History of the Brazilian Court Hotel

PROLOGUE

Early Settlement on Lake Worth

The earliest inhabitants on the southeast coast of Florida were Indians. At the Jupiter Inlet a great oyster shell mound, twenty feet high and six hundred feet long, contained evidence of blackened campfires from tribes dating back to 500 B. C. The area pro- vided sufficient food in the form of oysters, fish, and game to sustain these primitive people, but the land was wild. In the centuries before explorers landed on the shores everyday life was a matter of providing the basics necessary for survival and nature ’ s perils were accepted as normal by the rugged Indians. These Native Americans survived many hardships, but the coming of the white man marked the begin- ning of the end for their civilization and simple way of life. Historians credit Ponce de Leon as the first explorer to investigate the southeast coast of La Florida. In 1513 he landed at Jupiter Inlet to replenish food and water. In 1555 Menendez visited the area, finding the Jeaga Indians living on the high shell mound at the inlet. Conflicts with these early explorers set the tone for later encounters between the white men and Indians. The most detailed account of the Jeaga Indians was written by Jonathan Dickinson, a passenger aboard the barkentine Reformation, when it ran aground near present day Hobe Sound on September 24, 1696. The natives were not particularly friendly to the strange intruders cast upon the desolate beach by fate. Dickenson and his fellow survivors were bound and imprisoned by what they considered brutal sav- ages. After several weeks, the survivors of the Reformation were released. The Indians pointed northward along the barren white beaches, pushing the weakened white invaders away from their do- main with spear points. Descendants of these pale strangers would nonetheless return in even greater numbers. Documentation from participants in the Seminole Indian Wars (1835 - 1842) offered evidence why the southeastern coast of Florida had not yet been set- tled. Many Indians, pushed southward by hostilities in the north, found the interior swamps a perfect re- treat while those in pursuit thought differently.

In 1838 General Thomas Sidney Jesup led an expedi- tion to the Jupiter Inlet, fighting the Indians in the Loxahatchee swamp at the eastern end of the Ever- glades. Dr. Motte, serving the command as a surgeon, stated: After all, Florida is certainly the poorest country that ever two people quarreled for. The climate in the first place is objectionable; for even in Winter, while persons farther north were freez- ing, we were melting with heat. In the next place the larger portion . . . is a poor, sandy country in the north; and in the southern portions nearly all wet prairies and swamp; healthy in winter but sickly in summer. . . . It is in fact a most hideous region to live in; a perfect paradise for Indians, alligators, serpents, frogs, and every other kind of loathsome reptile . . . Then why not . . . let the Indians have kept it? The population of Florida in 1845 at the time of statehood was 66,500, concentrated mostly in the northern third of the state. The major population are- as were Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Key West, and the panhandle. Transportation around the more des- olate areas of the peninsula was accomplished by ship. The southeast coast remained virtually unset- tled. Construction of the Jupiter Lighthouse, near Fort Ju- piter of the Seminole Indian Wars, was completed in 1859. The workers and keepers of the lighthouse were the only white persons on the coast south of Fort Pierce. At the outbreak of the Civil War the il- lumination equipment was disabled by attendant Au- gust Lang, a southern sympathizer. Fearing arrest by coastal patrols, Lang hid out on an island that is now known as Palm Beach and is considered to be the first resident of the island. He is said to have dug the first inlet allowing salt water to enter the previously fresh waters of Lake Worth. Michael Sears and his son were exploring present day Lake Worth in a small schooner in 1866. They discovered Lang, liv- ing with his wife, in a small cabin unaware that the Civil War had ended. Lang later moved north, near Fort Pierce, where he was murdered in 1874.

The next settlers arrived in 1872. Charlie Moore moved into the old Lang place which was several

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miles south of the Palm Beach Inlet. Mr. and Mrs. Malden settled on the north side of the inlet. W. M. Butler and Will H. Moore lived near the south end of the lake on an island that would later be known as Hypoluxo, an Indian word meaning "big water all around, no get out." In 1873 the population doubled with the arrival of five more brave souls; three mem- bers of the Pierce family, H. F. Hammon, and Will Lainhart. Mail service was sporadic at best. With no easily accessible overland route, correspondence came by ship. In 1878 the settlers petitioned for a mail route from the St. Lucie post office to Lake Worth. Mr. V. O. Spencer was named postmaster at Lake Worth in 1880. Many have believed that there were no coconut trees growing in the Lake Worth area until the Spanish baroque "Providencia," loaded with coconuts from Trinidad, ran aground in January of 1878. But rec- orded history proves otherwise. Accounts from Charles Pierce indicate that August Lang, the first white settler on Lake Worth, planted many coconut trees around the lake. Lang walked the beaches col- lecting nuts that had been carried from the West In- dies by the Gulf Stream currents. Many of the nuts sprouted and grew along the shore. There were co- conut trees grown and bearing when the Pierces and other settlers arrived in 1873. When the "Providencia" wrecked five years later, the cargo was salvaged by H. F. Hammon and Will Lainhart. Four- teen thousand coconuts were sold at $2.50 per hun- dred and planted throughout the Lake Worth area. Within years the island looked like one large coconut grove. The earliest hotel in Palm Beach was established by Captain E. N. Dimick in the early 1880s. His con- verted residence became the Coconut Grove House and eventually consisted of some fifty rooms. Dimick became the first Mayor of Palm Beach and was later elected to the Florida Senate. In 1886 settlers on the island petitioned the govern- ment for another post office, suggesting the name Palm City. The name was rejected because it had already been taken by another Florida town. The name of Palm Beach was accepted as a second choice.

