When it was completed in 1902, the New York Herald proclaimed that Whitehall, Henry Morrison Flagler's Gilded Age estate in Palm Beach, was "more wonderful than any palace in Europe, grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world." Today, Whitehall is a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public as the Flagler Museum, offering tours, seasonal exhibitions and programs, and holiday-themed events.
Flagler (1830-1913), who built Whitehall as a wedding present for his wife Mary Lily, was a founding partner of Standard Oil, the most profitable corporation in history, and he was the earliest and most important developer of Florida. The transportation infrastructure - namely the Florida East Coast Railway - and the tourism and agricultural industries which he established remain, even today, the very foundation of Florida's economy. Start here to learn about early Florida and discover America's Gilded Age, a period of unprecedented growth and invention.
