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American golf had its birth in the Gilded Age (1870s-1890s), and by the close of the 19th century the United States had more golf courses than Britain. This start is inextricably intertwined with the dominant Tycoons of the day, and this in turn entangles the foundation of golf in America with the expansion of their railroads and their associated Grand Hotels in exclusive resort locations. From 1900 to the advent of WWII, golf in America added sinew and muscle on this underlying frame to make the Resort golf experience truly spectacular and widely accessible outside the echelons of elite society. The enduring legacy has been that the popularization of golf in America is indelibly stamped with the watermark of excellence set by these fabulous early Resorts. Hotels and Resort GolfBoca Raton
Addison Mizner
1926: On February 6th, 1926, the Boca Raton Resort & Club was founded as "The Cloister Inn." Modeled after a Spanish castle, the 100-room Inn was designed by famed architect, Addison Mizner. 1928: The Inn was purchased by Clarence Geist, a utility magnate from Philadelphia. The property was expanded to include more guestrooms; the former Cabana Club and golf course were constructed. As a private Club opened seasonally from January to March, the establishment was run by Mr. Geist until his death in 1938. 1930: After $8 million in renovations, the Cloister Inn reopens as the exclusive Boca Raton Hotel & Club, one of the world's finest "gentlemen's clubs." Private railroad cars and yachts bring Herbert Hoover, several duPonts and others. 193Os: Geist subsidizes the perennial Club deficit throughout the Depression, even after his death in 1938. He kept it open seasonally from January to March. The Cloister was expanded to 400 rooms. 1940: During World War II, the U.S. Army purchases and occupies the Club to house the Air Corps Trainees. The military remained in possession of the Club for four years and term the property the most elegant barracks in history. 1946: The Club was purchased by hotel and theatre real estate magnate J. Myer Schine for three million dollars and the property was refurbished into one of the most luxurious hotels in America. He initiated convention business in the Hotel, which presently accounts for about 60% of the Resort's guests. 1956: On March 1, 1956, Arthur Vining Davis, formerly CEO of Alcoa, bought the hotel and surrounding property for $22.5 million, then the biggest real estate deal in Florida's history. 1958: Arvida Corporation was formed and named after Arthur Vining Davis. Arvida owned and operated the Hotel for approximately 27 years. 1969: Arvida began a $14 million expansion program which included the 27-story Tower and the Golf Villas. In addition, a Conference Center was built to give the hotel a balanced mix of both leisure and convention business. 1980: The opening of the Boca Beach Club replacing the old Cabana Club, located adjacent to the Resort and Club. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Lake Boca Raton and the Intracoastal, this luxurious $20 million addition features a half-mile of private beach, two swimming pools, 214 rooms including eight suites and two restaurants. 1983: The Boca Raton Resort & Club was sold to the Boca Raton Hotel & Club Limited Partnership with VMS Realty Corporation, a Chicago~based, real estate developer, installed as the general partner for the limited partnership. 1988: The Boca Raton Resort & Club acquires the Boca Country Club. Located on Congress Avenue, approximately seven miles from the main hotel, the Boca Country Club features luxury homes and condominiums, a championship 18-hole golf course, tennis courts, fitness center and dining facilities for hotel guests, club members and property residents. 1991: The Boca Raton Resort & Club undergoes $11 million renovation, bringing the total amount spent on refurbishment and additional facilities since 1983 to $55 million. 1993: The Boca Raton Management Company (BRMC) is installed as the general partner for the Boca Raton Hotel & Club Limited Partnership, replacing VMS Realty Corp. In October, BRMC successfully completes the refinancing of $150 million of indebtedness. Located in the heart of Florida's Gold Coast in Palm Beach County, the Boca Raton Resort & Club is one of the country's premier resort destinations and private club facilities. Set within a backdrop of casual elegance, Boca's amenities include two eighteen-hole championship golf courses, 30 tennis courts, several pools, state-of-the-art fitness centers, a half-mile stretch of private beach, a full-service marina and a variety of watersports. In addition, the Resort and Club features an outstanding selection of dining options and a full range of activities including a comprehensive children's program. http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PressReleases/BocaRatonResortHistoryTimeline_Sept1997.html A Rich History and Tradition Greet Guests at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in FloridaContact: Chuck SmithÊ (561) 447-3370 BOCA RATON, FLORIDA. Dreamers, risk-takers, moguls, and millionaires all contributed to the creation of Florida's Boca Raton and the stellar Boca Raton Resort & Club. Legend boasts that Ponce de Leon sailed along the shore of Boca Raton when he discovered Florida in 1513. Tales of Spanish conquistadors, pirates and Indians enrich the mystique of the tropical paradise that grew from a tiny farm settlement to