The Birchwood

The Birchwood owner, Chuck Prather chose The Birchwood name to honor his father, who once developed a neighborhood in Hillsborough County by the same name. The southern exterior of the concrete addition is adorned with a 12-by-24-foot mural of a birch forest. The Birchwood was originally constructed in 1924 as the Lantern Lane Apartments and the only apartments along Beach Drive facing the waters of Tampa Bay. The Spanish Mission-style building, listed in the National Registry of Historic Places, underwent a renovation of historically accurate dimensions with the addition of two floors.