Going East: Ann Lowengart Interiors Expands to Palm Beach
Lobby of The Breakers Palm Beach
The nineteenth-century American author and newspaper editor Horace Greeley said, "Go West, young man." Twenty-first century Ann Lowengart Interiors is going East, opening a Palm Beach studio in addition to their Marin County home base. Annie recently checked out the tropical paradise staying at the palatial grand hotel, The Breakers Palm Beach. Initially constructed in 1896 by business tycoon Henry Flagler, the oceanfront structure caught fire in 1903 and 1925. After the second fire, New York architects Schultze and Weaver, inspired by the Villa Medici, reconstructed the hotel in the opulent Renaissance Revival style that we know today.
Addison Mizner’s Casa Amado in Palm Beach
Addison Mizner's Mediterranean and Spanish Colonial Revival fantasies etch Palm Beach’s landscape. Mizner, the architect of America's Gilded Age elite, was born in Benicia, California, in 1872. His early exposure to Hispanic architecture started when he accompanied his father, a diplomat, to Guatemala. During this time, he traveled throughout Central America, absorbing Spanish culture and heritage. Pursuing an architectural career, Mizner served a 3-year apprenticeship in the San Francisco office of Willis Polk, followed by ten years designing country estates in Long Island. An invitation from his friend sewing machine heir Paris Singer brought him to Palm Beach in 1918, where he created an Andalusian style legacy.
Architect F. Burrall Hoffman’s Villa Artemis in Palm Beach
École des Beaux-Arts trained American F. Burrall Hoffman also shaped Florida's architecture. He is best known for creating James Deering's landmark Villa Vizcaya estate (now a museum) in Miami's Coconut Grove neighborhood. Still, he also designed West Palm Beach's renowned Villa Artemis for British politician and polo player Frederick Guest in 1916. Its Grecian-style pool graced Slim Aarons' iconic 1955 photo of Guest's daughter-in-law socialite C. Z. Guest with her young son and dogs. Annie is excited not only to explore the architecture and history of Palm Beach but also how its light and landscape inspire her interior design.