one of the world's most beautiful resorts. Although Indians hunted the hammocks for game and the Barefoot Mailman no doubt trod its beaches, not until 1895 when Henry M. Flagler extended his railroad from West Palm Beach to Miami, did the first settlers begin to arrive. A few hearty farmers who had been frozen out in north Florida pulled up stakes and moved to Boca Raton to raise citrus, pineapples and vegetables for the winter market. But the new prosperity following World War I, the advent of the automobile and the proliferation of railroad travel proved to be the catalyst for Southeast Florida (and Boca Raton 's) growth. The tourist industry was unknown then, but "hauling sick Yankees" as it was known locally) became fashionable as Northerners flocked to Florida seeking better health. It was precisely for this reason that Addison Mizner, self-taught architect, eccentric and magnet for the High Society of the day, came south in 1918. The flare up of an old injury and the urging of his friend Paris Singer, heir to the sewing machine fortune, prompted Mizner's move from New York to Palm Beach. As Mizner recuperated, he and Singer began planning a convalescent facility for wounded officers returning from the War. With Singer's money and Mizner's architectural skills, they built the swank Everglades Club in Palm Beach. This led to commissions from the Palm Beach elite for Mizner to design their great mansions. Frank Lloyd Wright once said that many architects had imagination but only Mizner had the courage to let it out of the cage. As his health improved, Mizner ventured south of Palm Beach to discover Boca Raton and there he decided his future lay. By then the Florida Land Boom was in full swing with mangrove swamps and scrub land giving rise to whole towns. Real estate developers, land speculators and, yes hustlers and con-men flocked to Florida hoping to become millionaires overnight by selling pieces of paradise to snowbound Northerners. Addison and his brother, Wilson (sometime playwright, full-time man-about-town), formed the Mizner Development Corporation. The company acquired 17,500 acres of Boca Raton property and proceeded to create "the greatest resort in the world", a happy combination of Venice and Heaven, Florence and Toledo, with a little Greco-Roman glory and grandeur thrown in. The Cloister Inn opened its doors in 1926 at a cost of $1.25 million, the most expensive 100-room hotel ever built at the time. Mizner designed an elegant structure in an imaginative pseudo Spanish style with courtyards, and furnished it with his private collection of rare antiques from old churches and universities in Spain and Central America. The Cloister's luxury and ambiance quickly attracted royalty, Wall Street wealth, movie stars and the ranking hierarchy of the international social set, including General T. Coleman du Pont, Harold Vanderbilt, George Whitney, Florenz Ziegfeld, Al Jolson, Elizabeth Arden and Marie Dressler. The Cloister's guests seemed attracted rather than put off by Addison Mizner's unconventional behavior. His previous trips to China gave him a fondness for silk pajamas, which he decided were perfectly proper for street wear. He also delighted in parading around with his pets and was reportedly seen on more than one occasion promenading with two chows, a small monkey on one shoulder, a macaw on the other and leading two large monkeys. However, the glory of The Cloister Inn lasted just one season. By the time it opened in February of 1926, Florida's land boom was already faltering. The Depression was looming on the horizon, a railroad embargo impeded the delivery of construction materials, and investors were becoming skeptical of fraudulent developers. Mizner's investors became apprehensive, began to withdraw their support, and demanded the reorganization of Mizner Development Corporation. In July, management of the company was taken over by the Chicago-based Central Equities Corporation run by Rufus Dawes and his brother, U. S. Vice President Charles Dawes. The Dawes brothers were unable to rescue the company from bankruptcy and the Mizner Development Corporation succumbed to the final blow to Mizner's dream of making Boca Raton the "greatest resort in the world," a deadly hurricane in September 1926 which killed nearly 400 people and destroyed many of the "boomtime buildings." Even though Mizner's plans for Boca Raton were curtailed, his impact was seen in jobs, buildings, permanent residents and national attention. He set the stage for future development and his grand vision for the "Golden City of the Florida East Coast" eventually became a reality. In 1928, Clarence Geist, a one-time railway brakeman from Indiana who made a fortune in utilities and one of the original investors in the Mizner Development Corporation, successfully bid on the assets of the failed corporation. His plan was to carry on the Mizner development, though in an adjusted form. Geist hired golf course architects, Toomey and Flynn, to reconstruct the hotel's two courses and proceeded to greatly expand the Cloister Inn. Two years and $8 million later, it opened as the Boca Raton Club, one of the world's finest "gentlemen's clubs." Although never fiscally profitable, an exclusive membership kept the Club flourishing. Private railroad cars and yachts brought in such notables as Herbert Hoover, several du Ponts, Jacob Raskob and many other celebrities. Geist subsidized the perennial Club deficit throughout the Depression and even