The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 58

6D THE PALM BEACH POST SUNDAY, JANUARY 14, 1996 SL NC I III I The Breakers One hundred facts about one century of splendor f. i it -'111 A ite i Ji-X- WiSw -r 1907: A mule-drawn trolley ran between the Royal Poinciana hotel and The Breakers. 45. When guests kftatttie end I of a season, Historical Society of Palm Beach County Cj Beach Club 1 1 Post Office Flagler Aye. Bridge tr HPassenger i Ocean rY Depot i I 7 Lmn Golf Links 1 Train ft ruJi4S jp3 'ekQr Beach P8" I "I GofUnta ffeefgfl PI A Entry fbrtraln I 1 1 pasaengera MpVaT rj royal BfflUil POINCIANA Baseball X.

untrl53 1 r3 HOTEL I GraQdsfad Xj i0TfLii Worth md r- jj L.U iiEntryway ilCocoanufl Tennfc kmmmmi I lGmyeid Oleander Ave. xtrwn ail 0 Golf Club House A Golf Links pie? I Chapel I fsU Tennis Breaker GotfLMs 1 5 Hospta SeasWe L25 I Spray A A i Barton's Trail 1 "jl Auld Lang Syne. 46. Railroad tracks remained next to the driveway of The Breakers until the late 1920s. 47.

The "second Breakers" built in 1903 burned to the ground March 18, 1925. 48. The suspected cause of the blaze: one of those "newfangled curling irons." 49. Marjorie Merriweather Post was talking to actress Billie Burke (wife of Flo Ziegfeld) at the front desk when word came that the south wing was in flames. 50.

Among those who took to the fire escapes that day was the "Unsinkable Molly Brown" of Denver who 13 years earlier had survived the sinking of the Titanic. 51. While The Breakers burned with their belongings inside a golf foursome was quite irritated about the firehose on the fairways interfering with their game. 52. Flagler's heirs wanted the new Breakers to be the finest resort in the world as a tribute to the vision of Henry M.

Flagler. 53. Architect Leonard Schultz was hired to design the new Breakers in the Italian Renaissance style. He would also design the Waldorf Astoria in New York and the Miami Biltmore in Coral Gables. MARK WAUBENStaff Artist 28.

Until Flagler died, the golf course was closed Sundays. Why? Flagler once saw some hotel guests flipping a coin to decide whether they should play golf or go to church. 29. The original golf course was designed by Alexander J. Findlay, redesigned in 1926 by Donald Ross, and further enhanced by Joe Lee in 1992.

30. After World War II, the west half of the golf course was almost 1930: The Breakers, foreground. In the background, from left: Whitehall (which had a hotel tower built onto it) and the sprawling Royal Poinciana hotel. 71. One of the tapestries, a foot beauty, was stolen in September 1994 and found in a New York bus station locker.

72. That tapestry is back on display in the Magnolia Room. 73. The staff of the Vanderbilt estate The Biltmore, in Asheville, N.C. recently directed the restoration of The Breakers' tapestries.

74. The new Breakers overshadowed the wooden Royal Poinciana hotel, which was torn down by 1935. 75. On Dec. 11, 1942, the U.S.

Army took over The Breakers and called it Ream Army General Hospital. 76. At least 15 people can say "I was born at The Breakers." The Breakers' babies born while the hotel was a hospital are now in their early 50s. 77. Jeanette MacDonald entertained servicemen at Ream hospital.

78. Senators Harry Truman and Claude Pepper and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited the hospital. 79. The hospital boasted one of the best bands in the country. 80.

After the war, the hotel was refurbished and opened for guests again. 81. Until the 1960s, dinners were formal affairs. There were two seatings 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

and a late-night buffet 82. A strict dress code meant ladies wore hats and gloves by day and long gowns to dinner, and men couldn't appear in the lobby without coat and tie. 83. Until 1969, The Breakers was strictly a winter resort opening around mid- i December and closing by mid-April. 84.

In 1968, the east wings and the Venetian Ballroom were added. 85. In November 1971, The Breakers opened as a year-round hotel. i 86. The great Australian pines along The Breakers' pine walkway are home to a large flock of tropical garden parrots believed to be- descendants of birds that have escaped from Palm Beach homes.

