The Don Ce-Sar Story.

St. Petersburg, Florida: Partnership Press, (1983). Signed by the Author. Octavo, paperbound (white illus. stapled wrappers), 69 pp. Fine. From Introductoin: The story of the Don Ce-Sar Hotel in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida, is a series of mountains and valleys. For a while things go well. Then something happens. The economy nosedives, the owner dies, a project is abandoned and everyone moves out. Then, much like the legendary Don Caesar DeBazan for whom the building was named, there’s a sudden reprieve, a new life, and the Don blossoms for another era of usefulness. Don Caesar is the hero of Vincent Wallace’s opera “Maritana.” In the story he is sentenced by Spain’s King Charles II to be executed by a firing squad. But the guns misfire. The smoke clears, and the Don stands unharmed. Miraculously he is saved and pardoned. Similarly the Don Ce-Sar Hotel seems to lead an equally charmed life. Wrecking crews were about to destory the building in 1971 when local citizens fought to save it. This book is more than just the story of a well-known landmark. It’s a testimony to the reader that persistence pays. The amazing rebirth of the discarded Don was the work of many. Together they proved the efficacy of that famous passage from Romans, “All things work together for good.”