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The Architecture of Leisure: The Florida Resort Hotels of Henry Flagler and Henry Plant
"A major contribution to Florida and American architectural history. . . . Braden's exhaustive research and excellent writing have brought the story of Flagler and Plant's hotel empires to vivid life."--Donald Curl, Florida Atlantic University "Through an impressive blending of images, architectural analysis, and cultural perspective, Braden uncovers the multi-layered meaning of the Florida resort hotel."--Carroll Van West, Center for Historic Preservation
As the rail barons who transformed Florida 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 the magnificent pleasure palaces created by Plant and Flagler and the impact of their conspicuous scale and opulence on the Florida wilderness. Braden traces the enterprises that brought Plant and Flagler to Florida and then examines 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 Renaissance 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 show how the builders mixed recognizable style with physical and functional independence, and then capped both with an aura of blatant luxury on a scale previously unknown in Florida. The hotels' creators, by catering to the newly realized needs and demands of their affluent patrons, brought civilization to the frontier and established the legacy of tropical fantasy and escape that endures in Florida to this day. Braden's research draws upon architectural plans and archival resources, as well as memoirs and accounts written by Gilded Age visitors and employees, to re-create the experience of Florida's winter resorts. Floor plans and abundant illustrations--many never before published--make this book a richly visual documentation that will appeal to architectural historians, preservationists, and general readers curious about Florida's pioneering tradition of exotic escape and the resplendent structures in which it was born. Susan R. Braden is assistant professor of art history at Auburn University.
As the rail barons who transformed Florida 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 the magnificent pleasure palaces created by Plant and Flagler and the impact of their conspicuous scale and opulence on the Florida wilderness. Braden traces the enterprises that brought Plant and Flagler to Florida and then examines 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 Renaissance 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 show how the builders mixed recognizable style with physical and functional independence, and then capped both with an aura of blatant luxury on a scale previously unknown in Florida. The hotels' creators, by catering to the newly realized needs and demands of their affluent patrons, brought civilization to the frontier and established the legacy of tropical fantasy and escape that endures in Florida to this day. Braden's research draws upon architectural plans and archival resources, as well as memoirs and accounts written by Gilded Age visitors and employees, to re-create the experience of Florida's winter resorts. Floor plans and abundant illustrations--many never before published--make this book a richly visual documentation that will appeal to architectural historians, preservationists, and general readers curious about Florida's pioneering tradition of exotic escape and the resplendent structures in which it was born. Susan R. Braden is assistant professor of art history at Auburn University.
456 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 2002
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February 17, 2025Having already read quite a few books on the subject of Henry Plant and the Tampa Bay Hotel, I'm hard to impress by another book on the subject. This one was concise and chock full of information I've already accumulated, but if I hadn't, I would've found it a great resource. As it was, I was able to use the many useful primary sources cited in the bibliography. Overall, this book was above and beyond well researched compared to most of the other books and articles I've read.
That said, after going back and reading some of the sources I pulled from this book, I found that Braden has a tendency to focus on race and gender where it was only mentioned once or twice in the primary source, while disregarding the context within that source. I am interested in both race and gender as it applied to the Tampa Bay Hotel, especially in the expected separation of these groups, but I noticed that much other relevant information from those primary sources did not make it into this book, in particular information provided by Karl Abbott, who worked at the Ponce de Leon hotel, as well as William Drysdale and Ralph Julian, both travel journalists.
There is a citation in Braden’s book, taken from Karl Abbott, about how southern women did not work out of the home, declaring that women were limited in their job opportunities. Karl Abbott mentioned it because he had to bring female staff from New England for this reason, and was forced to provide extra security for them because the local cowmen in Florida assumed his female employees were promiscuous. The cowmen made themselves a nuisance, going as far as to grab the waitresses working in the dining room during a banquet, until Mr. Abbott coaxed the cowmen to release them. So while Braden’s statement that southern women had limited job opportunities is technically correct, it overlooks the cultural perspective of the era, that southern women regarded being forced to work outside the home for an income as a turn of bad fortune, not as an opportunity. I’d expect an author writing about a different era to provide a full perspective rather than inserting modern values into a historical setting.
That said, after going back and reading some of the sources I pulled from this book, I found that Braden has a tendency to focus on race and gender where it was only mentioned once or twice in the primary source, while disregarding the context within that source. I am interested in both race and gender as it applied to the Tampa Bay Hotel, especially in the expected separation of these groups, but I noticed that much other relevant information from those primary sources did not make it into this book, in particular information provided by Karl Abbott, who worked at the Ponce de Leon hotel, as well as William Drysdale and Ralph Julian, both travel journalists.
There is a citation in Braden’s book, taken from Karl Abbott, about how southern women did not work out of the home, declaring that women were limited in their job opportunities. Karl Abbott mentioned it because he had to bring female staff from New England for this reason, and was forced to provide extra security for them because the local cowmen in Florida assumed his female employees were promiscuous. The cowmen made themselves a nuisance, going as far as to grab the waitresses working in the dining room during a banquet, until Mr. Abbott coaxed the cowmen to release them. So while Braden’s statement that southern women had limited job opportunities is technically correct, it overlooks the cultural perspective of the era, that southern women regarded being forced to work outside the home for an income as a turn of bad fortune, not as an opportunity. I’d expect an author writing about a different era to provide a full perspective rather than inserting modern values into a historical setting.
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