Breakers Hotel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Breakers Hotel Complex | |
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U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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Location: | Palm Beach, Florida |
Built/Founded: | 1925[1] |
Architect: | Schultze and Weaver[1] |
Architectural style(s): | Classical Revival[1] |
Added to NRHP: | August 14, 1973 |
NRHP Reference#: | 73000598[2] |
Governing body: | Private |
The Breakers Hotel is a historic hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, United States. Originally built in the 1890s as the Royal Poinciana Hotel or Old Royal Poinciana Hotel, it was a 2,000 room wooden hotel (1,100 guest rooms), in Palm Beach, Florida in the United States. It was built by Henry Flagler, an oil, real estate, and railroad tycoon as a winter retreat for the elite. At the time, it was reportedly the largest wooden structure in the world. It burned down in 1903 and again in 1925; each time it was quickly rebuilt.
Ground was broken May 1, 1893 and the hotel opened on February 11, 1894, welcoming 17 guests. The six-story, Georgian-style hotel became the largest hotel in the world at the time, with hallways totaling more than three miles in length—bellhops delivered messages to guests by bicycle.
The hotel is located at South County Road. On August 14, 1973, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c The Breakers. Florida Heritage Tourism Interactive Catalog. Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs (2007-02-28).
- ^ National Register of Historical Places - Florida (FL), Palm Beach County. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-02-28).
- Florida, DK Eyewitness Travel Guides, 2004, pg. 119
[edit] External links
- Palm Beach County listings, Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
- "It's De Limit" Forbes article by Finn-Olaf Jones on The Breakers' architects Schultze and Weaver, April 24, 2006
- The Breakers official site
- "History of the Breakers"
- The Breakers Historical Timeline