after his death, by which time the property had grown to four times its original size. A World War II service roster replaced the guest book, the ornate pillars and carved plaster pieces were padded and the elaborate furnishings were stored away to make room for G.I. bunks when the government commandeered the Boca Raton Club in 1942. The few hundred Army Air Corps officers housed there were from the radar training school built at the Boca Raton Air Field. They referred to their quarters as "the most elegant barracks in history." After the war, hotel, theater and real estate magnate, J. Myer Schine, bought the resort for a paltry $3 million. Completely refurbished and modernized, the club reopened in 1945 as the Boca Raton Hotel and Club and became extremely popular. An article in an 1947 Saturday Evening Post said: "If you were looking for the prodigal public spot on the globe, there is little argument that you need go no further than the Boca Raton Hotel and Club." The resort's promising future was secured when Arthur Vining Davis, one of the founders of Alcoa, bought the property from Schine in 1956 for $22.5 million. At the time, it was the biggest real estate deal in Florida history. Davis' plans for the legendary hotel were to "preserve the atmosphere of quiet luxury for the group whose accomplishments enable them to enjoy the finest the Boca will be second to none." Arvida Corporation owned the resort until 1983, when it was purchased by VMS Realty Partners and the Boca Raton Hotel and Club Limited Partnership.Ê In January 1993, Boca Raton Management Company (BRMC) replaced VMS as the general partner for the Resort and Club. Over the past decade, extensive renovations have taken place at the world-class property. Guest rooms, meeting facilities, golf courses, tennis courts, marina, restaurants, lounges, gardens and pools are constantly being upgraded, repaired and refurbished at an investment of approximately $4-5 million a year. This "renovations never rests" philosophy is at the heart of the Resort and Club's capital improvement program with the goal of providing the most luxurious surroundings for the most selective people in the world. The Boca Raton Resort & Club retains its share of guests who remember a long gone era, and boasts many newcomers, business travelers, couples and families who come to enjoy the resort's unparalleled setting, luxurious accommodations and amenities and rich traditions. Heads of state and celebrities such as George Bush, Robert Redford, Bill Cosby, Bette Midler, Jerry Lewis, William Hurt, Tom Selleck and Oprah Winfrey have been seen recently at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PressReleases/BocaRatonResortRichHistory_Sept1997.html Mizner (1872-1933) moved to Florida for his health at age 46 and began designing Spaniah Revival homes for JP Morgan partners in Palm Beach. A home he built for the Wannamakes later became John F. Kennedy's "Winter White House." Mizner's own Palm Beach home was sold to Harold Vanderbilt, and later was purchased by John Lennon. Mizner moved to Boca Raton in 1925 where his Mizner Development Corporation acquired 1,500 acres and he designed The Cloister (later Baca Raton Resort and Club) as a 1,000 room hotel and golf resort. In 1928, Mizner designed the original Cloisters Hotel at Sea Island, GA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addison_Mizner
Boca Raton Resort and Club 1920s
Boca Raton Resort and Club 1940s
Boca Raton Hotel and Golf Club 1947RESORT COURSE: Originally built in 1926 by fabled golf architect William Flynn, the Resort Course is one of the oldest golf courses in Florida.Ê Steeped in rich golfing history, the Boca Raton Resort & Club's golf program has been headed by such noted professionals as Tommy Armour, "the Silver Scot" and "Slammin'" Sammy Snead.Ê The course has hosted a variety of special events and tournaments, as well as noted professional and celebrity golfers. COUNTRY CLUB COURSE: Each of the Country Club course's 18 greens adhere to the strict standards of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and are contoured with subtle hills and valleys to add additional challenge and memorable play. With more than twenty-five million people playing more than five-hundred million rounds of golf each year, the resort's golf program will continue to attract golf enthusiasts from around the world. Pratt, Theodore.The Story of Boca Raton. Great Outdoors, 1963 History Major events in Boca Raton history include: Establishment of Boca Raton Airport (1936) The construction of the Florida East Coast Canal (today's Intracoastal) and the Florida East Coast Railway in the (1890) Boca Raton was a tiny agricultural community, specialized in pineapple cultivation (1900) Fort Lauderdale Hurricane - Air base received severe damage (Sep1947) Development of air base in Florida Atlantic University (1950) Boca Raton became the southern home to the International Business Machines Corporation (1960) First Bridge build at the Boca Raton Inlet (1923) Hurricane Wilma - Airport suffered extensive damage (Oct 2005) Shopping Center - Mizner Park resembles a Mediterranean suburban "town center" with a more contemporary look. http://www.miami-florida.com/article_boca.htm History: Boca is a Spanish word which is often used to describe an inlet, while Raton was used by Spanish sailors to describe rocks that gnawed at a ships cable or as a term for a cowardly thief. The name Boca ratones originally appeared on eighteenth