The Tower Hotel in Little Havana is almost ready for its next chapter as a boutique hotel

Little Havana’s Tower Hotel is about to be reborn as a boutique hotel — a hotel that draws heavily on its storied history. The Miami Herald breaks down everything the building’s been in the past from a WWII hospital to a jazz venue that hosted Billie Holiday, along with what’s in store for its next incarnation. That legacy will be a major part of the design, with historical photographs as art and decor.

The property’s redevelopment is thanks to a partnership between the Barlington Group and NYC-based hotel company Selina, which only has opened design-y hotels and South America in Central America to this point. The hotel is slated to open in September.

• This Little Havana hotel once housed Billie Holiday. Soon, you could stay there, too. [Miami Herald]