32 Grand Old Railway Hotels Left Vacant Along Forgotten Routes

32. The Mayflower Hotel (Jacksonville, Florida, USA): Southern Rail's Grand Comeback

The Mayflower Hotel, built in 1927 in Jacksonville, Florida—a key Southern railway hub—was a beacon of luxury for travelers arriving via the extensive rail network. Designed in the Mediterranean Revival style, it quickly became a social center. However, the decline of passenger rail hit hard, and the hotel closed in 1970, sitting derelict for decades and facing demolition. Its ultimate, grand restoration in the early 2000s, as the Omni Jacksonville, highlights a profound period of abandonment, a testament to railway-era opulence nearly lost to time.