century maps associated with an inlet in the Biscayne Bay area of Miami. The early history was as the site of Addison Mizner's Boca Raton hotel. Another site which is visible from miles away as a towering building on the Intracoastal Waterway called the "pink hotel". The Pearl City which is very well known is the neighbor of Boca Raton. It was established to originally house the service personnel for the hotel. The land west was converted into pineapple plantations by the Japanese farmers of yamato colony in 1904. Boca Raton was the site of two now vanished amusement parks. Africa USA and Ancient America. The Africa U.S.A. is a wild animal park. Construction of IBM's main complex began in 1967. IBM maintained its facilities at Boca Raton until 1996. It's surrounding real estate into a highly-successful and landscaped business/research park. An ANEX separated from the county school district and converted into DON Estride high tech middle school. The Boca Raton mall, a popular shopping mall in the 1970's was going vacant, due to the opening of town center at Boca Raton. In late 1980s, the city came up with a master plan to revitalize the decaying are that included mass landscaping. Expansion of the downtown park, sanborn square. Mizner's park resembles a Mediterranean surban "town center" with a more contemporary look. It has yet become target of serious crime. Despite the local scene, a successful renovation project was competed, yielding a total of six new high-rise towers. It also has occasional vandalism, and political controversy. The Boca Raton passes a city ordinance banning the further development of multi-family housing within the city limits the size and types of commercial buildings and advertisements signs which may be erected within the city limits. The mall was rebuilt when it was bought it out town center at Boca Raton by the simson property group. Some of the stores got closed. Saks Fifth Avenue took and renovated the space and the old saks was demolished. Then it was extended with a new anchor Nordstrom. Then opened 25 new shops to shop in. it is now one of the largest malls in south Florida. Article Directory: http://www.articlewisdom.com Leveto Orville is a traveler who reviews various cities she has visited and writes exclusively for yorlando and ybocaraton online city guides http://www.articlewisdom.com/Article/History-of-Boca-Raton-/879. ¥ 1918. Addison Mizner came from the North as a self-taught architect. He and friend Paris Singer - heir to the sewing machine fortune - planned a convalescent facility for wounded officers returning from World War I. With Singer's money and Mizner's architectural skills, the pair built the swank Everglades Club in Palm Beach. The architect then ventured south of Palm Beach to discover Boca Raton, and there he decided his future lay. He and his brother, Wilson, formed the Mizner Development Corporation. The company acquired 17,500 acres of Boca Raton property, and Mizner set out to create the "greatest resort in the world." ¥ 1926. The Cloister Inn opened its doors at a cost of $1.25 million, the most expensive 100-room hotel ever built at the time. Mizner designed an elegant structure in an imaginative, pseudo-Spanish style with courtyards - and furnished it with his private collection of rare antiques from old churches and universities in Spain and Central America. The ambiance of this luxury resort in Florida quickly attracted royalty, Wall Street wealth, movie stars, and the ranking hierarchy of the international social set - including General T. Coleman du Pont, Harold Vanderbilt, George Whitney, Florenz Ziegfeld, Al Jolson, Elizabeth Arden, and Marie Dressler. However, the glory of The Cloister Inn lasted just one season. By the time it opened in February 1926, Florida's land boom was already faltering. The Depression loomed on the horizon, a railroad embargo impeded the delivery of constructed materials, and investors were becoming skeptical of fraudulent developers. Mizner's investors became apprehensive, began to withdraw their support, and demanded the reorganization of Mizner Development Corporation. In July, management of the company was taken over by Chicago-based Central Equities Corporation, which was run by Rufus Dawes and his brother, U.S. Vice President Charles Dawes. The Dawes brothers were unable to rescue the company from bankruptcy, and the Mizner Development Corporation succumbed - dealing the final blow to Addison's dream of making Boca Raton the "greatest resort in the world." ¥ 1928. Clarence Geist - a one-time railway brakeman from Indiana who made a fortune in utilities, and one of the original investors in the Mizner Development Corporation - successfully bid on the assets of the failed corporation. His plan was to carry on the Mizner development, though in an adjusted form. Geist hired golf course architects, Toomey and Flynn, to reconstruct the hotel's two courses and proceeded to greatly expand the Cloister Inn. Two years and $8 million later, the Cloister Inn re-opened as the Boca Raton Club, one of the world's finest "gentlemen's clubs." Although never financially profitable, an exclusive membership kept the Club flourishing. Private railroad cars and yachts brought in such notables as Herbert Hoover, several duPonts, Jacob Raskob, and many other celebrities. Geist subsidized the perennial Club deficit throughout the Depression and even after his death, by which time the property had grown to four times its original size. ¥ 