The Howey Mansion - Restored
1001 Citrus Ave, Howey-In-The-Hills, FL 34737
This once abandoned Florida Mansion in foreclosure is now completely restored to its former glory
The Howey Mansion is a historic home in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, United States, located on Citrus Street. On January 27, 1983, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Photo credits: Jeffery Dougherty Flickr
This gorgeous Florida mansion is not abandoned or haunted. It is not occupied by a resident, and it does look and feel a lot like Disney’s Haunted Mansion, which is very cool and intriguing. That being said….. Private Property – KEEP OUT
Information cited from the ( “National Register Information System”. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.)
William John Howey purchased land parcels in undeveloped Florida back in the early twentieth century, in the hills of Lake County Florida. By 1916 he owned 60,000 acres of citrus groves and founded the town Howey, on May 8, 1925. It was renamed Howey-in-the-Hills after the beautiful rolling hills and lakes, which he called the “Florida Alps”. That year he began construction on the 20 room, 8,800 square foot home on Citrus Avenue in the North east portion of town. He also built a hotel for his citrus investors, The Floridian Hotel on the South end of town. The hotel fell into disrepair and was literally blown up in the tv series Thunder in Paradise starring Hulk Hogan on April 22, 1994.
After building his beloved mansion, he put in a country club and golf course across the street. The golf course and country club fell in disrepair and has changed hands many times. Today the club is the award winning Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort.
The mansion is a Mediterranean revival style home, built at a cost of $250,000 (1926 dollars). It is set back from the road with a large front lawn, stone fence, a wrought iron gate and horseshoe shaped drive. The outside stucco walls are covered with creeping figine and the grounds feature many varieties of tropical plants and shrubbery. Also set back in the wooded area north of the home is the small mausoleum in which Mr. Howey (1938), his wife Mrs. Hastings Howey (1981) and a daughter Lois Valerie Howey (1941) are interred. The Georgian structure has filigree glass doors and a stained glass window.
The house has many refined features for a mansion of this grandeur. The home features a servant call bell system, a butlers pantry, and a dumb waiter. The small library, tucked under the main staircase, faces the back of the home and the lily pond in the courtyard. The hidden passageway, fashionable for the times, is hidden behind a sliding bookshelf. The passage leads to a basement room with a fire proof, bank vault tumbler lock style door. Perhaps it was built for a liquor cache during prohibition times? Something very valuable no less. Upstairs in the master bedroom there is a small safe embedded in the wall. It seems today the safe is still locked and no one knows what is inside.
In 2016, the house was listed in foreclosure on Zillow at an estimated price of $674,117.
On April 12, 2017, the house was listed for sale at $480,000. It reportedly attracted widespread attention, with prospective buyers traveling hundreds of miles to see the home. More than 10 offers were made on the home after just 9 days on the market. The new owners, Brad and Clay Cowherd, Orlando real estate investors and entrepreneurs, have made progress on a period-accurate restoration of the house. It is a venue for weddings and events (excerpt from wikipedia)
The Beautiful Howey Mansion has been completely restored to it’s former glory. To see the mansion now check out the mansion website photos, tours, weddings, events and more. Howey Mansion
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