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Chapter 1 Palm Beach, The Beginnings

The Town of Palm Beach was incorporated April 17, 1911. Sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway, the tropical island was be- coming one of the premier destinations in the world for the wealthy class. In the 1920s Palm Beach was still a frontier town. A mere 30 years before it was nearly uninhabited until a railroad magnate by the name of Henry Flagler de- cided to bring a railroad southward from St. Augus- tine to expand his east coast hotel empire. After building the 540 - room Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine in 1887 he envisioned a new resort even farther down the dismal Florida shoreline if he could provide easy access for the northern traveler. In the early 1890s Flagler visited the area where the towns of Palm Beach and West Palm Beach would eventually rise. One of the earliest hotels was the Cocoanut Grove House owned by Commodore C. T. Clarke, a Pitts- burgh millionaire. The boarding house, located on the lake front in Palm Beach, was originally built in 1880 by "Cap" E. N. Dimick as his personal home. He converted the home into an inn by adding eight rooms. Later additions enlarged the Cocoanut Grove House to fifty rooms. Guests paid six dollars per person per day for a room, three meals, and all the fruit they could pick from the trees surrounding the inn. They could also take advantage of a row- boat and catboat docked on Lake Worth. In October 1893 fire consumed the Cocoanut Grove House. At the time of the fire the inn was rented to Henry Flag- ler as his construction headquarters. mayor and a state senator. A statue of him still stands at the Royal Park Bridge entrance to Palm Beach. "Cap" Dimick earned his title in an unusual manner. He always wore a white cap and thus was nicknamed "Cap." This later was taken to be short for Captain, a term used widely in the area for any- one who operated a boat. The irony was that Cap Dimick disliked boats. "Cap" Dimick, the first owner of the Cocoanut Grove House, would later become Palm Beach's first

Henry Morrison Flagler

country. By 1894 his Florida East Coast Railroad had been extended to the shores of Lake Worth and his 1,100 room Royal Poinciana Hotel opened. A railroad spur line was built to deliver guests across Lake Worth to their final destination. In 1896 Flagler opened his second hotel on the tropi- cal island. The Palm Beach Inn (renamed The Breakers in 1901), was directly on the beach. Fire struck the Breakers once again on March 18, 1925. It was another total loss. A number of other buildings as far as half - a - mile away also caught fire from the flying embers. The Palm Beach Hotel was totally destroyed. The Breakers was rebuilt the following year with new luxuries that attracted guests away from the ag- ing Royal Poinciana. The severe 1928 hurricane The original Breakers Hotel burned to the ground in a spectacular fire on June 9, 1903.

In 1893 Flagler returned and began buying property for what would be the largest wood hotel in the

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heavily damaged the Poinciana and the Great De- pression finally did it in. It was closed in 1934 and torn down. Another hotel rose from the ashes. The 550 room Alba Hotel was constructed on the grounds of the old Palm Beach Hotel. The $7 million hotel went bank- rupt within two years. By 1929 it was operating as the Ambassador Hotel. After another sale in 1934 it was renamed the Biltmore. In the 1950s it was ru- mored that General Batista, the exiled President of Cuba, was living there. Developer John D. MacAr- thur bought the defunct hotel in the 1970s to keep it from being demolished. New owners turned it into a condominium in 1981. Flagler saw great success despite the financial set- backs and events that damaged his hotels. The people of wealth from the north grew accustomed to the warmer winter climes of south Florida and were all too willing to part with their money to do so. From these early ventures that some at the time called madness, rose the present day Palm Beach, home of some of the wealthiest and most influential people in the United States. Flagler did not stop in the Palm Beaches. He extend- ed his railroad southward to Miami by 1896. In his most ambitious project he built the Florida Overseas Railroad that extended to Key West.

Breakers Fire June 9, 1903.

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Chapter 2 Vincent Strong Mulford—Palm Beach Booms

Vincent Strong Mulford, son of Lewis James Mul- ford and Caroline Toles, was born in New York City March 11, 1872. He spent most of his childhood in New Haven, Connecticut. At about the age of 14 his family relocated to Montclair, New Jersey. His father offered to send him to Yale, but Mulford wanted to join the business world and make it on his own. In 1890 Mulford got a job selling advertising for the Jewelers World Circular magazine and by 1898 had secured stock control of the company. He named his father L. J. Mulford as President and he assumed the Vice President position of the publication that had been founded by Daniel H. Hopkinson in 1869. The main offices for the magazine (11 Johns Street) were just one block from Ground Zero where the World Trade Center would be built. Later Mulford and his father took over the Optical Journal , another publi- cation. Both magazines were sold in 1927 as the Mulfords wisely anticipated the coming depression. After his marriage in 1900 Vincent S. Mulford and his wife Madeleine Emma Day (1879 - 1925) spent much of the leisure time at Easthampton, Long Is- land. 1920 Census: Essex Co NJ, Montclair Ward 3, District 81, pg 12B, 130 South Mountain Avenue, hh 206/253, Vincent S. MULFORD, Head, Owns home, Free, m, w, 49, Married, NY, NY, NY, Edi- tor, Trade paper, Own account; Madeline, Wife, f, w, 39, Married, NY, NY, NY, No occupation; Made- line, Dau, f, w, 15, Single, NJ, NY, NY, No occupa- tion; Carol, Dau, f, w, 10, Single, NJ, NY, NY; Vin- cent, Son, m, w, 8, NJ, NY, NY; Donald L., Son, m, w, 1 6/12, NJ, NY, NY; four servants, (all foreign born), one boarder. By 1922 they also discovered the blossoming social destination of Palm Beach that had been created by Henry Morrison Flagler. Vincent and his wife often appeared in the Palm Beach Post as attending vari- ous social events on the island.