1942. The government commandeered the Boca Raton Club. A World War II service roster replaced the guest book, the ornate pillars and carved plaster pieces were padded, and elaborate furnishings were stored away to make room for G.I. bunks. The few hundred Army Air Corps officers housed there were from the radar training school built at the Boca Raton Air Field. They referred to their quarters as the "most elegant barracks in history." ¥ 1945. After the war, hotel, theater, and real estate magnate J. Myer Schine bought the resort for a paltry $3 million. Completely refurbished and modernized, the Club re-opened as the Boca Raton Hotel and Club and became extremely popular. An article in a 1947 Saturday Evening Post issue stated: "If you were looking for the prodigal public spot on the globe, there is little argument that you need go no further than the Boca Raton Hotel and Club." ¥ 1956. The resort's promising future was secured when Arthur Vining Davis, one of the founders of ALCOA, bought the property from Schine for $22.5 million. At the time, it was the biggest real estate deal in Florida history. ¥ 1983. The resort was purchased by VMS Realty Partners and the Boca Raton Hotel and Club Limited Partnership. ¥ 1993. Boca Raton Management Company (BRMC) replaced VMS as the general partner for the Resort & Club. ¥ 1997. The Boca Raton Resort & Club was purchased by H. Wayne Huizenga and Florida Panthers Holdings, Inc. for $325 million. ¥ 2005. The Resort was purchased by the Blackstone Group and under the guidance of this new ownership, the entire property has been reborn. Extensive renovations and improvements led by world-renowned interior designers and architects have combined the charm and character of Mizner's vision with the modern amenities and design sensibilities to open a new chapter in the history of this legendary resort. http://www.bocaresort.com/about_boca_resort/resort_history.cfm The Boca Raton Resort & Club consists of the Cloister, the Yacht Club, the Tower, Boca Beach Club, the Boca Bungalows, Boca Country Club, conference facilities, two 18Ðhole championship golf courses, 30 tennis courts, Spa Palazzo, a golf clubhouse, six pools, an indoor basketball court, a 32Ðslip marina with full fishing and boating facilities, and a halfÐmile of private beach with watersports facilities. Addison Mizner - Resort Architect born 1872 - died 1933 Vital Data Place of Birth: Benicia, California Selected Projects: 1922: William Gray Warden Residence, 112 Seminole Ave., Palm Beach, Florida 1923: Via Mizner, 337-339 Worth Ave., Palm Beach, Florida 1925: Administration Buildings, 2 Camino Real, Boca Raton. 1925: Boynton Woman's Club, 1010 S. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach 1926. Fred C. Aiken House, 801 Hibiscus St., Boca Raton Addison Mizner did not have formal training. He could not draw blueprints. Yet his fanciful Mediterranean style architecture launched a "Florida Renaissance" and inspired architects throughout North America. As a child, Mizner traveled around the world with his father, who was the U.S. minister to Guatemala. Mizner began his architectural career in San Francisco, and later worked in New York. When he was 46, he moved to Palm Beach for his health, and his Spanish Revival architecture won the attention of wealthy clients. Addison Mizner wanted to capture the diversity of Spanish architecture. Criticizing modern architects for "producing a characterless copybook effect," Mizner said that his ambition was to "make a building look traditional and as though it had fought its way from a small unimportant structure to a great rambling house." When Mizner moved to Florida, Boca Raton was a tiny, unincorporated town. Mizner aspired to transform it into a luxurious restort community. In 1925, he started Mizner Development Corporation and purchased more than 1,500 acres, including two miles of beach. He mailed out out promotional material that boasted a 1,000-room hotel, golf courses, parks and a street wide enough to fit 20 lanes of traffic. Stockholders included such high-rollers as Paris Singer, Irving Berlin, Elizabeth Arden, W.K. Vanderbilt II and T. Coleman du Pont. Film star Marie Dressler sold real estate for Mizner. Other developers followed Mizner's example, and eventually Boca Raton became all that he envisioned. However, within two years, he was bankrupt. In 1933, he died at 61 of a heart attack. http://architecture.about.com/library/bl-mizner.htm 1926 The Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce is organized. J. C. Mitchell is elected president and H. D. Gates is Vice President. Mizner's Cloister Inn opens as a Ritz-Carlton Investment Corporation project. Though his Development Corporation failed within two years, the opening of his hotel sparked a promotional build up that ultimately turned Boca Raton from a sleepy village into a resort community. 1927 Town Hall, originally designed by Mizner, is not completed as the architect goes bankrupt. Instead, it is scaled down and finished by Delray Beach architect, William Alsmeyer. It houses the volunteer Fire Department and its first engine, "Old Betsy." Clarence Geist buys the Cloister Inn for $71,000 at a courthouse door sale assuming $7 million of the Mizner Development Corporation's debt. 1930 The first railroad passenger station in Boca Raton is constructed at Geist's request at Camino Real and Dixie Highway. Enlarging the Cloister Inn, Geist creates the private Boca Raton Club. He builds the Cabana Club, south of the inlet, offering 200 private beach cabanas, informal dining rooms, and card lounges. The Boca Raton Inlet is dredged for clear passage. 