Belleview Biltmore pioneer Bernie Powell dies

Bernie Powell, philanthropist and former owner of the Belleview Biltmore, died Thursday. He was 96.

Mr. Powell was born in Detroit, where he graduated from law school at age 22. He was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court, and he had his own law firm. In 1946, he and a partner bought the run-down hotel, restoring it to greatness over 44 years. "There is something about that hotel that has charm," he told the St. Petersburg Times is 2005. "I felt it right away."

In 1990, he sold the hotel for $27.5-million and devoted his life to philanthropy. He gave millions to charities including Morton Plant Hospital, establishing a cancer center in his late daughter's name. Christy Powell Higgins died of breast cancer in 1981.

Stephanie Hayes, Times Staff Writer

Times Photo: Ted McLaren, 2005