with its gay colors and beautifully gowned women. Mrs. Vincent Mul- ford was stunning in a gown of knit- ted white, with trimmings of cherry red. She had her debutante daughter, Miss Madeleine, with her. Master Donald Mulford was master of cere- monies for his mother and was a geni- al little host. Mulford, who took an interesting part in the social affairs of Olympia last season when she lived aboard the house boat, Harmony, with her fami- ly, is expected to join Mr. Mulford here the latter part of the month. With her will be her daughter, Mss Made- line, a social favorite among the young set, her son and her father, Mr. Day. They will reside at their home on the Beach road. NOTE: The Olympia Beach Hotel (formerly the Island Inn) was located on nearby Hobe Sound some 25 miles north of Palm Beach. It featured golf, tennis, luncheons, tea parties, dinner parties and dancing in the Tangerine Grove daily except Sunday. And February 18, 1925, page 7, Palm Beach Post : Olympia Society By VIVA CLARK - Olympia, Feb. 17. - Mrs. Vincent For a few years Mulford was distracted with an in- vestment in Hobe Sound. He and co - partner Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr. had purchased much of the island with the intention of making a luxury resort like Flagler had done in Palm Beach. In 1925 the Florida Boom became a bust and Mulford sold out his interest in most of the Hobe Sound property known as Olympia Improvement Company in 1925 for $150,000. Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr. was a wealthy socialite. He married three times, was appointed Am- bassador to Poland, served in the U.S. Army attain- ing the rank of major general, and appeared on the cover of Life magazine October 4, 1943. His father Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Sr. was an eccentric millionaire who kept alligators as pets and was named "boxing's greatest amateur" by Sports Illus-

An article in the March 22, 1924 page 12, Palm Beach Post :

Olympia News - Olympia, Mar. 21 - The Tangerine Grove was never more attractive than yesterday afternoon,

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trated in 1955. The film The Happiest Millionaire star- ring Fred Mac- Murray in 1967 was based on his life. Mulford had be- friended Palm Beach developer Stanly Paschal in the 1920s, mostly because Paschal was a dynamic bridge player. Pas- chal was part own- er of the newly constructed Brazil-

lost the case, but Joseph D'Esterre was left $100,000 in the will and this is likely the money that he used to get started in the real estate business. A future owner of the BC was meanwhile enjoying the social crown of Palm Beach as evidenced by the February 6, 1925, page 10 article in the Palm Beach Post :

COCONUT GROVE - Visitors to Palm Beach, even if here for only a day, feel as if they had no really seen Palm Beach until they have gone to the Coconut Grove for tea and a dance under the palms. Everyone reserves the hour from 5:30 to 6:30 on his dai- ly calendar for the Grove, just as the morning is a standing Beach engage- ment. And everyone is sure of a right royal welcome for the genial Col. Jack Hobby presides over both these places and livens them up with his clever quips. Mr. and Mrs. George Sloane, Mr. and Mrs. Alexandre and Mr. Robert C. Winmill were in one party, and Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Mencham, Mr. Vincent Mulford and Mr. Maurice Fatio in another.

ian Court Apartments. With the depression in full swing Mulford took a substantial mortgage and later a second mortgage on the endangered property.

1925

The original owner of the Brazilian Court was Jo- seph D'Esterre. He and investor Stanley Pascal (Paschal) purchased the lots which at the time was the site of a few small homes. They hired architect Rosario Candela to design the Mediterranean - style two story building with a large central courtyard. Candela had specialized in designing luxury apart- ment buildings in New York City on Park and Fifth Avenues. Even 90 years later these designs appear to be modern. Joseph, born December 3, 1887, was the son of Wil- liam D'Esterre of Brooklyn, New York. In the 1910 Census Joseph is shown living with his 52 year old brother William in Brooklyn. Joseph was listed as a "Clerk" at the "Theatre" while William was a "Colector" of "Real Es- tate".

Maurice Fatio was a Swiss - born American who moved to the Palm Beaches in 1925 after making a name for him- self in

New York City

as

an

ar-

A 1914 lawsuit in Brook- lyn, New York, found the D'Esterre brothers in a legal battle over a $7 mil- lion will dispute. The D'Esterre's were grand- children of Otto and Emi- lie Huber who made their fortune in the brewing industry. The D'Esterres

Rosario Candela, architect.

Vincent Strong Mulford

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chitect. In 1936 Mulford would hire him to design the south wing and courtyard of the Brazilian Court. Vincent's wife Madeleine Emma Day Mulford died September 22, 1925. She had given birth to four children; three sons, Vincent II (1905 - 1907), Doug- las Leonard (1907,1907) Vincent Jr. (1911 - 1960), and two daughters Madeleine (1903 - 1987) and Car- ol (1910,?). Vincent married second Edith Catherine Loughbor- ough (1895 - 1978). They had one son Donald Lewis (1918 - 1990). The main entrance to the BC was on Brazilian Ave- nue from which the hotel received its name. Origi- nally the building was touted as a "residential and transient hotel" with a plain wood sign “ HOTEL ” on the corner of the structure with an arrow to the entrance. There were 50 small one - room efficiency apartments each equipped with a kitchenette. Occu- pants ranged from those who worked on the island to prostitutes who serviced the rich. A "kitchenette apartment" rented for $100 a month with amenities that included an in - a - door bed, bath and large living room. Ads promised hotel services "conducted to meet the needs of an exacting clien- tele and still retain a very reasonable tariff."

Maurice Fatio, 1897 - 1943

The first advertising appeared in the Palm Beach Post on December 27, 1925.

1929

An article in the December 10, 1929 Palm Beach Post announced the deluxe apartment hotel the Brazilian Court opening for its fourth season and was already reporting an influx of winter visitors. The new man- ager W. M. Stevenson reported that the 100 - room structure had been completely renovated. Gabrielle, who also had an establishment at Via Parigi on Worth Avenue, operated a restaurant in the hotel. There was also tea service available in the palm tree landscaped patio.

Meanwhile, just 60 miles to the south, Miami and Miami Beach was undergoing a bust after several years of unfortold boom. Land values plummeted, fortunes were lost and development came to a screeching halt. Revenuers were finally getting a hold on the rampant bootlegging from the nearby islands and moonshining in the Everglades. It was not the best time to open a hotel.