1936 Boca Raton's first airport is a New Deal WPA project obtained through the efforts of Clarence Geist. 1944 J. Myer Schine buys the Boca Raton Club and the Spanish River Land Company from Geist's estate. The Club reopens as the Boca Raton Hotel and Club in 1945. 1956 Arthur Vining Davis, founder of the Aluminum Company of America, purchases the Boca Raton Hotel and Club. He creates Arvida Development Corporation and sets aesthetic precedence for future commercial and residential development in Boca Raton. 1963 The F.E.C. Railway stops passenger service at the train depot. 1969 Arvida builds the twenty-six story tower at the Boca Raton Hotel. 1985 BRHS purchases the F.E.C. Railway Station and begins its restoration, completed in 1988. The station is named the Count de Hoernle Pavilion in recognition of a generous donation from the Count and Countess de Hoernle. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 1989 The BRHS receives the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation Outstanding Achievement Award in the Field of Preservation for the restoration of the F.E.C. Railway Station. 1996 The BRHS begins the Great Train Restoration. Four historic rail cars, located at the Train Depot, undergo major exterior restorations. 1997 The Boca Raton Historical Society celebrates its 25th anniversary at the grand opening celebration of the Boca Raton Resort & Club's Mizner Center. 2003 BRHS, in association with Boca Raton magazine, DCOTA, and DuPont-O'Neil and Associates celebrates the completion of the restoration of two 1947 streamliner rail cars at the F.E.C. Railway Station, Count de Hoernle Pavilion. http://www.bocahistory.org/boca_history/br_history_timeline Boca Raton FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILWAY PASSENGER STATION. 741 S. Dixie Hwy. 1930. Mediterranean Revival. Chester G. Henninger, architect. 1 story, with 2-story tower, 5-bay arcaded loggia on east side; addition added in 1957 on north side. Built for Clarence Geist, who purchased the Boca Raton holdings of the Mizner Development Corporation after the collapse of the Florida land boom. Private. N.R. 1980. http://www.flheritage.com/facts/reports/places/index.cfm?fuseaction=ListAreas&county=Palm%20Beach
http://www.amazon.com/Florida-Architecture-Addison-Mizner-Dover/dp/048627327X
http://www.amazon.com/Boca-Rococo-Addison-Invented-Floridas/dp/0609605151 Clarence Geist, Self-made Uility Baron from the Indiana farmlandLiquid AssetsGeist Reservoir's namesake was one of the biggest Tycoons you've never heard of In Indianapolis the name Geist is associated not with a person but with the 7 billion -gallon reservoir on the city's Northside. Few remember the lake's namesake: Clarence Geist , a high rolling early 20 th century tycoon who owned country clubs and utilities. Equally obscure is that Geist, originally a northern Indiana farm boy , was the nation's largest private owner of utilities and master of some of America 's finest resort hotels. Still, the belt of expensive housing that surrounds "his" lake may be an appropriate monument. During his lifetime from 1874 to 1938 he earned a reputation as both a shrewd businessman and an unabashed lover of status and money. Developing his business sense early, he started trading horses at age 13, then moved West at 18 against the wishes of his father, who wanted him to go to college. Believing that college men were "saps, " Geist spent several years out West, then moved to Chicago to become a railroad brakeman. He held the position for a year before getting into real estate development with a northern Indiana firm, the South Shore Gas Company. Geist quickly impressed the firm's head, Charles Gates, a future vice president of the United States; within a few years the two men became partners. But teamwork wasn't one of Geist's virtues. A power struggle soon erupted, and in 1905 he sold his share in the company and invested in the Indianapolis Water Company, then the nation's largest privately owned utility; in seven years he was its sole owner. At the same time he took over several East Coast utilities, eventually amassing 100 companies worth roughly $54 million. His was one of the huge American fortunes that seemed unaffected by the Great Depression. A card-carrying member of the nouveau riche, Geist not only loved to join exclusive country clubs, he also loved to own them. Legend says he purchased one exclusive East Coast club to avoid having to wait in line at the golf course and built another for spite after being denied entrance to one nearby. His first resort was the Seaview Golf Club, built in 1914 in Atlantic City, N.J. His second, The Boca Raton Hotel and Club, was built in 1928. Known as the crowning achievement of the 1920s Florida land boom, the project was to be a city of luxury, sporting 20 miles of Venetian canals, crystal lakes, placid lagoons and world's largest and finest hotel. The development went bankrupt before completion, but Geist still managed to bring a scaled-down version to market. Though not as great as planned, the Boca Raton was still one of the most opulent private clubs ever erected, boasting members such as Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover, Bing Crosby, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. When staying at the club, Geist naturally had his way with everything. If