Grand hotels are fragile things, and Palm Beach's were no exception. The Breakers burned and was rebuilt more than once; the present Italian-Renaissance hotel, with its twin belvedere towers, opened in 1926 and still anchors the oceanfront. The original Royal Poinciana — by then aging and outsized — came down in the 1930s, its lumber carried off to build homes. Through it all the island held its character: a narrow strip of sand between the lagoon and the Atlantic that had decided, early and permanently, to be beautiful.
Flagler did not just build hotels; he built a winter world. In 1902 he completed Whitehall, a white marble mansion on the Intracoastal that he gave his wife as a wedding present and that now serves as the Flagler Museum, a National Historic Landmark. Each winter the Gilded Age families came south by private railcar for ‘the season,’ the months between the holidays and Easter when Palm Beach filled with the wealthiest names in the country. The Town of Palm Beach was formally incorporated in 1911, a small, exclusive island already certain of what it was.
Why People Visit Palm Beach
Palm Beach offers refined culture beside an easy ocean shoreline. Visitors pair the Flagler and Mizner heritage with museum galleries, gardens, and a quiet bike path along the water. It is polished, historic, and relaxed in pace, with year-round appeal in its parks, paths, and public spaces. The vintage Gilded Age glamour is evergreen, drawing architecture lovers and vintage-resort enthusiasts from well beyond the small island, and history and everyday island life sit side by side here in a welcoming way.
