During our winter break in southeast
Florida, we visited many attractions and several of them were museums… This
time Laurie, Dawn Marie and I headed up to Palm Beach to check out the former
home of one of Florida’s most historically important citizens.
Whitehall, the former home of Henry
Flagler, is located in Palm Beach on the Intracoastal Waterway. The home and its setting are magnificent!
In 1902, the New York Herald printed a
story describing Whitehall as, "More wonderful than any palace in Europe,
grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the
world..." Flagler built the
75-room, 100,000-square-foot Gilded Age mansion as a wedding present for his
wife, Mary Lily Kenan Flagler. The
couple used the home as a winter retreat from 1902 until Flagler's death in
1913. In doing so, they established “the
Palm Beach season” for the wealthy of the Gilded Age.
How’s this for a reception foyer!? It might just be a little over the top… In
actuality, the main purpose of the overwhelming facade and first floor of these
gilded age homes was to serve as a not so subtle means of communication. The message communicated was that these
buildings did in fact represent the highest and best in literature and the arts. They indicate that their builders were not
simply business titans, but society's leaders, or as Andrew Carnegie liked to point
out, they were society's "trustees."
It should be noted that Henry Flagler was
not ‘just’ a co-founder of Standard Oil.
He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of
Florida, the founder of what became the Florida East Coast Railway, the father
of Miami and the founder of the city of Palm Beach. At the time of his death, Flagler was worth
the equivalent of a little over $1,400,000,000 in today’s currency.
This is definitely a desk intended to
dominate and impress any business associates… This photo is from Whitehall’s
library.
Henry Morrison Flagler was born on
January 2, 1830 in Hopewell, New York. At
the age of 14, after completing the eighth grade, Flagler moved to Bellevue,
Ohio where he found work with his cousins in a grain store at a salary of $5
per month plus room and board. After
organizing and operating a grain company with a half-brother, Flagler and a brother-in-law
founded the Flagler and York Salt Company, a salt mining business in Saginaw,
Michigan. When the Civil War ended, salt, a key preservative during wartime was
no longer in high demand and Flagler lost everything!
Then Flagler re-entered the grain
business and paid off his debts. During this
time, he became acquainted with John D. Rockefeller, who was also in the Grain
business. Rockefeller decided to leave
the grain business to start his own oil refinery. In need of capital for his new venture,
Rockefeller approached Henry Flagler, with whom he had business dealings for
many years. Flagler secured $100,000
from a relative on the condition that he be made a partner in the new venture…owning
25% of the shares. The rest, as they say, is history! In 1870, the company was organized into a new
corporation…Standard Oil. In just two
years Standard Oil became the leader in the American oil refining industry.
Built around the central courtyard, the house consists
of two floors, an attic and a basement. Besides the grand public rooms on the
first floor there are twelve guestrooms, house servants rooms on the west side
of the second floor and guests servants rooms in the attic along the east side.
Also included were a pantry and kitchen
as well as private offices for Mr. Flagler and his secretary.
In 1900, when the construction of
Whitehall began, Palm Beach was one of the least developed and most remote
locations in the United States. It was
arguably America's last frontier. However, with 22 bathrooms, electric
lighting, central heating, and a telephone system, Whitehall was not only an
impressive statement of high culture, but perhaps the most technologically
advanced home in America.
This is the Breakfast Room. It was used daily by the Flaglers for less
formal meals. Henry and Mary Lily
Flagler ate breakfast in this room each morning. Servants had direct access to
the Breakfast Room through a door that connected to the butler’s pantry and
kitchen area. The room's elaborate décor
and color palette are modeled after the State Dining Room in Warwick Castle,
England.
White Hall’s Dining Room was designed in
the French Renaissance style. This is
where the Flaglers entertained large parties.
These dinners were not only elegant, they were lengthy. The rug was specially made for the room and it’s
recessed into the parquet floor. The wall coverings are green silk. The ceiling
is cast plaster painted to look like wood.
The fireplace mantle is one of the Dining
Room’s most outstanding features. Craftsmen
created a piece that boasts elaborately carved culinary references such as
shells, crabs, and fruit.
During the winters the Flaglers spent at
Whitehall, the couple entertained constantly. When Henry Flagler died in 1913, the house
remained closed until the season of 1916. His wife visited the home only once more in
1917 and then she died later that year. Whitehall
was left to her niece, Louise Clisby Wise Lewis. She sold Whitehall to a group of investors who
added a ten-story 300-room tower on the west side and converted the entire
structure into a hotel. The hotel
operated from 1925-1959. During that
time, the original portion of the house was used for lobbies, card rooms,
lounges, a bar and guest suites.
In 1959, the entire building was in
danger of being torn down. Henry
Flagler's granddaughter, Jean Flagler Matthews learned of this and formed a
nonprofit corporation to purchase the property.
The following year, Whitehall was opened to the public with a grand
"Restoration Ball" on February 6, 1960.