An ad in the Palm Beach Post on December 27, 1925:

ANNOUNCEMENT Brazilian Court Hotel Apartments, Brazilian and Hi- biscus Avenue, Palm Beach, Are now taking reservations. Housekeeping apartments and rooms for transients with full hotel service. All beautiful large outside rooms. Telephone 2094 - J

1930

1930 Census: Essex Co NJ, Montclair, District 528, 130 South Mountain Avenue, hh 136/209, Vincent S. MULFORD, Head, Owns home, Value $500,000, Has radio, m, w, 56, Widow, NY, NY, NY, Financier, Corporations, Employer; Vincent S. Jr, Son, 19; Donald L., Son, 11; seven servants/

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employees. NOTE: The value of Vincent's home at $500,000 was the highest valued home in the neigh- borhood. The road just to the west of South Moun- tain Avenue is Mulford Lane.

Joseph D'Eterre died in Palm Beach County in 1951.

1932

D'Esterre filed suit against the Trust Company of Georgia and Robert G. Stephens, as Trustees, et al, apparently over the financial arraignments of the sale. The case went all the way to the Florida Su- preme Court where on January 4, 1942 the court found for the Trust Company. 19320104_0040079.FL - Joseph D'Esterre v. Trust Company Of Georgia And Robert G. Stephens, SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA, DIVISION A Dated: January 4, 1932.

1931

The Brazilian Court was sold in 1931 for $28,000. A Louis D'Esterre, described as a prominent real es- tate man in the Palm Beach Daily News, sat on the Town of Palm Beach Council in the early 1930s. There is no known relationship between Louis and Joseph.

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Vincent Strong Mulford, Sr. of Montclair, New Jer- sey purchased the BC at a foreclosure sale on the steps of the Palm Beach County Courthouse. He paid $125,000 for the building which at the time consisted of only the north courtyard. There was a debt on the property estimated at $189,000, mostly owed to Mul- ford. The foreclosure sale named the Brazilian Court Hotel Corp and D'Esterre as owner. Mulford, a millionaire New York businessman, had been looking at investing in a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina hotel in late 1926. The December 12 head- line in the Morning News Review of Florence, South Carolina, read "Millionaires at Myrtle Beach See De- velopment." Mulford was one of eight businessmen who heard plans for a $1.5 million hotel to be built 4 miles north of the city on "66,000 acres of beach and coastal property." Mulford apparently had no finan- cial interests in the development. 1940 Census: Essex Co NJ, Montclair, District 528, 130 South Mountain Avenue, pg 6A, hh 128, Owns home, $75,000, Vincent S. MULFORD, Head, m, w, 68, Married, Born NY, Financier, Finan- cier; Edith, Wife , f, w, 44, Married, Born Texas; Donald L., Son, m, w, 21, Single, Born NJ; five serv- ants/employees. Meanwhile in Southampton, New York, a future manager appeared in a September 2, 1932 Long Is- lander news photo of the Arrangement Committee of the Republican Party. Elliott F. Bishop was among such prominent Southampton people as Goodhue Livingston, architect, Henry F. DuPont, and others.

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Chapter 3 Elliott Foster Bishop—The Depression Years

Mulford announced that he would convert the BC into a seasonal hotel. According to Bright W. John- son, Mulford paid investigators $1,000 to look into the character of Elliott F. Bishop, the man he was thinking of hiring to manage the hotel. Bishop owned two small hotels on Long Island at the time. Mulford had first met Bishop at his elegant Seven Ponds Inn at Watermill, just outside Southampton, New York. Elliott Foster Bishop had been introduced to the ho- tel business when his sister Lucy Bishop married Ir- ving Terry whose father Henry owned the famous Irving Hotel in Southampton, New York. Bishop's grandfather Francis Bishop had been a Southampton farmer who served as a Town Trustee from 1852 to 1860. Elliott's father Jeremiah Halsey Bishop (1850 - 1894) was a Southampton builder who died when Elliott was only a year old. His mother Harriet Gretta Emmons was born 1850 and died circa 1927. Bishop, who had a high school education, went to work as a clerk for Terry sometime in 1911 when he was still living with his widowed mother Harriet Greta Bishop at age 18. By 1915 he was employed by Terry as a secretary according to the New York Census of that year. Bishop's sister Lucy had one child with Irving, a daughter named Elizabeth in 1911. Lucy does not appear in the 1915 Census and is said to have died in 1917. In the winter months of 1912 to 1914 Bishop came to Florida employed as chief clerk at the Indian River Hotel in Rockledge. Elliott married Beatrice Aurora McNamara on April 27, 1916 in Suffolk County, New York. Beatrice died in 1918 possibly during the birth of her daughter Beatrice Bishop on December 28, 1918. Elliott mar- ried second circa 1919 Greta Byron. It is not known if Elliott obtained ownership of his two hotels, the Seven Ponds Inn of Southampton and the nearby Hampton Inn of Westhampton, through Terry or through his second marriage to Greta (maiden name unknown). He was still employed by Terry in 1917 according to the World War I Regis- tration of that year. It does not appear that Bishop's family would have been able to afford the purchase of these established inns.

Elliott Foster Bishop at the BC

Bishop cannot be located in the 1920 Census, but appears in the 1925 New York Census as a "hotelman". In 1928 he and wife Gretta were finan- cially well off enough to take a month long winter cruise on the Cunard's Line Samaria out of New York. In 1921 Bishop became vice - president of Hampton Hotels Corporation which owned the Maidstone Inn and Maidstone Arms in East Hampton, Long Island. Bishop sold his interests there in 1930. By 1930 Bishop age 38 is shown as "manager, hotel" in the Census. He and Gretta have been married for 12 years indicating they married shortly after Be- atrice's death. Bishop was well on his way to becom- ing a successful hotel owner/manager at age 38. Elliott F. Bishop must have passed Mulford's investi- gation and was taken on as manager of the Brazilian Court Hotel in 1932. He would travel north to man- age his New York hotels in the summer months and return to the Brazilian Court in the winter.

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The Seven Ponds Inn, Water Mill, Long Island, New York

The Hampton Inn, Southampton , Long Island, New York.

