The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables was built in 1926 by George Merrick, who is known as the founder of Coral Gables. After opening, the hotel quickly became a big deal, hosting fashion shows and galas, along with famous guests such as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Al Capone and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Ghost stories began when gangster Thomas "Fatty" Walsh was shot and killed at a party there in 1929. During World War II, the Biltmore was turned into a military hospital. Once the war was over, it continued being a hospital for veterans. It was then completely abandoned from 1968 to 1983. Its storied history of murder, hospital occupancy and its abandonment led a resident guest to tell ghost stories to visitors every Thursday night in the Biltmore’s lobby for 10 years.