An ionic capital manufactured by Mizner Industries. Photo provided
By Jan Engoren
A new exhibit at the Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum coincides with the city of Boca Raton’s centennial and looks back on the continuing impact of city planner, industrialist and architect Addison Mizner.
The multimedia exhibit, Boca Raton 1925-2025: Addison Mizner’s Legacy, features artifacts, photographs, drawings, maps and videos, and runs through May 30.
It highlights the city’s past century of development — from its beginnings as a rural agriculture stop on Henry Flagler’s East Coast Railroad, to a wealthy enclave and resort destination, due in large part to the architectural philosophy and vision of Mizner.
“Contemplating the previous decades of progress gives us the foundation, perspective, and inspiration to make the next century even greater than Addison Mizner could have ever imagined,” says Mary Csar, executive director of the Boca Raton Historical Society.
Along with the museum’s curator, Susan Gillis, the exhibit was guest curated by architectural historian and photographer Augustus Mayhew, author of Addison Mizner: A Palm Beach Memoir.
As a young man, Mizner traveled extensively in Spain, Mexico and Central America, visiting Guatemala, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and was influenced by the architectural styles he saw there.
“I have based my design largely on the old architecture of Spain — with important modifications and to meet Florida conditions,” he said at the time.
His vision for both Palm Beach and Boca Raton included a city inspired by the style of Old World Spanish or Italian towns — Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival styles — but with modern conveniences such as plumbing, roads and electricity.
According to Gillis, Mizner would fly potential investors down from Palm Beach to Boca Raton in a seaplane.
The Historical Society archives contain hundreds of Mizner’s full-page newspaper ads from all over the country proclaiming of Boca, “Where promises are as good as the God-given soil.”
“Nobody did PR better than Addison Mizner,” says Gillis, noting that Mizner, the best-known American architect of his era, was “incredibly ambitious.”
Mizner’s first Florida building in 1918 — now the Everglades Club — revolutionized Palm Beach, which had wooden homes mostly in the style of the Northeast.
The club had a signature pink stucco, arched arcades, ornate wrought-iron balconies and terra-cotta tile roofs, which he himself manufactured at Mizner Industries on Bunker Road in West Palm Beach.
The company also manufactured pottery, furniture, wicker, millwork, hardware and stained glass windows and doors.
From 1919 to 1924, Mizner designed about 38 houses in Palm Beach, as well as homes in Boca in the Old Floresta and Spanish Village neighborhoods and even the City Hall building, which now houses the Boca Raton History Museum.
The Addison, built in 1925, and now an event space on East Camino Real, was Mizner’s headquarters. According to Gillis, Mizner had an apartment on the second floor, a space now used for storage.
“I never begin to design a home without first imagining some sort of romance about it. Once I have my story, then the plans take place easily,” he said.
The centerpiece of the Boca exhibit is Mizner’s famed 1925 Mediterranean Revival-style Cloister Inn, now The Boca Raton.
His signature details are evident in the resort’s red tile roofs, stucco exterior, lush, tropical landscaping, ornate lobbies and open air spaces as well as its opulent décor, some of which he manufactured himself.
On display at the museum are interior décor and vases and Ali Baba jars with his signature “Mizner blue” glaze and samples of tiles fabricated in his Las Manos Pottery company.
Also showcased are Mizner-designed architectural elements such as Corinthian column artifacts, cast-stone elements, mantels, decorative accessories and furnishings on loan from the Frederick Herpel Collection.
What does Gillis think Mizner would think of Boca Raton now?
“He’d absolutely love it,” she says. “His architectural style still has influence today and, not just the style, but his glorious dream.”
If You Go
Boca Raton 1925-2025: Addison Mizner’s Legacy is on view at the Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum, 71 N. Federal Highway, through May 30.
Admission: $12 adults, $8 seniors and students
Info: 561-395-6766; BocaHistory.org
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