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sp181.jpg

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In 1919, architect Addison Mizner completed the epoch-making Everglades Club on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, on a former tract of swampland known as Joe’s Alligator Farm. Asserting that “Northern architecture didn’t register” in the state’s tropical climate, Mizner rejected the Colonial Revival designs then typical of Florida architecture. In its place, he integrated Spanish Colonial, Andalusian, and Italianate influences into a superbly composed whole. Built with the backing of his friend, sewing machine heir Paris Singer, the structure was initially slated to be a convalescent hospital--the only type of project that could be approved under the wartime restrictions then in force. By the time it was completed, however, the war had ended and the canny Singer had converted the building into a tony social club limited to three hundred members. The sprawling structure was dominated by a large tower that contained both Mizner’s own apartment and a triplex for Singer. The success of the Everglades Club instantly catapulted Mizner into the role of Palm Beach’s premier society architect, and also set the pattern for Florida resort architecture for the next two decades.

Keywords :

4X5's,sp181.jpg,4X5,Spanish Style,Spanish,Style,Exterior,SpanishGallery