Golf Course Close to 'Historic Places' Designation

The is on its way to getting the historic recognition that the Temple Terrace Preservation Society says it deserves.

The Florida National Review Board has approved the society’s application to place the golf course on the National Register of Historic Places. The application will now go to the National Review Board in Washington, D.C.

“Our consultant, Lucy Jones, said it is extremely likely our application will be approved by the National Review Board,” wrote Temple Terrace Preservation Society President Tim Lancaster in an email. “Lucy is checking with Barbara Mattick (Florida Dept. of State, Division of Historic Resources) to get a more specific idea of when our application might be confirmed by the National Review Board. Lucy’s guess is it might only be a matter of months.”

Keep the conversation going by joining Temple Terrace Patch on Facebook. It’s a fast, simple way to stay up to date on the stories that matter to you. Just click the like button on Facebook.

According to Grant Rimbey, the society’s third vice president, now is Temple Terrace’s time to shine.

“It’s high time that Temple Terrace is recognized for some of the outstanding historic resources within our city limits,” Rimbey said. “If the Temple Terrace course achieves its place on the National Register, it will be only the second course in Florida to make the register. The Temple Terrace course is on its way to being placed on the register because it is amazingly intact and remains largely unaltered since the 1920s, where other courses have been modified—reconfigured, made longer or shorter, or eliminated entirely.”

Temple Terrace was one of the first planned golf course communities designed in the United States, Rimbey said. In the 1920s, Temple Terrace hosted the Florida Open, which attracted the finest golfers in the world. The Preservation Society is capitalizing on the course’s history with its annual .

Planner George F. Young, architect M. Leo Elliott, and golf course designer Tom Bendelow collaborated to create the plan for the town and the golf course. The Preservation Society collected several letters in support of the nomination, including one from Stuart Bendelow, Tom Bendelow’s grandson.

“Temple Terrace represents a special historic example of the incorporation of recreational golf into the design and residential fabric of the local community,” Stuart Bendelow wrote. “The inclusion has been shown to be beneficial to residential property values as well as adding to the open space and recreational resources of the community. I believe Temple Terrace has worked hard to sustain the historic features of the golf course and the community’s history and heritage. The inclusion of TTGC on the NRHP will definitely be helpful to Temple Terrace’s continued efforts in preserving the golf course and the surrounding community’s special heritage.”

Lancaster said the state Division of Historic Resources complimented the Preservation Society on the letters, which were all individually written and not form letters.

“This level of support goes a long way in achieving the desired result especially in regard to preservation oriented projects,” Lancaster wrote.

And the society is expecting to have more projects like this in the years to come.

“Our historic golf course is only the first historic element that the Temple Terrace Preservation Society will be concentrating on. At over 200 acres, it is the largest historic element in the city,” Rimbey said. “In future years, we will be looking at smaller-scale historic resources in the city, working from big to small.

“The Temple Terrace Preservation Society is delighted to help in giving the City of Temple Terrace its just due for stewardship of its valuable history.”