15 87. Seagull Cottage, Palm Beach's oldest residence, was used by Flagler as his home until Whitehall was built in 1901. In 1913, it was moved to the ocean front to become one of The Breakers cottages. 88. In 1984, when condominiums were built at Two Breakers Row, all the cottages north of The Breakers were leveled except Seagull, which was moved back to the lakefront and restored.

89. In 1969, the beach club replaced the 1903 bathing casino. 90. It is said every American president in this century except Calvin Coolidge and Bill Clinton stayed at or visited The Breakers. 91.

The Breakers is on the National Register of historic places. 92. The Breakers is a member of "The Leading Hotels of the World." 93. The sixth and seventh floors are now the "Flagler Club," a concierge level. turned into a housing development 31.

Flagler forbid the use of horse-drawn or motor-driven vehicles in Palm Beach. So, guests got around in wicker By JIM PONCE Historian of The Breakers 1. The Palm Beach Inn, forerunner to The Breakers, was so popular that guests refused to leave when Henry Flagler tried to close the inn at the end of the winter season. 2. In 1896, the inn had the only oceanfront hotel rooms south of Daytona Beach.

3. Flagler enlarged the Palm Beach Inn three times from 1896 to 1901. 4. Seaside cottages were built on both sides of the inn, all with servants' quarters. 5.

Some families who wintered in the cottages: the Phippses, Rockefellers, Astors, Morgans, Hearsts, Carnegies and the Duchess of Marlborough. 6. Railroad tracks ran along the south side of the Palm Beach Inn, so guests could go directly from their pullmans into the lobby. 7. The first train arrived at the front door in March 1896.

8. Guests parked their private railroad cars behind the Royal Poinciana hotel. 9. In 1896, the bathing casino opened south of the Palm Beach Inn. 10.

Guests, who dressed in hat and glove, coat and tie, changed at the casino before going to the beach. jr? nnm. ii JJaJlmitLm feii.nn nm ui inmir.i Historical Society of Palm Beach County 4 1925: The second Breakers "wheelchairs" wicker seats atop bicycles called "Palm Beach chariots" or "Afromobiles." burns as guests watch, including the 'unsinkable Molly Brown' (left). 32. A mule-drawn train car ran from The Breakers to the edge of Lake Worth, where guests could take a ferry to downtown West Palm Beach.

33. The first aid station just south of The Breakers was moved to West Palm Beach and named Good Samaritan. 34. Baseball games between Breakers and Royal Poinciana employees were played twice weekly. 35.

In the late afternoon, guests socialized at the Royal Poinciana's coconut grove. 36. The first Breakers tennis courts were where the eastbound lanes of Royal Poinciana Way are today. 37. Flagles overseas railroad to Key West opened on Jan.

22, 1912, so guests at the Palm Beach hotels could go directly to that island city. 38. In January 1913, Flagler fell down some steps at Whitehall, his lakefront mansion. He was moved to Nautilus Cottage, one of the oceanfront cottages north of The Breakers, where he died May 20. 1913.

at the age of 83. 54. The twin Belvedere towers building was inspired by the Villa Medici in Rome. 55. It was built in an incredible 11 months at a cost of $6 million.

56. The third (and current) Breakers opened Dec. 29, 1926. 57. Flagler's heirs declared it "the acme of perfection in design and magnificence." 58.

The Mediterranean Ballroom was originally called the Grand Loggia. 59. It was only used for dancing three times each season: New Year's Eve, the George Washington's birthday ball and the SL Patrick's Day ball. 60. The ceiling in the Gold Room is copied from the one in the Galleria Academia on the Grand Canal in Venice 61.

Seventy-two artists were brought over from Florence, Italy, to paint the ceiling on the main floor of The Breakers. 62. The chandeliers in the lobby are from Vienna, Austria. Those in the Venetian Ballroom are American and all the others on the ground floor are from Venice. 63.

The florentine fountain in the circle in front of the hotel is patterned after the one in the Bobli Gardens in Florence, Italy. 64. The Florentine dining room is half the length of a football field. 65. Perhaps the most breathtaking room at The Breakers the Circle Dining Room was built in 1928.

