With season three of “The Gilded Age” premiering June 22 on HBO, Palm Beachers can turn their eyes to the town’s own temple to the era: Whitehall, now the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum.
Industrialist Henry Morrison Flagler completed the estate in 1902 as a gift for his wife, Mary Lily Kenan Flagler. The 75-room, 100,000-square-foot mansion still stands today as a testament to the era from which it was born: the Gilded Age, during which creator Julian Fellowes’ hit series takes place.
While the action in HBO’s “The Gilded Age” is set in New York and Newport, Rhode Island, there was plenty to see and do during the Gilded Age in Palm Beach, as the island became a seasonal hub for the wealthy and famous thanks in large part to Flagler’s influence.
The Standard Oil co-founder saw the potential for growth and tourism along Florida’s east coast, and he is credited with setting the stage for much of the development that led to the Sunshine State we know today.
Though someone portraying Flagler is not seen on camera in “The Gilded Age” TV series, Flagler is mentioned and was said to have attended a ball hosted by the character Bertha Russell, played by actor Carrie Coon. The first two seasons also included a character named Cissie Bingham Raikes, who is said to be either Flagler’s niece or his illegitimate daughter.
Other actors in “The Gilded Age” are Taissa Farmiga, Matt Walker, Morgan Spector, Louisa Jacobson, Denée Benton, Harry Richardson, Ben Ahlers, Cynthia Nixon, Christine Baranski, Donna Murphy, Audra McDonald, Nathan Lane, Amy Forsyth and Robert Sean Leonard.
New to the third season of the series are Merritt Wever, Phylicia Rashad and Leslie Uggams.
In Palm Beach, Flagler built two hotels: The Breakers and the Royal Poinciana.
For himself and his third bride, he built Whitehall.
Here’s what to know about Flagler’s Gilded Age masterpiece.
When was Whitehall completed?
Whitehall was completed in 1902, and construction started about two years before that.
A North Carolina newspaper dispatch from January of 1902 said Whitehall’s construction “required the services of a large number of masons, carpenters, plumbers, plasterers, painters, frescoers and artists for months and months.” The artisans who labored in Palm Beach were in addition to those who worked in Italy and France, the New York Herald reported in 1902.
Who designed Whitehall?
Whitehall was designed by architects John Carrere and Thomas Hastings, both of whom studied at the renowned École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and who designed Flagler’s Hotel Ponce de Leon in St. Augustine, according to the Flagler Museum’s website.
Carrere and Hastings drew on Greek mythology and architecture in seeking to create a mansion that was reminiscent of temple to the god Apollo, the museum’s website said.
What are some of the architectural features of Whitehall?
Newspaper headlines declared it Flagler’s “Palace in Florida.” The New York Herald in 1902 called it “more wonderful than any palace in Europe, grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world,” with 16 guest chambers in addition to a grand suite belonging to the lady of the house.
The New York Herald lauded Whitehall as “a palace of white,” with marble steps leading to the colonnade and coconut palms and orange trees out front. Visitors stepped through bronze doors to enter a Grand Hall with 20-foot ceilings and a dome that displays the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi.
Whitehall was packed with art and architectural details that honored the property’s Apollonian inspiration. The museum now features seasonal exhibitions that honor that heritage, often including art or popular culture from the Gilded Age.
As a temple to Apollo, Whitehall was built with music in mind. The Music Room is home to a 1,249-pipe J.H. & C.S. Odell Co. organ. Each season, Flagler hired a musician-in-residence. Perhaps the first to perform a concert on the organ was Clarence Eddy, who according to multiple 1902 news reports, gave a recital during a housewarming for Whitehall.
Mary Lily Kenan Flagler’s original custom Steinway Model B grand piano is in the Drawing Room, where the Flagler Museum occasionally brings in musicians to perform on the antique instrument that features on its lid a painting of Erato, the muse of love poetry, according to the museum’s website.
How did Whitehall become a museum?
Henry Flagler died in 1913 at age 83. After Mary Lily died in 1917, she left the mansion to a niece who sold the property to a group of investors. In 1925, Whitehall reopened with a new, 11-story hotel on its west side, between the mansion and the Lake Worth Lagoon. The mansion was used for card games, a bar, guest suites and lounges, the museum said.
The hotel operated until the mid-1950s, when it fell into disrepair and was in threat of being bulldozed. According to the Flagler Museum, Henry Flagler’s granddaughter Jean Flagler Matthews caught wind of the impending demolition and in 1959 formed a nonprofit to purchase Whitehall. It reopened as a museum in 1960.
When was the Gilded Age?
Definitions of the exact length of the Gilded Age vary, but it’s generally from the 1870s, the end of the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War, until about 1910.
Where to watch ‘The Gilded Age’ TV series?
“The Gilded Age” is available to watch on HBO or stream via Max. The show’s third season premieres June 22.
Here’s what to expect in the coming season, according to a news release: “The American Gilded Age was a period of immense economic and social change, when empires were built, but no victory came without sacrifice. Following the Opera War, the old guard is weakened and the Russells stand poised to take their place at the head of society. Bertha sets her sights on a prize that would elevate the family to unimaginable heights while George risks everything on a gambit that could revolutionize the railroad industry — if it doesn’t ruin him first. Across the street, the Brook household is thrown into chaos as Agnes refuses to accept Ada’s new position as lady of the house. Peggy meets a handsome doctor from Newport whose family is less than enthusiastic about her career. As all of New York hastens toward the future, their ambition may come at the cost of what they truly hold dear.”
Where is the Flagler Museum?
The mansion of Whitehall remains today as the Flagler Museum at 1 Whitehall Way in Palm Beach, south of Royal Poinciana Way between the Lake Worth Lagoon and Cocoanut Row.
Is the Flagler Museum open to the public?
The Flagler Museum is a National Historic Landmark that is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. It is closed on Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Admission is free for members, $28 for ages 13 and older, $14 for ages 6-12 and free for ages 5 and younger. Visitors under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
For more information, go to flaglermuseum.us.
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 Daily News: The Gilded Age in Palm Beach: Flagler’s Whitehall was a temple to the era
Reporting by Kristina Webb, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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