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Brazilian Court Apts. located on the corner of Brazil- ian Avenue and Hibiscus Street. It still consisted of only the north courtyard. Palm Beach Daily News , December 21, 1934: The Venita Hotel on Cocoanut Row is now open for the season, and the Bra- zialian Court Hotel on Brazilian Ave- nue has been open since November 16, with more than twice as many guests as this time last year.

There were three changes that Bishop insisted on making at the BC. One was to replace the aging roof. Two was to renovate the complete interior. And three was to take the kitchenettes out of the rooms. These were quite expensive alterations and when Mulford questioned Bishop about it Bishop replied, "a hotel can't make money when its clientele are trying to save money by cooking in their rooms." Bishop advised Mulford that the entire image of the hotel had to change. "It is now known as the place where wealthy Palm Beachers keep their love nests." Mulford saw his points and told Bishop, "You are right!" Bishop had the kitchenettes removed and sold all 116 of them in a courtyard garage sale according to histo- rian James Ponce. One of the first guests was Marjorie Merriweather Post of the Postum Cereal family. Her winter home in Palm Beach, Mar - A - Lago, would take weeks each season to clean and prepare for her arrival, so for many years she would stay at the BC until it was ready. Her extravagant home nicknamed "the jewel of Palm Beach, was purchased by Donald Trump in 1985 and became President Trump's retreat in 2017. Palm Beach Town Council, EQUALIZATION MEETING. March 16,1933; The Board of Equaliza- tion met in adjourned session at 4 P.M. Wednesday P.M. Mar. 22nd. President Owens and Councilmen D'Esterre, Christenson and Reese were present. also Town Manager L. Trevette Lockwood, Tax Assessor Joseph BDrman, Astst Tax Assessor and Edith Walker Town Clerk. The following complaints of assessments were heard: Mr. Elliott F. Bishop, Bra- zilian Court Hotel, asked comparison with other ho- tels values. By 1933 the society pages were regularly posting notices naming some of the prominent guests at the BC. 1933

1935

A postcard date 1935 shows an aerial photo of the BC with only the northern courtyard existing.

1936

Palm Beach Daily News , February 15, 1936: Brazilian Court—The Brazilian Court is the favored resort hotel of hundreds of socially prominent visitors who spend their winters in Palm Beach. The large colony of New Yorkers who are passing the season at the hotel was increased yesterday by the arrival of Mrs. Gertrude B. Leaming, Mrs, Etel G. Kidd and Mrs. M. W. Da Ball, of Mayfair House, New York, who have come to join Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert H. Thierkield, who arrived at the hotel ear- lier in the season. On February 20, 1936 Vincent Mulford, head of the Mulford Realty Corporation and Maurice Fatio ar- chitect appeared before the Palm Beach Town Coun- cil. They requested to have the zoning changed to allow the construction of a second courtyard extend- ing to Australian Avenue. The new addition would have an entrance for motorists to help eliminate parking problems. Members of the council referred the matter to the zoning commission. The first renovations were undertaken by Maurice Fatio, a well - known society architect, and William Treanor. They designed and introduced the Australi- an Avenue entrance. The Brazilian Avenue entrance remained as the hotel check - in, and the Australian Avenue entrance for dining arrivals. Manager Elliott F. Bishop was instrumental in the redesign which added 18 rooms, a new kitchen, a large dining room, bar, employee rooms and rooms for support func-

1934

Eastern Long Island Almanac and Guidebook, 1934: The Hampton Inn - Distinctive Accommodations, Elliott F. Bishop, Prop. - Beach Lane - Phone 1700.

A 1934 map of the Town of Palm Beach shows the

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tions of the hotel.

Mrs. Greta Bishop. 'The Back Yard' early American bar and grill, and out - of - door dining are features of this hostelry, which is owned by Elliott F. Bishop, owner of the Hampton Inn at Westhampton Beach." Vincent Mulford married his second wife, Edith Loughborough, in 1936. He had four children by his first wife Madeleine E. Day before her death. Bishop was back in Palm Beach for the 1936 - 37 win- ter season. The Palm Beach Post article dated De- cember 14, 1936 announced the reopening:

One of the additions was a top floor penthouse with elevator where Mulford would live in his declining years. Later the penthouse would be the temporary residence of Marjorie Merriwether Post while her Mar - a - Lago was being prepared. In the summer of 1936 Mr. Bishop returned to New York. The New York Sun article published June 13, 1936, page 36, stated "The Hampton Inn, owned and operated by Elliott F. Bishop, will begin its season on June 19. Many reservations have been made. The regular Sunday night buffet suppers at the Inn will be resumed." Also on the same page was an advertise- ment for the Hampton Inn and Seven Ponds Inn which mentioned Bishop's position at the Brazilian Court Hotel in Palm Beach during the winter season. In an article in the 1936 New York Sun sub - headed "Long Island Resort Noted for Climate and Many Recreational Facilities", a paragraph cites "The Sev- en Ponds Inn has opened under the management of

Brazilian Court Plans Formal Open- ing Of Its Dining Room Shortly — The Brazilian Court Hotel will formally open its new dining room and cloister on Christmas Eve, according to an an- nouncement by Elliott F. Bishop, lessee - manager.

On that date, Dudley Doe and his or- chestra will begin their season engage-

The Brazilian Court Hotel with only the north courtyard built. Hibiscus Avenue at bottom left, Brazilian Avenue bottom right. The south courtyard was added to the left of the existing north courtyard. Photo 1935.

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ment, playing popular music during the cocktail hour and varying with concert music throughout dinner. During the cocktail hour, dancing will be enjoyed on the terrace adjoining the bar and cloister where a terraza (sic) floor has been provided. Dinner parties congregate nightly in the patio of the Brazilian Court Hotel or in the smart new dining room with its in- teresting bamboo and mirror— treatment. Among those having dinner there were Mr. and Mrs. H. Seymour Shonnard, Jr., who were guests of Mr. and Mrs. Kirk Johnson of New York and Santa Barbara, Cal. Dr. and Mrs. Jerome M. Lynch were hosts to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Neff Adams. E. Steuart Davis and Mrs. John H. Livingston, Jr., had dinner together. At the table in the bar were Mrs. Alice Fair McCulloch, Edmund K. Sheedy and D. Deulany Hunter.

