The introduction to this series is in last week’s post. Click here for all posts.
South Hall
Off the South Hall open the Billiard Room (left) and the Grand Ballroom (right). For a transitional space, it’s pretty spiffy. Hidden electric lights reveal the coffered ceiling; elaborately hand-carved woodwork lines the walls.
Grand Ballroom
The ballroom is decorated in the elaborate style of Louis XV.
Detail of the ceiling decoration in the ballroom.
Courtyard
The Grand Hall and Grand Ballroom have views into the central courtyard, whose focal point is a copy of Giovanni da Bologna’s Venus, modelled after an ancient Greek sculpture.
Hotel Addition
Whitehall was inherited by Henry Flagler’s niece, who sold it to a group of investors. This wing was added in 1925, when the mansion was converted into a hotel. The chandelier may not be covered in Baccarat crystals, but it’s stunning nevertheless.
Kitchen
Some of the collection of enormous kitchenware from the mansion.
The inventory of Whitehall taken at Mrs. Flagler’s death in 1917 listed more than a thousand plates, 500 glasses, 20 tea and chocolate sets, and two solid gold tea services.
Breakfast Room
In a Gilded Age mansion, never forget to look up.
Dining Room
The dining-room furniture was recently returned to Whitehall, after having been owned for decades by someone else.
Drawing Room
This room was used as a place for music and conversation for female guests. Of the downstairs rooms, it’s my favorite: light and airy, even though the decor is the elaborately fussy Louis XV style. What looks like bouquets of flower on the tables near the center are in fact lamps with shades made of silk flowers, to tone down those harsh electric lights.
The cameos above the doors and mirrors are images of Marie Antoinette, who was at this period considered the model of feminine charm and fashion.
When Whitehall was built, it was so expensive to extract aluminum that aluminum was more expensive than gold. The ornaments on the walls and ceiling in the drawing room are of aluminum, as is the thermometer which allowed the hostess to control the temperature of this particular room.
Next week: upstairs at the Flagler Museum.
More
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