Retired and Lovin' It: FLAGLER MUSEUM IN PALM BEACH FLORIDA

Thursday, March 13, 2014

FLAGLER MUSEUM IN PALM BEACH FLORIDA

After a day of rain and just kicking around, stopping at a Disney Store and a Camping World Store, we stopped at a motel early and relaxed. That evening we met up with my nephew, Tim and his wife Connie at Olive Garden for dinner. We had a wonderful visit for a couple hours and look forward to doing it again. Great to catch up on all of your news!! We are wishing the best for Matt as he leaves for the middle-east, and for Kim and the boys staying behind. Maybe we can connect with them before they leave the panhandle. We will certainly keep you all in our prayers.

On Friday after our Continental Breakfast, we set out for West Palm Beach and on to Palm Beach

and Flagler's Home turned Museum. It was a great museum tour and we probably could have spent even more time there.

Flagler Home turned Museum

This is going to be a tough one to present to you as Gary took many, many pictures there. The architecture was awesome. Amazing that the wealthy quite often spare no expense in accomplishing what they want.

Henry Flagler

Henry Flagler was the son of a minister in Hopewell, NY and later migrated to Ohio to seek his fortune. He was successful in the grain industry and a salt mining business, later to become one of the Standard Oil founders and later Railroad magnate in East Coast Florida.

He spared no expense in building this winter retreat home, called Whitehall. It was a wedding gift for his first wife, Mary Lily.

Mary Lily in their home in Long Island NY

It's construction was completed in 1902 after just 18 months, with more than 75 rooms. There were a thousand or more workers on this construction project, imported from all of the world for their known expertise. Our tour began in the first floor, Grand Hall, a 5000 sq. ft. reception hall with the grand staircase leading to the second floor to the thirteen servants rooms,

Servant's room

and then went on to the five guest rooms,

Yellow Roses Room.

The Pink Room

Colonial Chamber

and the Master Bedroom.

Master Bedroom

Some of the bedrooms have been converted for changing displays for that time period in this Florida area. One of them being the lace display including 18th through 20th century lace. Through the Gilded Age it was a highly prized commodity.

Lace in process of being made by hand.

The home was left to a grand daughter, Louise, when Mary Lily died and was later sold when Louise could no longer afford to maintain it. Another grand daughter, Jean Flagler Matthews, purchased the home again in 1959 to restore it and later turned it into a museum in 1961. Many of the house furnishings have been returned to the Museum for display by the descendants of Henry and Mary Lily.

Back on the first floor our tour took us through the following:

Ballroom

Ballroom wall and ceiling trim

Library

Music room, also known as the Family Art Gallery,

Music Room

Art Gallery / Music Room

1249-pipe organ, that is still being played.

Above organ

the Ladies Drawing Room,

Ladies Drawing Room

Original Piano recently returned for the Museum,
by a non-family owner.

and more:

Dining Room

Breakfast Room

Billiard Room

Don, notice the center game, Skittles!!

We hope that you enjoyed it as much as we did. But the tour did not stop here!!

Leaving the House, we looked at the waterway in the back and moved on to Flagler's personal railroad car. This railroad car was used to travel to and from business in the north and other family. It transported not only family, but many, many friends.