Il Palmetto (Palm Beach)

USA / Florida / Glen Ridge / Palm Beach / South Ocean Boulevard (SR A1A), 1500
 house, place with historical importance
In 1930, it cost $2.5 million and took 450 workers eight months to build this 60,000-square-foot home for Joseph Widener{Lynnewood Hall}, a Philadelphia industrialist{"Traction King"}, horseman and the founder of Hialeah Race Track. Maurice Fatio's design for the Italian Renaissance estate included a 50-foot-long living room and a 16th-century carved ceiling. Today, the home's site, south of Southern Boulevard where Ocean Boulevard swings east, is known as "Widener's Curve."

Renovation by Bridges, Marsh and Carmo.

Design by Fairfax and Sammons.

In 1951, when the big estates had gone out of style, Il Palmetto sold for $97,000. Twenty years later, Jan Annenberg Hooker, one of publisher Moses Annenberg's seven daughters, bought it for $975,000. Il Palmetto was in poor condition when Netscape co-founder James Clark purchased it for $11 million in 1999. He since has completed a major renovation.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._Clark
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   26°39'50"N   80°2'15"W

Comments

  • Landscaping by Dias Landscapes.
  • http://www.diaslandscapes.com/pages/significantprojectsilpalmetto.html
  • The gentleman that bought Il Palmetto in 1951 (I think that it actually was 1950) was Coleman Cooper, director of the Apollo Boys Choir. It was just what he needed to be home to 25 boys aged 10-13 years. At that time the home and grounds were in very fine condition, at least in the eyes of a boy who was 11 years old at that time. We attended Palm Beach junior high school on Cocoanut Row. I have many fine memories of Il Palmetto, and of living in Palm Beach for three years.
  • In 1951, it was John Stovall who opened the doors of Il Palmetto as I arrived for the Summer Camp of the Apollo Boys Choir. I still fondly remember the great estate that would subsequently be my home--the grand Entrance Hall, the gorgeous central Patio, the magnificent Living Room with its beautiful carved ceiling, the elegant Dining Room, the lovely Logia and Pavillion, and luscious Swimming Pool. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. How I would love to visit the refurbished home that Jim Clarke now occupies. It was always a truly exceptional experience I will never forget.
  • As counselor with the Apollo Boys Choir, i had the privilege to live at Il Palmetto in 1951. What a glorious place! I noticed your names, Johnny Stovall and Frank Crow. Do you remember Franz?
  • Yes, Franz, I remember you quite well, and you surely must remember me because I was one of the two boys that summer who were terribly homesick. How I remember the pristine beauty of Il Palmetto when we lived there, and how very much I wish I could walk through those grand front portals just one more time before I reach the end of my life, which is hopefully far into the future. I also recall learning about Catholicism and attending Mass with you on many Sundays. And I also remember that you were forever testing those of us who attended Summer Camp that year. Little did I realize as the time that I would go on to be associated with the Apollo Boys Choir until 1954. I toured with the Choir in the Spring of 1953, in the Fall of 1953, and in the Spring of 1954 and was invited to be a soloist for the Spring 1953 Tour. I can't recall all of the boys who were with the Choir in 1951, but I do remember that John Dillard was there is 1951 and did not leave until the Spring of 1954. He was the last boy left when I head to the train station with Bert, and he was staying behind to help Bert move the Choir from Bradley Hall to Casa della Porta. I recently watched a DVD about Il Palmetto that Bert prepared after the death of Jan Hooker and before Jim Clark completed his restoration. That DVD includes Choir pictures from 1951, and, for me, it was like taking a step back into the far-distant but oh so closse past. I wish I knew where you lived these days and how to get in touch with you. I retired in 2012 and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where I currently live. I think you can find my number through AT&T Information, and I would love to hear from you. The last inforamtion I heard about John Stovall was that he was a dentist, probably retired, who lived in Texas.
  • I vaguely remember the house and choir,only being 5 or 6 when they were disbanded. What I do remember is that Grand mother (Mrs. Cooper) and Uncle Coleman didn't have much of a since of humor. To my brother, sister and I the only ones that understood normal kids (us) was Mrs. Hallock and Burt.. It was nice to meet many of the former choir members at Burts Memorial.
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This article was last modified 9 years ago