New south building addition included the lounge with fireplace. Chairs, table, and hanging light fixtures in the possession of Ronald E. Johnson in 2023

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Bright Williamson Johnson 1912 - 1996

Bright Williamson John- son was born in Colum- bia, South Carolina No- vember 12, 1912. His father, Thomas Milton Johnson, relocated with family to Miami, Florida in 1925. Miami was booming and Thomas heard the call. Bright attended Miami High School and worked nights as an usher at the Capitol Theater. After graduation he went to work at the McAllister Hotel as an elevator op-

1944 and left the service as a Sgt. Major in 1945. He then returned to the Brazilian Court for one winter and to the Bald Peak Colony Club in Lake Winnespasacke, New Hampshire for the following summer. Back at the Brazilian Court Hotel in 1946 he was asked by Elliott F. Bishop to stay on year round at the BC as resi-

dent manager. After Bishop ’ s retirement

Bright (second from right) at the Capitol Theater, 1932.

Bright was named General Manager and remained in that position until his semi - retirement in 1979. He remained on the hotel payroll as consultant. Bright ’ s 40 years at the Brazilian Court is probably a record for the hotel industry. Managers rarely last for more than five or ten years at most.

erator. The second day he was moved to bellman. After a year he was promoted to clerk at the front desk for a year. He then moved to the Hotel Good on Miami Beach where he worked as cashier, room clerk and even switchboard operator when needed. He worked seven days a week from 8 am to 8 pm. And when the night

His one regret was not buy- ing the Brazilian Court when it was offered to him in 1960. It was his second love after his wife Ruth Evelyn. But he never com- plained about passing - up the deal. Bright died December 9, 1996 at his Palm Beach home just across the street from the hotel he devoted much of his life to.

clerk or night auditor failed to show - up for work Bright would stay on all night. This is where he learned bookkeeping. After two years at the Good he worked four years at the Montauk Manor on Long Island as room clerk for the summers. He would return to Miami for the winter months at the Embassy Ho- tel. Having met Elliott F. Bish- op in Montauk, Bright went to work for him at the Bra- zilian Court in 1938. He was called to duty in the Army Airforce Transport Command in 1942.

Bright Williamson Johnson in his BC office. NOTE: Wolves desk pen set gift from W. C. Fields and “ I sold in credit … I sold in cash ” picture on wall.

Bright married August 25,

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Chapter 4 Bright Williamson Johnson—The War Years

1937 - 1938

One of his favorite tales of Montauk concerned a rich New York playboy by the name of Serge Rubinstein Rovella who stayed at the hotel. He was widely re- garded as “ bad news ” and impossible to please. He was murdered in New York and when authorites in- terviewed the hotel staff about who would have rea- son to kill him. Everyone answered, “ who wouldn ’ t might be a better question ”. By 1938 Vincent Mulford and his wife were living in the Brazilian Court as evidenced by the Palm Beach Post article dated February 2, 1938, page 9:

Palm Beach Daily News, February 27, 1937: Brazilian Court Hotel The cloister and patio of the Brazilian Court is particularly attractive at the din- ner hour and congenial parties gather there nightly. Last evening Mr. and Mrs., Gustavus F. Swift of Chicago, who

are passing a month at the hotel, had several guests for dinner and later took them to the Paramount Theater to see “ The Good Earth ”.

PALM BEACH NOTES - Brazilian Court Hotel - Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Mulford who are occupying a pent- house at the hotel, gave a dinner there on Monday night having among their guests .......

A number of advertisements for the Brazilian Court Hotel appeared in The Daily Princetonian , the Princeton college news. One in March 1937 featured a photo of the new southern courtyard and pro- claimed it the "ideal setting for entertaining by day or night; The Cloister, the new Bamboo Dining Room, Knotty Pine Bar." And "Dancing and Dinner Music by Dudley Doe's Orchestra." The published rates in the advertisement were "Single $6.00 to $9.00 - Double $10.00 to $16.00 - Meals $4.00 Day or Optional." The day before opening for the 1937 season Everitt Winkler, the assistant manager of the BC, had all of the toilet seats repainted. The first guests found the paint still wet. Fortunately there were only a few ear- ly arrivals. When Bright Johnson first worked at the BC in the late 1930s there were three slot machines operating in a small room adjacent to the bar. Gambling was legal in the early 30s, but made illegal later. The law was highly ignored in Palm Beach until after the war in 1945. Bright worked not only the Brazilian Court in Palm Beach, but traveled north to Long Island with Mr. Bishop for the summer months to work at the Mon- tauk Manor. One day he was approached by several men who were taking photos in the lobby for a cigarette com- mercial. Bright was asked to pose in the photo.

Palm Beach Daily News, February 24, 1938: Accommodations at the Brazilian

Court Hotel are still at a premium dur- ing the mid - season and for every de- parting guest, others are waiting to take their place. At this time of the year many annual visitors are returning to Palm Beach for a brief winter holi- day.

Pooshee Pooshee, master of legerdemain (ed: tricks) will make his initial appearance tomorrow on the cloister.

Palm Beach Daily News , March 8, 1938: Brazilian Court

Perfect Palm Beach weather, with a starlit sky and a new moon, were fac- tors in the success of the Sunday night buffet supper at Brazilian Court, where more than three hundred residents and hotel guests assembled on the cloister and in the attractive patio. Pooshee, Pooshee, with his amazing card tricks, Le Hola, palmist and hand- writing analyst, are entertaining daily on the cloister during the cocktail hour and early evening.

