Addison Mizner, architect and his patron, Paris Singer, the 23rd child of sewing machine magnate, Isaac Singer, invented Palm Beach style. Mediterranean revival architecture came naturally to Mizner, a Californian, who spent two years in Guatemala, studying and sketching Spanish colonial structures, during his father's tenure as the U.S. minister. Mizner apprenticed with the venerable Willis Polk in San Francisco, built estates on Long Island, eventually moving to Florida for his health. Paris Singer wanted to build a convalescent hospital for World War I officers, in sleepy Palm Beach. Mizner, romantically translated this commission within in the vernacular of an ancient nunnery with colonnades, towers and balconies sprouting.
"My ambition has been to make a building look traditional and as though it had fought its way from a small unimportant structure to a great, rambling house that took centuries of different needs and ups and downs of wealth to accomplish."
Addison Mizner
The West Facade along the inland waterway.
Photo courtesy Historical Society of Palm Beach County
Armistice made the enterprise redundant, and Paris quickly converted his dream, forming the famous Everglades club with Mizner as a founding member. The life of a bon-vivant is excellent for business and commissions piled up. The Ecole des Beaux Arts crowd cried fowl, and understandably so. The architecture, to my eye is delightfully whimsical, yet the facade uses 22 different window treatments and is anchored by a California-style mission tower. Mizner's work, despite his popularity, was controversial. When he commenced construction of the splendid vias along Worth Avenue, to blend in with the Everglades Club and recreate the medieval ramblings of the Mediterranean towns he carefully documented throughout his life, a petition was circulated to stop him from building "ugly foreign looking buildings!!"
Here we are entering the delightful Via Mizner to have a delicious lunch at
Renato's. It is expensive and worth the price of each delicious bite. Here is a glimpse at the menu.
Primi Piatti
Cocktail di GranchioJumbo Lump Crabmeat Cocktail, With Avocado and Citrus Vinaigrette
Vongole alla PosillipoLittle Neck Clams Steamed in Spicy Tomato, White Wine & Fresh Herb Broth
Salmone AffumicatoSmoked Norwegian Salmon With traditional Garnish & Toast Points
Torta di GranchioLump Crab Cake With Tomato Bruschetta, Lemon Aioli
Salsiccia & RappiniSweet Italian Sausage and Rappini Broccoli Served Over Soft Polenta
Timbalo Di MelanzanaEggplant Timbale filled with Smoked Mozzarella, topped with fresh Tomato Basil Sauce
Carpaccio di ManzoSeasoned Thin Sliced Filet Mignon, Arugula Salad & Shaved Parmigiano
The Mizner colonnade along Worth Avenue on the West side of the via.
Worth Avenue shopping is the antithesis of my trek through West Palm and the Dixie Hwy with Jane Schott of
Empress of the Eye, however we remember my Father's adage: "Train your eye dear." Worth avenue is a perfect training ground. While Palm Beach has changed a great deal from its gilded era glamour, remnants still exist.
The elegant Terry Van Lear Yates of Van Lear on Mizner's Via Parigi, creates classic bespoke clothing for women.
Many of Addison Mizner's gilded age houses have succumbed to the wrecking ball. However, his influence remains, is preserved, and is widely imitated in Palm Beach.
Mizner's Casa Nana was listed for over $70,000.000.00 with no takers to date. The Rivera never felt so close to American soil.
Aerial view of Casa Nana
Casa Nana
El Mirasol, Mizner's first Palm Beach residence was built for Eva Stotesbury, wife of financier Edward (Ned) Townsend Stotesbury. It had 40 rooms, a 40 car garage, a zoo, aviary, a full time staff of 8 servants, which was supplemented during the season with their Whitemarsh Hall staff of 32. The estate stretched the width of the Island from lake to ocean. Palm Beach architect, Jeffrey Smith said:
"Mizner created buildings that simulated age and gave the young town a sense of history, interrupted the Florida flat landscape with roof lines of varying heights, softened the sun's glare with pastel-colored walls, and relieved the heat with fountains and cross-ventilation."
El Mirasol
Street front views of Mizner homes were not obscured by the traditional Spanish gates and courtyards. They were the mullets of their time: Business (show) in the front, party in the back.
via http://www.serianni.com/el_mirasol.htm
The scope of these vast houses required Mizner to create his eponymous Mizner industries, employing hundreds of woodcarvers, potters, iron workers and stone casters to create the finishings and furnishings that were increasingly prohibitive to purchase in Europe. Many other of the Palm Beach gilded age architects supplied their commissions with the old world aura Mizner's work shops produced with great authenticity.
Photos courtesy of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County
Inspirations for Mizner's eclectic styles came from his meticulously documented trips through the Mediterranean, Central and South Americas. Scott Eyman of the Palm Beach Post wrote: "Mizner would take a cornice from the Doge's palace, an archway from the Alhambra and a wall from Seville and filter it through his decorative sensibility until it magically became a coherent whole incongruously located on a barrier island in Florida. "
The Mizner archives were acquired through the generosity of Mrs. Frederick Guest (nee Amy Phipps), and are suitably preserved at the Society of the Four Arts, a Mizner masterpiece.
Embassy Club (now Society of the Four Arts), built in 1929, southern exposure. Photo courtesy Historical Society of Palm Beach County.
The Phipps famed Casa Bendita, built in 1921 and demolished in 1961 is sadly missing from the roster of the 44 remaining Addison Mizner projects left in Palm Beach. Many tiles, ironwork, carvings and lighting still remain from the industries workshop. Here are some of my photos from Addison Mizner's fantastic Worth Avenue, where his artisanal crafts are preserved for the public.
Mizner tiles from the industries potteries
Signature wrought iron
Sadly, Addison Mizner was ruined financially in his efforts to develop Boca Raton as an American Venice. The Hurricane of 1928 wreaked legendary damage to the East coast of South Florida. Coupled with the 1929 crash, Mizner's new leveraged gambit went down in flames. After his death in 1933, at the age of 60, his body was shipped to Cypress Lawn Memorial Park near San Mateo California, where it lies in an unmarked grave.
Thank you Addison for providing the most beautiful setting in America, where we can watch celebutantes, felonthrapists, the old guard, and the new guard play out their fascinating lives.
References:
Special thanks to the well researched articles by Augustus Mayhew III
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