The Lost Landmarks of Bimini

The lost landmarks of Bimini The ruins of 2 hotels can be found in North Bimini, The Bimini Bay Rod and Gun club which played a major role in America’s prohibition era and The compleat Angler which ended in a tragedy. In 1920 just a year after Albert Burns Chalk began scheduled airline flights from Bimini to Miami Thomas Peters built a three-story hotel and casino called the Bimini Bay Rod and Gun Club, the hotel was the largest in The Bahamas and the casino was one of the first in the country. The Bimini Bay and Rod club was the first place to provide accommodations for visitors and employed 50 people during high seasons .The hotel was used to store liquor which would be smuggled into the U.S. In 1926 a hurricane destroyed the hotel, eventually the hotel was sold to Gene Tunney a famous boxer, and Sir Harold Christie. The Compleat angler was built in 1935 by Helen and Henry Duncomb but was damaged by a hurricane in 1936. The hotel was sold to the Brown family in 1973 after Henry Duncomb died. The Angler was an unofficial museum, with one room devoted to Ernest Hemingway's exploits and most of its pine walls decorated with decades' worth of fading photos and news clips of assorted anglers and trophy fish. On January 13th in 2006 the hotel was destroyed by fire and the owner Julian Brown died after leading a guest to safety.