusetts Avenue.
His home was an elegant structure where he and Mrs. Sass often entertained. They also hosted James Meighan and his wife at their residence when the Meighans first moved to New Port Richey (James was the brother of famous film star Thomas Meighan). Between 1926 and 1929 Fred operated a business under the name of “Riverside Lodge” on his property at the corner of Dixie Highway (Grand Boulevard) and Massachusetts Avenue. Eventually, he subdivided his substantial property holdings at that location into 48 lots and sold them.
Apparently not getting enough of the hotel business, Mr. and Mrs. Sass leased the Manor Inn beginning in the late summer of 1930. It was located further north on Dixie Highway in Port Richey, and had previously been known as the Magnolia Tavern, then the Hotel York, before becoming the Manor Inn. They changed the name again to “The Sass Hotel” and operated it for several years.
Owning and operating hotels was not the only contribution made by Fred Sass to the New Port Richey community. Working with Dr. Elroy Avery and other prominent citizens, he was also instrumental in starting the town’s first public library. When the articles of incorporation were first drawn up for the Avery Library (that has now evolved into the New Port Richey Public Library), Fred was the treasurer. He was also a director of the First State Bank, built in 1921 on the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Main Street.
As mentioned previously, Fred was a talented and renowned painter. He had exhibited his works frequently in Kansas City before moving to Florida. And he continued to paint portraits, landscapes and other subjects after his move to New Port Richey. His painting of New Port Richey’s first mayor, Dr. Elroy Avery, is on display in the Avery Room of the New Port Richey Public Library. Many of his paintings were included in an exhibition at the Florida Winter Art School in St. Petersburg in December of 1919. At a reception there in his honor, he was described as “one of the best painters in Florida”.
In October of 1933, Fred Sass and his wife moved from New Port Richey to St. Petersburg where they purchased the Horovitch Hotel at 1099 First Avenue North in St. Petersburg. As was their custom, they named their new hotel venture the “Sass Hotel” and began serving meals and hospitality to their guests. Fred continued to produce fine oil paintings (his only medium), and displayed them in the hotel. He was active in the St. Petersburg Art Club, and served as its president in 1938 and 1939. Mr. and Mrs Sass sold their Sass Hotel in St. Petersburg in February of 1944.
Fred died in St. Petersburg on March 1, 1945. He was buried in the Sass family plot in Mount Washington Cemetery in his childhood home of Kansas City, Missouri. He was survived by his wife, Ollie.
