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Description

Immense cadastral map of Palm Beach, Florida, which was used to track the changes of land owners in the City of Palm Beach for nearly 2 decades.

At the time of acquisition, the seller reported that he had acquired the map from the City of Palm Beach at the time it was discarding a number of early land ownership maps, approximately 30 years ago. The map is oriented with west at the top and shows the locations of a number of early landmarks, including subdivisions, hotel sites (Poinciana, Breakers and Ambassasador Hotels), the Beaux Arts Center, Henry Flager's White Hall residence, public parks, plazas, steets, jetties, the Palm Beach Country Club, Everglades Club Golf LInks, offshore islands, and a host of other details.

Among other keys to the dating of the underlying map, the Stotesbury Estate lands can been seen just north of the Adams addition, but there is no sign of construction of Mar the 37 Room Estate which Addision Mizner designed and built for the Stotesburys. Other major land owners, including the Phipps, Vanderbilts and Blossoms can be seen. There is also no sign of the Brazilian Court, Colony and Biltmore Hotels.

There are manuscript annotations throughout the map, identifying and updating the ownership of a number of the private parcels on the map. The map also shows the names of many of the original early land owners.

Palm Beach was established as a resort by Henry Morrison Flagler, a founder of Standard Oil, who made the Atlantic coast barrier island accessible via his Florida East Coast Railway. The nucleus of the community was established by Flagler's two luxury resort hotels, the Royal Poinciana Hotel and The Breakers Hotel. West Palm Beach was built across Lake Worth as a service town, and has become a major city in its own right.

Flagler's residential estate lots were purchased by some of the most wealthy and successful figures of of the Gilded Age, and in 1902 Flagler himself built a Beaux-Arts mansion, Whitehall, designed by the New York-based firm Carrère and Hastings, helping to establish the Palm Beach winter "season" by constant entertaining. The town was incorporated on April 17, 1911.

Condition Description
Blue ink on waxed linen, with manuscript annotations in pencil