Palm Beach Daily News, Sunday April 24, 1938:

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Brazilian Court Hotel Closes For Sea- son Following a successful season the Brazili- an Court closed Friday although a few guests are remaining for a day or two long- er. The Brazilian Court is always one of the earliest to open and latest to close of the resort hotels. Elliott Bishop, who operates the hotel, is leaving shortly with Mrs. Bishop for Wa- ter Mill, L. I., where he will open his Sev- en Ponds Inn, May 27. In June he will be joined by Dudley Doe and his orchestra, to play again at the Seven Ponds and at the popular new Merry - Go - Round night club. Palm Beach Daily News , February 24, 1939: Brazilian Court When Palm Beach breezes carry too broad a hint of chill, the Brazilian Court Hotel becomes one of the most attractive places in the resort. Guests and their friends assemble in the pine paneled bar with its cheering log fire, and after cock- tails move on to the Bamboo room where the temperature is in keeping with the jungle murals which adorn the walls. Cool, Shifting winds are no deterrent to the Palm Beachites who make it a point to be present for every buffet supper of the season at the Brazilian Court Hotel. Al- most two hundred assembled Sunday night for this popular feature, and found comfortable places awaiting them in the sheltered patio and on the cloister where the buffet always has a place of promi- nence. Entertainment was provided by Dudley Doe and his orchestra. Entertaining there Sunday were Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Strong Mulford who are occupying their penthouse for the season. Palm Beach Daily News, March 22, 1940: Brazilian Court To Have Many For Buffet Supper With holiday houseparties in progress throughout the resort, many hostesses are 1939 1940 Palm Beach Daily News, March 12, 1940: Brazilian Court

Montauk Manor, Montauk Long Island, New York

planning to take their guests to Brazilian Court on Easter night for the buffet sup- per. This informal weekly event will at- tract many of the younger set who are in Palm Beach for their spring vacation. Pleasant Palm Beach evenings make the patio at the hotel an ideal spot for dining. Although the season is drawing to a close the Brazilian Court Hotel, under direction of Elliott F. Bishop, still is operating at capacity. During the past week a few rooms have been available for late visi- tors and many of the season guests are prolonging their stays. On Sunday night the last buffet supper of the season at the hotel will attract hundreds of colonists and guest. Elaborate preparations are be- ing made to take car of the many who will wish to take advantage of this oppor- tunity to dine once again on the Cloister or in the beautiful tropical patio. Dudley Doe and his orchestra will play.

The Palm Beach Post, March 30, 1940:

In the summer of 1940 the furnishings in the older north half of the BC were replaced and some remod- eling completed. Elliott F. Bishop returned for his tenth year as manager. During the summer months he managed the Montauk Manor on Long Island. Many guests followed him to Palm Beach. Entertainment at the BC was provided by Dudley Doe and his orches- tra.

1941

With war looming on the horizon the nightlife was still going strong in the Palm Beaches. This would

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soon change altering the social Palm Beach scene into a war zone with action taking place just off the beaches. The Palm Beach Post, November 23, 1941: What ’ ll I Do? — After Sundown, After Dark

overnight. Japan attached Pearl Harbor and the Unit- ed States was suddenly in it all.

1942

The Brazilian Court and the Whitehall were the only luxury hotels in Palm Beach to remain open to the public during World War II. The Breakers, Biltmore and others were taken over by the government for military use. The BC was swamped with reservation requests. Many had to be turned down because the BC had a regular clientele that already had most rooms reserved for the season. The Palm Beach Post, November 22, 1942: All Southbound Trains Jammed: Apartment Queries Up Gauged by any yard - stick you want to apply, the Palm Beach season looks like an early and busy one.

You might swerve down Brazilian Avenue as you travel southward and drop by the Brazilian Court to listen to Dudley Doe ’ s orchestra, while you sip your cocktail in the tropical patio.

The Palm Beach Post, November 23, 1941: BRAZILIAN COURT OPEN FOR SEASON The Brazilian Court this winter will ob- serve its tenth anniversary under the man- agement of Elliott Bishop, who had trans- formed it into one of the resort ’ s most popular residential hotels for a number of persons who like to arrive early and re- main late into the spring. The Brazilian Court opened two days ago for the season, although a number of guests have been arriving throughout the month for the informal pre - season period. The dining–room is now open and all 154 hotel bedrooms and six penthouses have been made ready for the season. On Christmas Eve the hotel ’ s social sea- son gets underway when Dudley Doe and orchestra begin their nightly dinner con- certs. The orchestra plays during the sea- on at the cocktail hour and for dinner, in the patio, except when weather does not permit outdoor dining. About the middle of January, the distinctive Sunday night buffet suppers, which have become an integral part of the Brazilian Court pro- gram, will be resumed. Mr. Bishop spent the summer at Montauk Manor, which he manages, many of whose guests come each winter to the Brazilian Court. He returned early to get the hotel into readiness. The task of re- modeling and refurnishing the old half of the Brazilian Court to correspond to fur- nishings and equipment of the new half was completed this summer. War had been raging in Europe for several years as the United States made every effort to stay out of the fray. December 7, 1941 would change everything

It won ’ t be the carefree, playtime sessions of old with little thought beyond the en- tertainment of winter visitors. But it should be a comfortable, warm one, with plenty of persons here, hotels, shops and clubs operating much as usual; plenty of sunshine, outdoor sports and recreational facilities, in addition to opportunity for war activities. The folks are coming if it ’ s humanly pos- sible to get here. Every southbound train is jammed, and though railroad men aren ’ t leading the life of Riley trying to wrangle all the problems facing them, they have got the concession of two extra sections a day for Florida travel. A recent order that scared many did NOT freeze travel after Dec. 5: merely did not permit the making of reservations past that date, until schedules and trains were definitely established for winter traffic. Applica- tions were placed on fill to be filled when schedules and accommodations were def- inite. The Palm Beach Gas Rationing Board is allowing extra gas rations to bring one to Floridaa, provided the applicant is a bona fide resident with a home or business here. Inquiries on hotels and apartments are from five to 10 percent in advance of the usual season, early arrivals are estimated at approximately 20 per cent up, accord- ing to R. L. Ray, secretary of the Palm

