Friday, December 30, 2016

Friday, December 30, 2016

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2003. We took Mattie to Travel Town in Los Angeles. Travel Town is an incredible hands on train museum, and a place Mattie absolutely LOVED. I am not sure what Mattie loved more.... jumping on the trains, checking out everything inside the train cars, or walking the tracks. These are not replicas, but actual retired trains throughout the state of California. It was the perfect museum for Mattie because everything was all outside, it involved a subject matter that intrigued Mattie (trains and locomotion), and it was very hands on learning. 




Quote of the day: The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of love and of generosity and of goodness. It illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world's busy life and become more interested in people than in things. ~ Thomas S. Monson

We visited the Flagler Museum today in Palm Beach. Henry Flagler is credited almost as being the father of Florida. He built resorts, established a train rail system from Jacksonville to Key West, and was instrumental in the cultivation and transportation of oranges. Not to mention was also a founder of the Standard Oil company with John D. Rockefeller.

In March 30, 1902, a story in the New York Herald described Whitehall, the Palm Beach home of Henry Flagler 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, Whitehall, 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, establishing the Palm Beach season for the wealthy of the Gilded Age.

This is the grand hall of Whitehall. It is 4,000 square feet, believe it or not. It is an amazing space filled with incredible antiques and frescoes. 

Built in just 18 months, Whitehall was intended to be both a monumental example of high culture and high technology. In 1900, when construction 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 music room, which included an amazing organ in the back of the room. Even today, there are concerts using this organ, which are open to the public. 

This was Mary Lily's drawing room. The room is lined with a shiny metal and what it turns out to be is alui

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. Mary Lily visited the home only once more in 1917 as the recent bride of Robert Worth Bingham (her second husband). When Mary Lily died later that year, Whitehall was left to her niece, Louise Clisby Wise Lewis. Ms. Lewis sold Whitehall to a group of investors who added an eleven-story 250+ bedroom tower on the west side and converted the entire structure into a hotel. The hotel operated from 1925-1959 during which period the original portion of the house was used for lobbies, card rooms, lounges, a bar and guest suites. This photo features the restaurant space of the hotel, which literally was connected to the Whitehall. The hotel has since been demolished, except for this space.

This was the Flagler's dining room. It contained a table that sat 24 people and fine details such as a mantel from Italy and a hand designed rug from Scotland. Our docent explained that the centerpieces on the Flager table were always huge, preventing you from seeing guests across the table. Back then table etiquette said that you only could converse with table mates on either side of you. Conversation was frowned upon across the table, so these flower arrangements made perfect sense. 

Henry Flagler's private Railcar No. 91 is exhibited in the Museum's Flagler Kenan Pavilion. Built in 1886 for Flagler's personal use, the railcar was acquired by the Museum in 1959 as an artifact of Florida history and an important part of Flagler's story. 

About a mile from the Flagler Museum is the historic hotel in Palm Beach, called The Breakers.  It was opened on January 16, 1896 by oil, real estate, and railroad tycoon Henry Flagler to accommodate travelers on his Florida East Coast Railway.

It is an amazing property with an AMAZING price to boot. A room fee ranges from $930 to over $6,300 a NIGHT.