One of Tampa's very first Bayshore Boulevard homes is once again for sale.
Located at 901 Bayshore Blvd., the house was built in 1912 for W.E. Dorchester and it was one of the first homes to be built in this area, which actually had a literal shoreline at the time.
Dorchester was a New York-based dentist who came to Tampa in 1893 and started the "Dorchester Rent and Collections Agency," which grew into one of the largest residential rental companies in the early 1900s.
Dorchester was also a director of the Citizens Bank and Trust Co., an organizer of the Tampa Yacht and Country Club and a member of the Palma Ceia Golf Club. But most importantly he was also of Tampa's earliest and wealthiest developers.
According to a 1902 article in the Morning Star Tribune, Dorchester had over 800 tenants "on his collection list, besides representing large tracts of timber and mineral lands in other parts of the state."
In 1930, Dorchester was the first president of the Tampa Rental Association, which was formed solely for the purpose of keeping "a check on tenants delinquent in the payment of their rents," reports the Tampa Daily Times.
Three years later, Dorchester was mysteriously beaten unconscious with a metal rod while golfing on Davis Islands.
Dorchester died in September of 1934, and the home was then sold to Chicago businessman E.R. Colvin, who was the son of F. W. Hall Printing Company executive Edwin M. Colvin.
Colvin used the estate as a winter home, and for years kept a large steel cannon in the front yard that dated back to the War of 1812, according to the Tampa Times. During WWII, Colvin donated the cannon for scrap metal to aid in the war effort.
In the early 1940s, the estate was used as a women's dormitory for the University of Tampa, and was later the site of the Tampa Women's Club.
Today, the 8,882-square-foot homes comes with seven bedrooms and six bathrooms, as well as the original hardwood floors, fireplace and molding. The home also feature a large pool, a private guest suite, an elevator, a gym, and arguably one of the best front porch views of Hillsborough Bay.
According to property records, the home last sold in 2020 for $2.55 million. The home was asking $9.75 million in May and is now listed at $8.75 million. The listing agent is Peter Schneider of Hyde Park Realty.
