Seagle Building

The John F. Seagle Building, originally conceived as the Hotel Kelly, is a historic landmark in Gainesville, Florida, designed in 1926 by the noted architect Rudolph Weaver. Construction stalled during the Florida land boom of the 1920s and the building stood unfinished for more than a decade, until businesswoman Georgia Seagle completed the project in the 1930s with support from the university and federal funds. She turned the building over to the University of Florida and named it after her late brother. During World War II, the building served as a secret research facility where university engineers worked on the development of the proximity fuze, one of the most important technological innovations of the war. After a period of use by the university and the relocation of the Florida State Museum, the building sat vacant for a time. A comprehensive renovation, completed in 1983, modernized the infrastructure and converted the building into commercial space on the lower floors and residential apartments on the upper floors. Today, the landmarked building stands as a testament to the local history and architectural heritage of the region.