To get a view of Palm Beach in its early years, some photographers took to the sky.
Photographers as far back as 1900 used their cameras to chronicle the island’s development with a view from above — images that can now be found in the State Archives of Florida.
The archive contains photos of some of Palm Beach’s luxury resorts — two of which no longer exist — in their first decades.
The Breakers and Royal Poinciana Hotel were built to provide lodging to the well-heeled visitors who helped to drive growth in Palm Beach after industrialist Henry Flagler made the island the place to be for the upper class.
The famed Whitehall estate was originally built as a seasonal home for Flagler and his wife Mary Lily, but it was a hotel from 1925 until 1959, when Flagler’s granddaughter bought the property under a nonprofit. It reopened as the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum in 1960.
The aerial images also include photos of the estate owned for decades by the Kennedy family, where President John F. Kennedy spent time during his youth and regularly visited while in the White House.
Marjorie Meriweather Post’s Mar-a-Lago — now President Donald Trump’s Winter White House — is featured in one photo from September of 1973. That month, Post died and deeded the property to the National Park Service. The federal government ultimately returned it to her estate when officials decided the upkeep and security costs were too great.
To view more photos, explore the gallery above, or go to floridamemory.com.
Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Aerial images look back more than a century in Palm Beach
Reporting by Kristina Webb, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Post
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