Havana Biltmore Yacht and Country Club
{{Short description|Country club}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Havana Biltmore Yacht and Country Club
Club de Yates y Campo Biltmore de La Habana
| image = Havana - Habana Biltmore Yacht and Country Club.jpg
| imagesize =
| alternate_names = Biltmore Yacht Club
Club Náutico Biltmore
| opened_date =February 1, 1928
| location =Miramar, Havana, La Habana Province, {{CUB}}
|coordinates={{coord|23|5|27.54|N|82|28|35.09|W|display=inline}}
| architecture_firm = Moenck & Quintana
| purpose =
| website =
|
}}
Havana Biltmore Yacht and Country Club now Club Havana (Spanish: Club Habana), was an exclusive sports and country club in Havana, Cuba.
Early history
In 1911, the early foundation of the complex was established in the Miramar suburb of Playa, Havana, Cuba.
The main clubhouse of the complex was developed in the mid-to-late 1920s and established as the Havana Biltmore Yacht and Country Club by American hotelier John Bowman.{{cite news |last=Phillips|first=R Hart |date=March 20, 2024|title=Cuba Takes Over Big Private Club |url=https://nyti.ms/3x0TWkh |work=The New York Times |location=Havana |access-date=2024-05-26}} The architectural firm Moenck & Quintana carried out the design and construction process.{{cite web|url=https://docomomo-us.org/news/cuba-s-vanishing-modernity-the-architecture-of-nicolas-quintana-1925-2011|title=Cuba’s Vanishing Modernity: The Architecture of Nicolas Quintana (1925-2011)|website=docomomo-us.org|access-date=2024-05-18}}
President Gerardo Machado laid the first stone of the center on February 1, 1927. It officially opened on February 1, 1928.{{cite web|url=https://archimages.uprrp.edu/items/show/33 |title=Habana Biltmore Yacht and Country Club, Havana, Cuba.|website=archimages.uprrp.edu|access-date=2024-05-18}} The beachfront property was managed by the Bowman-Biltmore company.
The country club was a hub for amateur sports and was frequented by wealthy Americans and Havana's elite.{{cite web|url=https://www.cubanet.org/htdocs//CNews/y00/jul00/19e11.htm|title=Cuba’s Vanishing Modernity: The Architecture of Nicolas Quintana (1925-2011)|website=cubanet.org|access-date=2024-05-18}} Ernest Hemingway used to fish at the Biltmore Yacht Club.{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/09/splendor-amid-poverty-gallery-nights-with-cubas-gilded-elite/261956/|title=Splendor Amid Poverty: Gallery Nights With Cuba's Gilded Elite|website=theatlantic.com|access-date=2024-05-18}}
Following the winter of 1957, Miami-based company Polevitzky, Johnson and Associates was commissioned to redesign the original 1920s-era structure but the Cuban Revolution prevented it from ever being constructed.Moruzzi, P. (2008). Havana before Castro: when Cuba was a tropical playground. Salt Lake City, Utah, Gibbs Smith.
Due to errors in the land's original title, the Biltmore was confiscated on March 19, 1960, in the wake of the Cuban Revolution. Approximately 300 Americans were estimated to have lost their memberships and shares in the club when it was seized.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/05/03/archives/300-lose-havana-club-shares.html?unlocked_article_code=1.u00.yd8a.hgp53wke9eJc&smid=url-share
|title=300 Lose Havana Club Shares {{pipe}} The New York Times, May 3, 1960, Page 10|website=nytimes.com|access-date=2024-05-26}} The club was converted into a public school owned by the Cuban government.{{cite web|url=https://newspapers.com/article/the-hanford-sentinel-cuba-takes-over-hav/147638663/
|title=Cuba Takes Over Havana Yacht Club - Newspapers.com™|website=newspapers.com|access-date=2024-05-18}}
In 1998, the establishment reopened as Club Havana.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-dec-27-mn-58051-story.html|title=New Freedoms in a More Open Cuba|website=theatlantic.com|access-date=2024-05-18}}