Palm Beach
The Breakers
Flagler's oceanfront resort, rebuilt in 1926 after a fire with a facade modeled on Rome's Villa Medici and a lobby painted by 75 Italian artisans.
- Built
- 1926current building built 1925–26 as a hotel after the March 1925 fire (opened December 29, 1926); the resort was founded in 1896
- Style
- Italian Renaissance Revival (facade modeled on Rome's Villa Medici)
- Architect
- Schultze & Weaver
- Type
- Resort
- Rooms
- 534
- Credentials
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The story
Henry M. Flagler founded the resort in 1896; his wooden hotel burned in 1903 and its successor burned on March 18, 1925. Flagler’s heirs rebuilt in about 11½ months at a cost of $7 million to designs by Schultze and Weaver, who modeled the facade on Rome’s Villa Medici; seventy-five Italian artisans painted the lobby and public-room ceilings, and the hotel reopened on December 29, 1926. From 1942 to 1944 the U.S. Army used it as Ream General Hospital. Guests have included the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Astors, Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan. It was listed on the National Register in 1973 and is still owned by Flagler’s heirs through Flagler System, Inc.
Good to know
- Parking: on-site free
- Address: One South County Road, Palm Beach, FL 33480
Sources (4)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.