he didn't feel like dressing in the locker room after golf, he might don his bathrobe and stride through the hotel lobby to the elevators. Regardless of how many people were on the lift, he would order it directly to his sixth floor suite. And when evening movies were shown, the screening didn't begin until Geist appeared. Politically, the Indiana farmer's son virtually controlled to town of Boca Raton. He had local elections moved from September to February so more of his club staff could vote in his favor; after all, he paid more than half the town's taxes. It was even said that not so much as a birdhouse could be erected without a Geist's permission. Like many tycoons of his era, however, he occasionally was capable of charity. In 1931 he donated a $15,000 pipe organ to the Columbia Club and once gave $500 to the minister of a ramshackle church he spotted during a train trip. Though some thought Geist was an old softie beneath his gruff exterior, he never became a great philanthropist - a fact which no doubt contributes to his current anonymity. http://www.logcabinvet.com/history/tycoon.php
Geist 1926 Hillsover Mansion, Villanova PAhttp://www.ndapa.org/learn_history.htm http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/pr_display.cfm/13236 Clarence Geist's Impatience on the Tee at Atlantic Coast CC, Northfield NJ, led to builkding of his Seaview GC in 1912 with a 250-room hotel-clubhouse. He'd been born in 1866 in Indiana, and tried his hand at railroading and real estate in 19th century Chicago before forming a partnership with Charles Dawes, gas-and-electric tycoon and future U.S. vice president. Geist eventually bought out his mentor, sold the company and, with the proceeds, purchased Atlantic City Gas and Electric Company in 1909. He now had a seashore profile. It agreed with him. Through the years, Geist would gobble up properties (including the ancestor of Philadelphia-based water giant Aqua America) to create a utility empire in the East and Midwest, but he had his eye on more than just the bottom line. He aspired to society status, one of the trappings being membership at upper-crust clubs. He also enjoyed his leisure, especially the time spent chasing that little white ball across an expanse of green. The two yearnings collided one day when Geist was waiting to tee off at Atlantic City Country Club in Northfield. The story goes that he grew impatient with the too-long wait and vowed to rectify the problem. The solution: build his own club. An Atlantic City Realtor and fellow ACCC member suggested suitable acreage just outside of Absecon, and in 1912, Seaview Golf Club rose at a cost of $1.5 million. Enveloping a farmhouse site that now houses the resort's pub-like Grille, it boasted a 250-room hotel-clubhouse, an indoor saltwater swimming pool, squash and tennis courts, a trapshooting range, and a French chef. Horses were available for riding, as were uniformed chauffeurs for transporting guests in limousines. Seaview's raison d'etre, however, was its quirky Bay Course, which hugged the water and, with its numerous mounds and traps, bore the devilish hand of esteemed designer Donald Ross. Now Geist had his playground and reveled in it, sometimes going from hole to hole by limo and playing a hand of poker with cronies while in transit. In 1929, the nine-hole Pines Course (expanded to 18 in the late 1950s) across Route 9 joined its bayside sister. Both courses hosted the 1942 PGA Championship in which Slammin' Sammy Snead chipped in from 60 feet to birdie the final hole and win his first major tournament. The next day, he entered the U.S. Navy, but he'd be back to build his legend. Vintage Seaview became a popular spot for political kingpins, captains of industry, and show biz stars. New York Governor Al Smith, the 1928 Democratic presidential nominee, was a regular. Later, the likes of Bing Crosby participated in celebrity tournaments and President Eisenhower, a noted linkster, swung through the bay breezes. Golfing great Ben Hogan placed some of the Bay Course holes among the toughest he'd ever played. By this time, Geist had died and a group of local investors owned the resort. http://www.acweekly.com/view.php?id=3883 Boca Raton Historical Society, Spanish River Papers Flagler
and his work in Florida "Fla." stands for Flagler rather than for Florida." Vol. I, No. 1 January, 1973 The inaugural issue of the papers contains a compilation of documentation concerning the founding of Boca Raton from early settlers and publications. Information dates from as early as 1875 with even earlier data considered anecdotal but interesting. Among others, Henry M. Flagler, T. M. Rickards, Harley Gates and Frank M. Chesebro are quoted. Mizer
