A Gilded Age Mansion

Recently Mr. Decor and I took a trip to Florida for a family reunion. Arriving a few days early we drove down to Palm Beach to that we could finally see A Gilded Age Mansion that has been on my “must visit” list for years. The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum did not disappoint. Fair warning: this is a photo heavy post so pour yourself a cool drink and savor the images.  

A Gilded Age Mansion

In March of 1902 the New York Herald reported that the Palm Beach home of Henry Morrison Flagler, Whitehall, was, “More wonderful than any palace in Europe, grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world…”

Whitehall was constructed on Brelsford Point, situated on the eastern bank of Lake Worth. It is marked by massive marble columns and topped with a red barrel tiled roof. 

Whitehall was built in the midst of a coconut palm grove. It is now one of the last in existence in Palm Beach. 

Mr. Flagler had built the 75-room, 100,000-square-foot mansion as a wedding present for his new bride, Mary Lily Kenan Flagler.

John Carrere and Thomas Hastings designed Whitehall. They were the same architects who had built Flagler’s Ponce de Leon hotel in St. Augustine. Each man had trained at at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Both had also apprenticed at the New York firm of McKim, Mead and White.

The two story Gilded Age home was built around a central courtyard.

A charming conservatory came later. 

The Grand Hall

The New York firm of Pottier & Stymus was responsible for the interior design. Many of the rooms were decorated in a period style such as the Italian Renaissance, Francis I, Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI.

The room is an impressive 5,000 square feet. It was the largest and grandest of any room in a private home built during the Gilded Age. 

Seven different types of marble were used in creating the floor, walls, stairs, furniture, and sculpture in the Grand Hall.

The central dome features a painting that was created on canvas and then fitted into the ceiling space. It depicts Pythia, the priestess of the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi.

The ceiling is also highly decorated with plaster figures and objects.

Library

Just off of the Grand Hall was the library. It was used by Flagler as a reception area to greet guests and meet with business associates. 

The room has a masculine feel and decorated in the style of the Italian Renaissance.

Talented artists molded and painted the rooms plaster and fabric ceiling to look like wooden beams with leather insets.

Music Room

The music room doubles as a portrait gallery. On the center of one wall is a portrait of Mrs. Flagler painted in 1902.

Mary Lily loved this room and often held meetings,  musicales and bridge parties in this room.

The centerpiece of the room is a J.H. & C.S. Odell Company 1,249-pipe organ installed in the west wall.

In this photograph you see a glimpse of the organ. I made a beautiful reel of this musical masterpiece that you can view on my Instagram. 

South Hall

In the South Hall you will find a billiard room.

But my favorite room was the Grand Ballroom. 

 There are fifteen doors and windows in the Louis XV-styled ballroom.

Over each doorway are lovely lunette paintings.

There are twelve gilt bronze and crystal sconces that surround the room. 

The original chandeliers and sconces were made by Edward F. Caldwell & Company and hung with Baccarat crystals.

Drawing Room

The drawing room was also used for music and conversation. 

There is a cameo of Marie Antoinette above each door and mirror.

Aluminum leaf highlights the plaster ornaments. It was as precious as gold during the Gilded Age. 

I wanted to stay here all day. 

Guestrooms

The guestrooms are located on the second floor. It is accessed by grand double staircase with a velvet padded bannister. 

There are a total of twelve guestrooms. Each appearing more grand than the next. 

They are all decorated a bit differently in various styles and periods. 

The sitting room. 

This was my favorite room. 

Bathroom

The bathrooms were just as grand. 

Truly a lovely way to start the day!

Gilded Age Fashions

In some of the bedrooms the closets contained beautiful collections of Edwardian fashions. You can see a mini tour of a truly fabulous closet on my Instagram. 

Lace Exhibit

The last room that I toured was the lace exhibit. It was a fabulous interactive display. I pulled out drawer after drawer of gorgeous lace. At one time in history lace was more valuable than gold.

Lace was an intricate element in the fashion for Gilded Age women.

The room also contained photographs, paintings, and artifacts that show the importance of lace throughout history. You can see a live tour of the lace exhibit HERE and HERE. As well as additional photos HERE. 

I hope you have enjoyed this tour of A Gilded Age Mansion. 

I’ll be back on Friday with more of Palm Springs.

Laura 

You May Also Enjoy

You can learn more about the Flagler’s in the Palm Beach Style post.