(Flagler Museum - Whitehall, West Palm Beach)

On a rainy Saturday...we made the trip up to West Palm Beach and visited the Flagler Museum.  The museum is actually housed in Henry Flagler's Whitehall mansion.  Whitehall was built as a winter home by Flagler in 1902 as a gift for his new wife Mary Lily Kenan Flagler.  The house itself has much history and the stories that surround it are actually quite interesting.  For those of you that don't know...Henry Flagler was is credited with turning Florida into what it is today.  He was an oil company partner that helped build the Florida East Coast Railway that eventually connected Key West to the mainland.


(Whitehall - Flagler Museum)


(Master Bedroom - Whitehall - Flagler Museum)

You can spend hours exploring this museum and you have the option of going at your own pace...or taking the guided tour (offered at 11AM and 2PM).  I suggest doing both.  You get some interesting facts from the guide and can ask as many questions as you want.  The guide only takes you around the main floor...and you are free to explore the 2nd floor on your own.  The self-guided tour consists of a hand held 'wand' that plays back recorded facts about the specific room you are in.


(Jeff listening to the self-guided tour recording)

The decor of Whitehall consists of restoations, replications and original pieces from when the Flaglers lived here.  You can easily spend 3+ hours at the museum (which is how long we were here) and still feel that you might have missed something. 

There is also the original rail car that Henry Flagler took in 1912 to celebrate the completion of the railway from St. Augustine to Key West.  They have restored it to look just as it did back then and you are allowed to walk through and see just how they lived so long ago.


(Flagler's East Cost Rail Car No. 91)


(Jeff and crazy Kapok Tree near Flagler Museum)

This museum is just large enough and interesting enough to keep everyone interested.  With history like this hard to come by in South Florida...Flagler Museum is definitely someplace to check out.  My pictures do not do this place justice.  You really should see it for yourself.

Location:
One Whitehall Way
Palm Beach, FL  33480

Admission Prices:
Members: Free
Adult (age 18+): $18
Youth (13 - 17 years) accompanied by an adult: $10
Child (6 - 12 years) accompanied by an adult: $3
Child (under 6): Free
Reserved groups of 20 or more:  $14 per person

Flagler Museum is open year round:
Sunday:  12PM - 5 PM
Tuesday - Saturday:  10AM - 5PM

The Museum is closed Mondays, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.