Palm Beach Houses

This classic volume, now back in print in a new format and at a reduced price, offers a strikingly illustrated, extensively researched history of Palm  In 1894, Palm Beach leaped to world prominence as a winter playground with the completion of Henry Morrison Flagler’s Royal Poinciana Hotel. In the 1920s, Palm Beach’s extravagant lifestyle reached its height, and grand Mediterranean-style mansions abounded. Palm Beach Houses details the building and design of more than thirty great houses and public buildings on the “American Riviera.” Public and private structures designed by some of the style-setting early architects are depicted, including works of Addison Mizner, Joseph Urban, and Maurice Fatio, as well as those of anonymous designers, whose feats of imagination rivaled the most celebrated professionals. The photography has been taken to respectfully document these superb homes, many of which have never before been published.

Shirley Johnston is a well-known writer of beautifully illustrated books. Her previous books include Splendor of Malta and Great Villas of the Riviera. Robert A.M. Stern is principal of the firm Robert A.M. Stern Architects in New York. The Dean of the Yale School of Architecture, he has authored several books, including New York 1900, New York 1930, and Modern Classicism. The late Roberto Schezen was a photographer of worldwide acclaim. His books include Newport Houses, Palaces of Rome, Visions of Ancient America, and the Splendor series. Many of his photographs are now included in the permanent collections of the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.