Flagler Museum: A Gilded Age Mansion, tea and trains in Palm Beach

The Flagler Musuem in Palm Beach, once the home of Henry Flager and wife, Mary Lily

The Flagler Museum, in Palm Beach, began as "Whitehall", a 1902 Gilded Age mansion and wedding gift from Henry Flagler to his third wife, Mary Lily Kenan. In its one hundred years-plus, the Florida mansion experienced dramatic changes, not unlike the lives of its original owners, but for the majority of its existence, it's been a museum - a well-preserved estate that gives visitors a glimpse of how the wealthy partied in, what was at the time, a relatively new resort area. The credit for much of that development is given to Henry Flagler.

A corner of the 5,000 square foot lobby

Henry Flagler, amassed his great fortune as one of the founders of Standard Oil, like his partner, John D. Rockefeller. Set for life in middle age, he could have sat back and retired most comfortably. But, on his first visit to Florida (a recommendation from a doctor treating Flagler's first wife, who suffered a number of health issues), he was charmed and saw immense potential.  That lead to his eventual building of two high-end hotels in St. Augustine in the 1880's. That was followed by more purchases of land along the state's eastern coast, heading south, building railroads and hotels along the way.

Music Room

When Flagler met Mary Lily at a mutual friend's home in Newport in 1891, there was a strong attraction between the two despite their age difference - Flagler was sixty-one and Mary Lily was twenty-three (I'll let you all decide what their respective attractions were). Flagler was also still married to his second wife, who had issues of her own. Ten years later, after a long, fought-after (or, perhaps, more aptly "bought-after") divorce, Flagler and Mary Lily were married. And, then, came that off-the-wedding-registry gift of Whitehall.

Dining Room

Drawing Room

The Flagler Museum has been on my Gilded Age radar for almost a decade. When, my husband, Chris, and I visited St. Augustine in 2016, we made a stop at both of Flagler's hotels (one is now a college and the other is a collector's museum). I knew then, we'd eventually make our way to Palm Beach to see Whitehall. (I actually noted in a blog that we targeted 2022, so just off by a few years, but it was worth the wait!).

Ballroom

But, just driving to Palm Beach is an adventure into another world of pristine roads and sidewalks, bordered by bowing palm trees and shorelines dotted with yachts the size of school busses. It signals to me, that I  have now entered a world where club memberships may be a bit more exclusive than  Costco's and there's no need to for me to flaunt my Kohl's cash.

The Flagler Museum sets the standard of Palm Beach and it greets tourists with its clean white pillared facade and manicured lawn that reaches to the water. Once inside, the lobby - all 5,000 square feet of it - provides the appropriate entry to the home that adds another 95,000 square feet of living space to the total. The many rooms that make up the mansion include: billiards, music room, library, dining room and ballroom. In addition, along with suites for the Mr. and Mrs., there are five guest bedrooms. (Oh, and the master suite included all the modern conveniences, like telephones, electricity and full bathrooms).

Blue Room, one of five guest rooms at Whitehall

I have to say, I really did like the feel and decor of most of Whitehall. Unlike many of the heavy and dark interiors of Newport cottage's, this estate captured the bright and cheery oceanside environment. (I could be happy here).

Mary Lily's bedroom suite

Bathroom with modern conveniences

Whitehall did not stay a family residence for long. After the death of Mary Lily in 1917, her niece inherited the estate and sold it to investors. The new buyers turned the home into Whitehall Hotel in 1925. Another quarter-century later, with owners in financial trouble, the hotel was in danger of being destroyed. Jean Flagler, Flagler's granddaughter, stepped in to save the home and in 1960 it entered its current state as the Flagler Museum 

Chris inside Flagler's Railcar No. 91

But, there’s a little bit more to the Flagler Museum. There’s a lovely glass pavilion that houses not only Railcar No.91, Flagler's private luxury railcar, but a tea room as well. 

And, yes!, we absolutely took in afternoon tea while we were there. We'll cover that in our next blog!

Other Flagler-related BTS connections are two Tea and Tomes reviews:  "King Lehr" and "Last Train to Paradise".  The former a Gilded Age socialite's story that included a rather dismissive account of Flagler and Mary Lily's meet up in Newport and the latter is a detailed account of Flagler's goal to build a railroad to reach all the way to Key West.