Then there is Whitehall’s Ballroom! Above the 15 doors and windows in the Louis XV-style Grand Ballroom are paintings created specifically for Whitehall. These canvas paintings alternate between pastoral scenes and scenes featuring Cupids. The chandeliers are hung with Baccarat crystals.
In 1903, the Grand Ballroom was the scene of the ‘Bal Poudré’, a lavish party given in honor of George Washington's birthday. The Florida Times-Union called the Bal Poudré "the most brilliant social function in fair Florida's history," while the New York Herald described the event as "one of the most sumptuous social affairs ever attempted south of Washington." Guests danced the Minuet and the Virginia Reel.
After dinner, the ladies would retire to
the Drawing Room for conversation and music… The gentlemen often gathered in
the Billiard Room for entertainment.
During the Gilded Age, interest in sport was heightened and billiards
became popular with men of that period.
Most estates included similar game rooms. A Caen Stone mantle with Swiss-style
decoration is the predominate feature of this room.
The Billiard Room's molded plaster
ceiling is painted to reflect the Swiss design of the room, with plain panels
painted to look like zebra oak, popular at the time.
Can you guess which bedroom and which bathroom
belongs to the Mr. and Mrs. Flagler? The
other one…which at least had a sink in the bedroom…was used by a couple of the
house servants. A regular staff of
servants accompanied the Flaglers to Whitehall each winter.
Mr. and Mrs. Flagler shared the Master
Suite. This was uncommon at the
turn-of-the-century. Their suite
included two separate dressing rooms, the large bath area, and the bedroom. The
bedroom, which was decorated in the Louis XIV style, is furnished with the
original bedroom furniture. The fabrics
are reproductions.
This 18-karat gold box and Western Union
telegram are replicas of the ones that were sent to Flagler to announce the
completion of the Key West extension of his Over-Sea Railway in 1912. It is on display in the Flagler Kenan History
Room. This room is designed to give visitors
a sense of Flagler’s extensive accomplishments as a founding partner in the
Standard Oil Company and as Florida’s most important developer.
The original gold telegram and gold
jeweled box and these replacements were made by Tiffany and Co. The original was a gift from the employees to
Flagler during the dedication of this rail link. For several decades after Flagler’s death, the
original artifacts were kept on display at the Hotel Ponce de Leon in St.
Augustine Florida. When the hotel was
sold to Flagler College in 1966, these items were transferred to the
museum. However, despite being under
lock and key, the originals were stolen in April of 1974.
Note: The Key West Extension of the
Florida East Coast Railway was completed in 1912. It continued to operate until it was
basically destroyed by the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. The state of Florida bought the remaining
bridges and roadbeds and they are the foundation of today’s Overseas Highway (US
Rte. 1) to Key West.
Parts of Whitehall are used for changing
exhibits or for the display of items of interest from back in the Gilded
Age. Among the items we viewed were an
extensive display of hand-made lace from around the world, some colorful
high-end glassware and a very large display of sterling silver items.
The Brandywine Bowl (ca. 1700) was made
by Benjamin Wynkoop. (1675 – 1751) These bowls are associated with the Dutch
ritual of “kindermaal”, a celebratory feast held in honor of a mother and her
newborn. Guests sipped a potent mixture
of brandy and raisins from the communal bowl.
The Art Nouveau trophy was completed in
1907. It was presented to an early
aeronautical pioneer, Alan Hawley. In
1910, Hawley set a record by making a balloon flight from St. Louis Missouri to
a spot in Quebec Canada…a distance of over 1,172 miles.
For those of you who would like to spend
a little more time in this classy atmosphere, a pavilion adjoins
Whitehall. It was built in the style of
the times and it features a restaurant…Café des Beaux-Arts. For $22.00 per person, you can partake of a
luncheon that fits the Gilded Age…tea, lemonade, tea sandwiches and
sweets. To see the menu, you can go to http://www.flaglermuseum.us/images/stories/pdf/2013_2014cafemenu_11_29_2013.pdf. However, we opted for the local diner just down US Hwy.1 that I’d
previously reported on…
This is the view from the lawn behind
Whitehall looking west across the Intracoastal Waterway to West Palm Beach.
I took this photo of Laurie and Dawn
Marie…flowers against flowers… We definitely enjoyed our tour of this
outstanding museum.
This is more our style… This beautiful ‘cottage’
sits just outside the Flagler museum property.
Sea Gull Cottage was originally built by R.R. McCormick, a Denver based
railroad developer. Henry Flagler bought
the cottage in 1893 and it served as his first winter residence in Palm
Beach.
The cottage now serves as the Parish
House for the Royal Poinciana Chapel…a ‘post-denominational” congregation. I had to check… Post-denominationalism is the
attitude that the Body of Christ extends to born again Christians in other
denominations, and is not limited just to one's own religious group. I learn something new every day…
Just click on any of the photographs to
enlarge them…
Thanks for stopping by for the tour!
Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