66. The ceiling of the dining room is hand-painted with nine cameos of Italian cities. 67. In the fnezzanine of the Circle Dining Room were private dining rooms where guests could imbibe during Prohibition. 68.

In September 1928, Palm Beach's deadliest hurricane struck. The Breakers lost most of its barrel tile roof, its pier and its -windows. But it opened just three weeks late for that winter's season. 69. The 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century Flemish tapestries found in the lobby, Gold Room and Tapestry Bar are from Dr.

Owen Kenan's villa in Paris. Dr. Kenan was the first cousin of Mary Lily Kenan, Henry Flagler's Henry M. Flagler Museum i ti i if i i A i 39. In 1918, just after World War an outdoor swimming pool and tea dance terrace were added to the beach casino.

40. Many guests would bring down their yachts and have friends aboard for afternoon cruises or cocktails. 41. The bike path along the Palm Beach lakefront, which had been paved by Flagler, was enjoyed then as it is today. 42.

One of the popular attractions for guests was the Jungle Trail and Alligator Joe's wild animal farm (where the west end of Worth Avenue is today). 43. Each Breakers room featured an "enunciator" a device used to summon servants, who stayed on the same floor as their employers. 44. Steamer trunks full of clothes and jewelry were sent ahead to await the arrival Early 1920s; Beach casino attracted bathers and gawkers.

11. The casino had a saltwater pool. 12. By 11 a.m., most guests were out by the ocean, "taking the air." 13. By 1 p.m., they returned to the hotels for lunch.

14. For years, there was an oceanfront grandstand so guests could sit and watch other guests on the beach. 15. Beach rule for ladies: No bare legs. 16.

A male beach censor inspected each woman's hose. They had to be dark and opaaue. 1. Admiral of the Navy George Dewey, hero of the Spanish-American War, vacationed at the Palm Beach Inn after peace was achieved in 1898. 18.

In 1901, Flagler renamed the inn "The Breakers" giving strict instructions not to use the word "hotel" i 1 1 i of their owners. third wife. 70. The history of the tapestries is intriguing. While World War I was brewing, Dr.

Kenan in its name. 19. Rooms cost $5 per person, including three meals. 20. Flagler built a pier south of The Breakers.

decided to go to Pans and save his tapestries. He and Alfred Vanderbilt booked 21. He established the first port of Palm Beach. He created the and 0 Steamship Co. to carry guests from the hotel to Nassau, Havana and Key West 22.

On June 9, 1903, The Breakers burned to the ground. passage on the Lusitania. The ship was downed by a German torpedo and Kenan was saved by a life jacket JASON NUTTLEStaff Photographer 1996: The redecorated Venetian Ballroom, home to dozens of charity galas each year. 94. Outside the Venetian Ballroom is a painting called The Sultan 's Favorite.

It is dated 188 and came from Flagler's St Augustine hotel, the Ponce de Leon. 95. One change in Breakers rooms over the years: smaller closets (no more steamer trunks) to make room for larger bathrooms. 96. The Venetian Ballroom has just been renovated by Carlton Varney.

97. Today, approximately 60 charity galas a year are held at The Breakers. 98. A three-year, $3 million project is under way to restore the hand-painted ceilings on the ground floor of The 99. The 1897 golf clubhouse has been converted to a Victorian-era dining salon.

100. A five-year, $75 million renovation has just been completed. Jim Ponce worked at The Breakers hotel for nearly 20 years. He conducts weekly tours of The Breakers. given to him by Vanderbilt's valet (Vanderbilt and his valet were among the 1,198 who 23.

The West Palm Beach volunteer firemen who fought the blaze were called "Flagler's Alerts." They each had to pay 5 cents to cross the bridge. 24. In 1897, a nine-hole golf course and clubhouse were built, even though Flagler was sure the game was a "passing fancy, like pingporig." 25. The first Breakers golf course had "greens" that were actually coarse sand. 26.

A brochure from 1902 brags that the golf course is "as flat as a billiards table." 27. At the turn of the century, The Breakers golf course was expanded to 18 holes, the first one in Florida perished.) Kenan, rescued by an Irish fishing boat eventually got to Paris to rescue the tapestries. Historical Society of Palm Beach County jL92S: Circle Dining Room, with its round skylight and hand-painted ceiling. vr 4".