On December 8, 2022 The Historical Society of Palm Beach County, in partnership with the Worth Avenue Association, kicked off its series of educational “On the Avenue” events Wednesday evening. The Historical Society made several announcements in celebration of Addison Mizner’s 150th birthday this month.
The program included Worth Avenue Historian Rick Rose, who shared the special history of Addison Mizner and Worth Avenue.
Palm Beach Mayor Dani Moore presented a Proclamation, declaring December 2022 “Addison Mizner Month” in honor of the Historical Society and its Addison Mizner Collection. The Proclamation says in part:
WHEREAS, in the 1920s, Addison Mizner was the leading architect not only in Palm Beach, but in Florida; and
WHEREAS, Addison Mizner designed 67 structures in Palm Beach, reshaping the town from wood-frame bungalows to colorful Spanish villas for a tropical lifestyle; and
WHEREAS, Addison Mizner’s artistic vision moved the social life of Palm Beach out of hotels and into private residences; and
WHEREAS, Addison Mizner created many businesses under the umbrella of Mizner Industries, becoming a major employer of tradespeople, craftsmen, and architects; and
WHEREAS, December 12, 2022, is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Addison Mizner;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Danielle H. Moore, Mayor of the Town of Palm Beach, do hereby proclaim the month of December 2022 as Addison Mizner Month.
“On the Avenue” sponsors: Worth Avenue Association, Pizza Al Fresco, Meyer Lucas Real Estate, Gunster, The Scout Guide Palm Beach, Capehart and Kilo Content
Also at the event, Jeremy W. Johnson, President and CEO of the Historical Society, announced their upcoming publication of Addison Mizner’s Palm Beach memoir. “This memoir is unique,” said Johnson, “because it is in Mizner’s own voice and will contain never-before-seen images of Mizner in Palm Beach.”
About the Publication
Title: Addison Mizner: A Palm Beach Memoir
Publisher: Pineapple Press-Globe Pequot
Author: Addison Mizner. Introduction by Alice DeLamar. Foreword and Afterword by Augustus Mayhew.
Following the untimely death of Addison Mizner in February 1933, The Palm Beach Post reported that the architect had been unable to finish his memoir’s second volume, and its disposition remained unknown. The Post said, “In it, Addison Mizner told his own inside story of Palm Beach, told it with his own irresistible wit, with his blind disregard for the crime of lese majeste.”
Jeremy Johnson, Historical Society of Palm Beach County President and CEO, said, “Although ninety years have passed since that report, the Historical Society is proud to announce the forthcoming publication of Mizner’s unpublished manuscript, under the title Addison Mizner: A Palm Beach Memoir. We have reached agreement with Pineapple Press, Florida’s flagship book publisher, to publish this significant historical gem, the ultimate insider’s guide to the building of Palm Beach.”
The typed manuscript was accessioned by the Historical Society during the 1960s, a donation from Alice DeLamar, one of Mizner’s closest friends and patrons. DeLamar received the manuscript from attorney E. Harris Drew, co-administrator of Mizner’s estate. In 1927, DeLamar funded and produced what is still regarded as the seminal book on Mizner’s legacy, The Florida Architecture of Addison Mizner. It contains the most complete record of the architect’s original Palm Beach houses and buildings, with photographs by F. E. Geisler and essays by Ida Tarbell and Paris Singer.
“Mizner’s Palm Beach memoir is a page turner, told in his own words,” remarked Debi Murray, Chief Curator for the Historical Society. “The first-person aspect alone would make this account requisite reading. But to add Alice DeLamar’s introduction with her perspective on Mizner, Singer, and the people and events that shaped and fashioned 1920s Palm Beach, makes this an exceptional offering.”
Since Mizner died before he could finish this second volume, Addison Mizner: A Palm Beach Memoir is an unfiltered account about Palm Beach’s formative years,1918-1924, from Mizner’s impressions of Paris Singer when they first met in New York until the days before his Mizner Development Company announced plans for Boca Raton.
The Historical Society of Palm Beach County’s volume will encompass:
– Mizner’s personal relationships with family, friends, co-workers, and clients, some of the nation’s wealthiest patrons.
– The building of the Everglades Club and Mizner’s first house designs.
– Introduction by heiress and Mizner confidante Alice DeLamar.
– Prologue and Afterword by historian and author Augustus Mayhew.
– Architectural timeline, 1918-1924.
– History of Mizner Industries.
– 100 historical photographs from the Historical Society of Palm Beach County’s extensive Addison Mizner Collection.
ABOUT THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. The Historical Society of Palm Beach County is a nonprofit organization founded in 1937 to collect, preserve, and share the history of Palm Beach County and the larger context of Florida. The HSPBC operates and maintains the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum, an admission-free institution featuring high quality, interactive exhibits. To learn more, call 561.832.4164 ext. 100 or visit pbchistory.org.
