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| date_of_birth =[[November 28]], [[1876]]
| place_of_birth =Pensacola
| date_of_death =[[December 5]], [[1941]]
| place_of_death =Pensacola
| occupation =Lumber, real estate
| spouse =[[Mary Firestone Baars]]
| parents =[[Henry Baars|Henry]] and [[Mary Ellison Baars]]
| children =[[Theo Baars, Jr.]], William Firestone Baars, Betty
}}
{{otheruses|Theo Baars (disambiguation)}}
'''Theo Dunwody Baars''' was a wealthy businessman who inherited [[Henry Baars|his father]]'s vast lumber and real estate interests. He is known for his early development of [[Perdido Key]].
In the early twentieth century, Baars foresaw the appeal and value of real estate along the [[Gulf Coast]]. Leveraging his wealth from the [[Baars, Dunwody & Company]] timber business his father started, he acquired roughly 12,000 acres in southwest [[Escambia County]], including about 2.5 miles of [[Gulf of Mexico|Gulf]] front property on [[Perdido Key]].(Much of this land was later preserved as the [[Perdido Key State Park]].)
In [[1922]] Theo reached a joint development agreement with the [[Escambia County Commission]]: if the county would fund the paving of a road connecting [[Warrington]] to Perdido Key, he would build a luxury resort on the barrier island that would attract tourists to the area. Work on the road (now known as [[Gulf Beach Highway]]), was completed in [[1924]] — years before [[Pensacola Beach]] was made accessible by road.
Over the next two years, Theo spent $470,000 from his own pocket on the foundations and framework of his hotel projectthe 275-room [[Gulf Beach Hotel]], which was planned to include a polo field, tennis courts, and a marina. However, in [[1926]] the Florida land boom came to a sudden end, and many of his investors were no longer willing to finance invest in the project. The resort was abandoned, but the skeletal framework remained on the beach for decades, until it was finally demolished in the mid-1990s to make way for the [[Beach Colony Resort]].<ref>"Perdido Key development on fast track with high-end efforts." ''Pensacola Business Journal'', February 24, 2004.</ref>
After his death in [[1941]], Theo's widow [[Mary Firestone Baars is the namesake |Mary Firestone]] and son [[Theo Baars, Jr.|Theo Jr.]] began selling their [[Baars Family Estate|reserves of the land]]. The [[Theo Baars Bridge]] to Perdido Key is named for him. Baars also deeded 20 acres to Escambia County for the public [[Johnson Beach]].
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[[Category:Baars family|Theo Baars, Theo1]] [[Category:Real estate developers|Baars, Theo]] [[Category:Perdido Key|Baars, Theo]]