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Beach Chamber of Commerce. Hotel Openings

In the early years of the war cars were hard to come by. War production had concentrated on war materi- als such as tanks, jeeps, munitions and war planes. Ford had retooled its Detroit auto factories to make airplane engines and other critical war necessities. Edsel Ford had twisted his father Henry Ford's arm into building the largest factory in existence to build the B - 24 Liberator Bomber. By the end of the war the factory located west of Detroit was turning out more than 750 planes a month. Henry Ford II vacationed in Palm Beach and was dating a guest at the Brazilian Court Hotel in 1942. Ironically Ford had been unable to find a car to use. Bright Johnson ended - up renting him his personal Plymouth during his three - week stay at $50 a week. Ford made Bright remove the 35 mile - per - hour speed governor which had been required during the war as a "patriotic speed limit". Ford, who could be quite cantankerous, swore Bright to secrecy that he was driving a competitors car. After renting to Ford there were several guests at the hotel who rented the car. Bright had to apply for a Motor Vehicle For Hire License. Bright had paid $1,198 for the car new. The rentals brought in $400. Bright was then called into the Army Air Command for service in November 1942. His wife Ruth sold the car to a Miami auto dealer for $1,700. Bright al- ways regretted not going into the auto rental busi- ness. The golf course located west of town on Belvedere Road had been used by a few private airplanes as a landing strip. It was taken over by the Army Air Corp and turned into Morrison Field for war opera- tions. It was common to see bombers flying over the Palm Beaches headed to war.

With no hotels in Palm Beach taken over by the government, managers have been deluged with reservations for mid - season. Some hotels are open already, and others plan to start their season during Decem- ber. Oly Whitehall and Biltmore have not yet announced winter plans. The Brazilian Court will open Dec. 1 ac- cording to Elliott Bishop, manager, who had an outstanding summer season at Montauk Inn. The Venita will open Dec. 15 under Gerald F. Alley, former assistant manager, also owner of the St. Sauveur Hotel at Bar Harbor while its associate, the Brighton opens Nov. 25. James J. Far- rell will return to open the Palm Beach Hotel as usual in early December. The Seaglade will also open early that month with James J. Joyce as manager. Despite the amount of work entailed in preparing the Breaker ’ s Hotel to meet dimout regulations owing to its ocean front location, the Florida East Coast Ho- tel Company announced in the late sum- mer plans to open with full facilities Dec. 24, thus insuring unbroken continuity of the famous resort hotel. John W. Greene, manager, will return early in the month to prepare the placed for opening.

By early 1943 all of the large hotels and even some residences had been taken over by the war effort. The Biltmore became a training station for the wom- en ’ s Coast Guard Reservists known as the Spars. Later it was turned into a hospital. The Breakers be- came the Army Ream General Hospital. The Boca Raton Hotel and Club housed Army Air Corps per- sonnel. Bright Johnson, the assistant manager of the BC, lived at the hotel in the early days of the war. He re- called nearly being thrown from the bed on two oc- casions when German U - Boats torpedoed supply ships just a mile off the coast. Eight ships were sunk off Palm Beach County during the war. There were rumors of Germans coming ashore in the night to buy food and cigarettes on Worth Avenue. There were a couple of incidents involving the cap- ture of Germans, but it is unlikely that any came ashore, bought items and then returned to their ships.

The Whitehall and Brazilian Court were the only two

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A 1949 Palm Beach Post ad announced,

Palm Beach hotels to remain open to the public dur- ing the war years.

Thursday Nights For Informal Entertaining DINNER AT BRAZILIAN COURT HOTEL PALM BEACH TABLES ON THE CLOISTER, LOGIA, TERRACE, BAMBOO ROOM OR LUXURIANT TROPICAL PATIO RESERVATIONS 4121 DAILY Luncheon and Dinner, Loggia Terrace, Cloister Cocktail Lounge, Al Fresco In Patio RUSS HENDERSON ORCHESTRA DINNER MUSIC 6:30 TO 9:00.

During the war Palm Beach was in a strict “ black - out zone ”. All auto had to have headlights taped only allowing small beams of light to show. All homes and businesses had to have lights out or their win- dows shuddered at night. Since tires and fuel were hard to come by, many car owners put their cars in garages for the duration of the war. Any cars or even bicycles parked outside at night were a prime target for thieves. The beaches were patrolled by the Coast Guard on horseback from dusk to dawn. They searched for any indication of enemy landings from submarines. Ar- my tanks and artillery were placed near the inlet at the north end of Palm Beach. Civil patrols were also organized as lookouts. After the war the economy had a slow start - up re- turning to normal. The hotel business in Palm Beach was busier than ever with northerners eager to have their leisure time return. Bright Johnson, who had been in the Army/Airforce since November of 1942, was discharged on Febru- ary 17, 1946. He and a couple of friends rented a car and drove straight to Miami from their quarters in Starke, Florida arriving at 2 am. At 7 am the next morning Elliott F. Bishop was calling Miami for Bright to get to Palm Beach in a hurry. His reserva- tion manager and resident manager were ill and had not yet arrived. Guests were stacking - up trying to get reservations. Bright didn't have a suit, so Bishop told him to go to the men's shop first thing and buy one. The Flagler Street men's store only had one suit that fit Bright, a double breasted gray pin striped suit. As Bright was being fitted for alterations, Al Capone and four of his men entered the shop to buy clothes. Capone, who had recently purchased a home on Palm Island be- tween Miami and the beach, casually walked up to Bright and introduced himself. Bright, lucky to have made his purchase before Capone bought - out the store, drove to Palm Beach that afternoon. He found a room in a guest house near the hotel and went to work the same day. 1945

1946 - 1949

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