April 21, 2005

April 21, 2005

Today we drove north from Fort Lauderdale on A1A to West Palm Beach checking out the ocean-side towns along the way. Our first stop is the Breakers Hotel. I have always heard about this famous hotel. It is definitely very nice and is modeled on an Italian villa. From the Breakers we walk inland to the Flagler Museum. Henry Flagler was a billionaire who made his money partnering with John Rockefeller to form Standard Oil. He also opened up tourism and development to Florida, his winter home, by erecting hotels (including the Breakers) and building a railroad all the way down the Florida coast to Key West. The Flagler Museum (or Whitehall) is his former home in the area and is a great example of the excess of the Gilded Age!