Louis Ducros House

Now a private residence, this home, also known as "The Pink House," was originally constructed in 1896 by Henry B. Plant. The home's first location was where the Belleview Biltmore Resort & Spa's golf course now stands. It was the home of the resort's first photographer, Louis Ducros (1852-1919), who was a native of France. The Ducros House is also notable for being the second oldest home in the Clearwater area. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 but its listing was removed in 2009 after it was moved to its current location. 

Louis Ducros immigrated to the United States around 1880 and met his wife, Mary, in Indiana. They appear to have arrived in Clearwater by 1890 and were one of 18 families in the community, which was first called Clearwater Harbor. Ducros opened a photography studio and quickly made a name for himself by photographing local events and developments in addition to portraits. The owner of the Belleview Resort, Henry B. Plant, was impressed with Ducros and in 1896 hired him to be his personal photographer as well as the resort's photographer. It was at this time that Ducros moved into the house, which was one of several located at the resort. Ducros opened a studio in an adjacent building. In 1899, he started photographing for the West Hillsborough Press and the Clearwater News.

In the early 1900s the house was moved to 1324 S. Fort Harrison in Clearwater. Sometime in the mid-1900s the home was abandoned, only to be bought in the 1970s and turned into an antique store. Soon after it was abandoned again until 2004 when it was to become a photography studio but plans fell through. In 2008, it was purchased by its current owner, Trina Sears. Although a fire would destroy most of the original home and suffering further damage when the original cast-iron tub fell through the floor, restoration was completed the same year.

Deibler, Dan G. "Louis Ducros House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. July 2, 1979. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/137889192.

Schulte, Eileen. "New life for historic pink house in Clearwater." St. Petersburg Times. November 16, 2008. Retrieved from the Web Archives. https://web.archive.org/web/20090107233309/http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article904607.ece.