The Architecture of Leisure: The Florida Resort Hotels of Henry Flagler and Henry Plany

As railroad baronds Henry Flagler and Henry Plant pushed their lines southward, they also created a string of resort hotels to attract wealthy northerners with an appetite for balmy climates and luxurious accommodations. Susan Braden tells the story of these magnificent pleasure palaces and shows not only how their innovations influenced the Florida wilderness, but also how they contributed significantly to the communities surrounding them.

Braden traces the development of the enterprises that brought Flagler and Plant to Florida and then examies each of their hotels, describing the architecture, how they physically functioned, and what they offered their guests in the way of recreation and leisure. From the Spanish Renaisance of St. Augustine's Ponce de Leon, to Georgian Revival in Palm Beach's Royal Poinciana, to the Islamic Revival of the Tampa Bay Hotel and the Alpine ambience of the nearby Belleview, her individual profiles of each hotel detail how the builders mixed recognizable style with physical and funcitional independence, and then capped both with an aura of blatant luxury on a scale previously unknown in Florida. By catering to the newly realized needs and demands of their affluent patrons, these entrepreneurs brought civilization to the frontier and established the legacy of tropical fantasy and escape that endures in Florida to this day.