In 1896, Henry Flagler built Miami’s first luxury hotel, the Royal Palm, designed by the same architects who had built his St. Augustine and Palm Beach properties. Sadly, by 1926, the hotel was considered old fashioned. The fatal blow was the 1926 hurricane. Although the hotel opened after that, it was its final season. It was dismantled, with much of the materials being recycled into new houses. The remaining wood was infested with termites and burned on site. During redevelopment of the site in 2013-15, many architectural features emerged such as the staircase into the hotel and a cistern. An earlier excavation had found the key room underground, with many keys still intact. Significant archaeological sites from the Tequesta Indians were also found.

Read more at Miami-History: http://miami-history.com/opening-of-miamis-royal-palm-hotel/ 

Read more about the excavations: http://swampangel65.blogspot.com/2013_09_01_archive.html