Development Corporation Vol. II, No. 1 February, 1974 The Mizner Development Corporation is the focus of this issue which contains various items from The Miami Daily News and The Miami Herald with stories dated 1925, 1926, and 1936 from the BRHS subject files and Boca Raton Hotel scrapbook collection. These include information on Addison Mizner's "boom & bust" development and the grand opening of the Ritz-Carlton Cloister Inn with partial guest list, furnishings and amenities. One article from The Miami Daily News dated February 19, 1926 quotes Mr. Mizner as he responds to his critics just prior to the "Bust". Addison Mizner came to Florida in 1918, after association with Stanford White in New York, and was famous in his own right long before the boom. Seeing others make whole cities out of their dreams, he became restless and in April, 1925 bought two miles of ocean front and 16,000 acres back of what was then Boca Ratone. The " e " was soon dropped. Associated with him were many of the best names in Palm Beach, England or Paris. Chairman of the board of directors of the Mizner Development was T. Coleman du Pont, United States Senator from Delaware, Jesse Livermore, famous Wall Street operator, was chairman of the finance committee. The youngest Mizner, Wilson, world-famous wit and author, pitched in as secretary-treasurer and chief ballyhoo artist. Vol. II, No. 2 May, 1974 Clarence H. Geist purchased the Cloister Inn and other properties in 1927 from the defunct Mizner Development Corporation. Documentation includes newspaper articles, correspondence, and a "Speech to the People of Boca Raton" by Clarence Geist. This issue includes items on the water plant and FEC Railroad Station. Vol. III, No. 1 October, 1974 Entitled A Brief History of the Florida East Coast Railway and Associated Enterprises, Flagler System 1885-86......1935-36, this report was published in the 1930s by the Flagler System and donated to the Boca Raton Historical Society by Mr. Carl Land. It includes information regarding Henry M. Flagler (1830-1913) and the development of the east coast of Florida and the FEC Railroad. Vol. XI, No. 1, Fall, 1982 Addison Mizner's Ritz-Carlton Cloister Opens By the time the Ritz-Carlton Cloister opened on February 6, 1926 Florida's land boom had ended and within two years Mizner's company was forced into bankruptcy. But on opening night and before and after that night the newspapers were filled with glowing accounts of the furniture, decor, the natural beauty of gardens and lake, the magnificence of the hotel, and the wealthy beautiful people of society who attended that Saturday night's outstanding social event. Newspaper and magazine articles together with photographs and line drawings are included. Vol. XVI, 1987/1988 Clarence Geist and Boca Raton In November of 1927, utilities magnate Clarence Geist acquired the properties of the bankrupt Mizner Development Corporation. A few months later he announced the opening of bids on a huge addition to the Cloister Inn with plans for a $1,000,000 building program. Clarence Geist and his Spanish River Land company managers quickly became a significant influence on the development and operation of the young town of Boca Raton. This volume includes research based on newspaper articles, legal documents from the Boca Raton Syndicate of which Geist was the Manager, a 1929 brochure entitled "Boca Raton Club," and minutes of meetings of Boca Raton's Town Commission. http://www.bocahistory.org/boca_history/br_history_spanish_river.asp "Water Boy" Geist & the Springfield Water Co. (Philadephia Suburban Co.)Springfield continued to grow, building new pumps and plants and delivering water to more customers. World War I mobilized the country when the United States entered in 1917, and after the war life returned to normal relatively quickly. In the 1920s, Clarence Henry Geist became interested in Springfield. Geist had made a fortune buying up water companies--so much so that he was nicknamed the 'Water Boy.' He acquired American Pipe's controlling interest in Springfield on January 1, 1925 and was named president. Two other men joined Springfield at Geist's invitation: Harold Schutt, a savvy businessman whom many called a financial genius; and Carleton Davis, an engineer who specialized in constructing dams and reservoirs. Geist saw room for significant expansion in Springfield, which in April 1925 formally changed its name to Philadelphia Suburban Water Company. When he assumed control the company serviced just over 45,000 customers, with 752 miles of water main carrying more than 12 ½ million gallons per day. His first move was to create a play with the financiers at Drexel & Company that allowed for the issuance of Philadelphia Suburban bonds to raise money. The money raised by the sale of these bonds went toward major improvements that allowed more water to be pumped and filtered more efficiently. Aided by Schutt's business acumen and Davis' engineering skill, Geist moved quickly. A year after he had taken control of the company, there were more than $6 million worth of permanent additions. Widely regarded as a colorful character, Geist was not known for his finesse. Despite his business success, he was never accepted into Philadelphia society--a society that viewed non-natives as outsiders and wealthy non-natives as parvenus. His three daughters married into prominent families from Philadelphia's Main Line, which allowed him to gain a sort of vicarious acceptance. The stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression slowed down growth at Philadelphia Suburban, but there was still activity--and Geist cut no jobs. New reservoirs were dug, new filters were installed, new water piper were laid. By the mid-1930s the economy was starting to do better, and people were looking forward to stronger growth. Geist did not live to see this renewed growth, however. He died suddenly on June 12, 1938. Schutt replaced him as president. He knew he had large shoes to fill, but his experience and knowledge helped him to effect a smooth transition. Schutt was a strong leader, like Geist; he was equally shrewd, and equally irascible. But he led the company successfully for more than two decades.
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