History of the Brazilian Court Hotel

James Augustine Ponce, Palm Beach Icon July 19, 1917 —December 28, 2015

Ponce Knows Breakers ’ Past by Chris Romoser Palm Beach Daily News April 21, 1986

An erstwhile furniture builder, Ponce ’ s father con- centrated his livelihood on the lucrative coffin indus- try that surfaced in St. Augustine when the masses of elderly wealthy followed Flagler to Florida. “ My father buried Mr. Flagler, his first wife, his daughter and one of his grandchildren, ” Ponce says. “ When the hurricane of 1928 killed all those people living along the shores of Lake Worth, my father volunteered to take the special train down from St. Augustine and help bury the dead. He never left though. They informed him at the depot that to avoid the possibility of a disease outbreak, all the dead had been buried in mass graves, ’ he recalls. After spending a year at the Breakers in 1953, Ponce worked 10 years at the Colony Hotel, five years at the Brazilian Court Hotel and 11 1/2 years at the

As historian of the Breakers, James Ponce knows every nook and cranny of the hotel. Baring a total calamity, Ponce can be found each Wednesday after- noon leading hotel guests on a tour through the Breakers that is both insightful and intriguing. From the south loggia to the gold room to the grand loggia to the Mediterranean ballroom, Ponce leads them on. Look at the beauty of the Tennessee mar- ble. It was hidden under rugs for many years, he says. Notice how the blue sky on the ceiling of the grand loggia has faded over the years, probably the result of countless hundreds of cigarettes, he adds. Catching his breath, Ponce precedes onward to the Magnolia room and the Breakers ’ dining rooms. His delight is evident in all he sees: “ See how the fresco paintings on the walls and ceiling are as vibrant and fresh as the day they were first painted. And see those private boxes over the Florentine dining room, that ’ s where drinks were served during Prohibition, ” Ponce declares. “ When I came to work at the Breakers in 1953, most of the hotel, with the exception of some of the public places, wasn ’ t air conditioned and the grand loggia was still the back of the hotel. ” Ponce remembers. I can still feel and smell those ocean breezes that used to sweep through the hotel. ” Ponce was born and raised is St. Augustine, where Henry Morrison Flagler first began his conquest of the east coast of Florida. Spending his whole life in the hotel industry, Ponce ’ s erudition concerning Flagler and his hotels is immense. By the turn of the century, Mr. Flagler had built two hotels and bought another in At. Augustine, ” Says Ponce. “ One of the hotels, the Ponce De Leon, was the first concrete structure made of Portland cement. In those days they didn ’ t know how strong the ce- ment would be so the walls of the Ponce De Leon were poured two and three feet thick. Needless to say, those walls will be there when you and I are long gone. ”

Jim Ponce and Ronald Johnson January 1997 Brazilian Court Hotel

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