by Liz Allison
I have driven by the ol’ girl for years and would always stop to take pictures and walk around the outside of the building. For a long time, this was not a place you would dare step inside. The fact the Streamline was featured on an episode of Hotel Impossible would tell you that I am not alone in my opinion of the beaten-down hotel.
Fast-forward to 2018: after a multi-million dollar renovation, The Streamline Hotel is now back to its original glory. For the first time in my 25 years going to Daytona, I walked the property inside and out and couldn’t help but feel like I was stepping back in time. I made my way to the same Rooftop Bar where history was made over 70 years ago.
It was December 14, 1947 when racers, officials and promoters met in the Ebony Club Rooftop Bar at the Streamline to sign papers forming a sanctioning body for stock car racing. The group of men (one female) met for hours to discuss race length, winnings, rules and appointed officers/board members.
Ironically, NASCAR was actually first named NSCRA (National Stock Car Racing Association) at its formation and later became NASCAR after it was disclosed that another sanctioning body was known as NSCRA.
The first officers appointed were William H.G. France as President, Eddie Bland – VP, Bill Tuthill – Secretary, E.G. Cannonball Baker – commissioner, and Marshal Teague – treasurer.
In that historic meeting:
-24 people were in attendance: 23 men, one woman (recording secretary)
-10 states were represented
-Officials were elected
-Board of Governors was elected (Drivers Red Byron and Buddy Shuman were voted in as board members)
-Champions Trophy was placed on a table in the corner of the room
Why was the Streamline chosen for the location of such an important meeting? It was once a high-end hotel, only a few years old at the time (opened in 1940) and located directly on Highway A1A across from the Atlantic Ocean. NASCAR would later have their first offices only blocks away from where it all started on that winter day in 1947.
The Streamline Hotel is deeply embedded in NASCAR’s history as the birthplace of NASCAR. For someone who has been making the annual trek to Daytona since 1988, I couldn’t help but feel goosebumps (and maybe a few old spirits) as I sat on the Rooftop Bar where it all started on that December Day in 1947.
