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History The Lake Morton Bed & Breakfast was built in 1926 when railroad cars with building supplies from Sears, Roebuck and Co. arrived in Lakeland. Sears sold a four-apartment version called The Atlanta and our inn is one such model. Local craftsmen assembled these catalogue ordered components into a rooming house and the new owner, Mr. A.T. Phillips, named it the Tourist Rest Apartments. He served as the resident manager and the inn’s Phillips Suite is named after him. For the next 60 years various owners changed and modified the original building so that today the house has more than 3,000 square feet of living area. Our Willis Suite is named after the home’s second owner Ms. Bessie Willis. Ms. Ethel Eicker was a resident of the house for 28 years and the Eicker Suite bears her name. The Starn Suite is named in memory of Ms. Barbara Starn, who was related to the inn’s founders. In 1987, Bryce and Mary Anne Zender purchased the home and with the idea of developing a modern bed and breakfast with the tradition of southern hospitality and layout of the Tourist Rest Apartments. After four years of restoring the structure and modernizing the utilities, the Tourist Rest Apartments were transformed into the Lake Morton Bed & Breakfast, which began business in 1991. To maintain design integrity, the apartment layout with four suites was unchanged. The home features a fine collection of 1920s and 1930s furniture, glassware and accessories. We are licensed and inspected by the state, city and county. The inn has been in business for 20 years and is a member of the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce and Florida Bed & Breakfast Inns. |
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