The Famous Island of Palm Beach…

At an age when the average man of the late 19th century had reached the end of his life expectancy, Henry Morrison Flagler retired from his day-to-day responsibilities at Standard Oil, the company he co-founded and devoted all of his considerable resources and creative energy to building Florida. Along the way, Flagler fell in love with Palm Beach, where a lush grove of coconut palms had grown up following the shipwreck of the Providencia in 1878. On the lakefront, he built the Hotel Royal Poinciana, which was both the world’s largest resort and the world’s largest wooden building. On the ocean, he built The Breakers. He also built his winter home (“Whitehall”) in Palm Beach. Today, Whitehall is open to the public and the National Historic Landmark is known around the world as one of America’s great historic house museums.

While a great many have helped to make the Town of Palm Beach the beautiful and special place that it has become over the last century, Palm Beach owes its existence and character more to Henry Flagler than to any other individual. More important to Flagler, without a doubt, would be the fact that so many have come to share his love of the place he thought of as “Paradise.”

The island of Palm Beach is home to legendary resorts, exquisite mansions, and historic landmarks. Lined with lovely palm trees, the shopping mecca of Worth Avenue is known worldwide. Palm Beach Island’s Gilded Age architecture will captivate, as will the chic restaurants and a winter festival, the Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival. Golf here affords views along the Atlantic Ocean, the Intracoastal Waterway, and Lake Worth Lagoon. Palm Beach has a way of making any resident feel privileged.

Enjoy all that Palm Beach has to offer. Renowned hotels, distinctive architecture, breathtaking homes, superb restaurants, and world-class shopping are the heart of daily life.  Don’t forget the seemingly endless white beaches!

Courtesy of Discover the Palm Beaches