Now in its second century, The Breakers continues the tradition of excellence begun by its founder Henry Morrison Flagler.
A Standard Oil Company magnate, Henry Flagler acquired and built railroads to serve Florida's east coast, opening the once isolated region to development and tourism. In 1894 he built his first hotel in the southeast coast, The Royal Poinciana Hotel at Lake Worth, attracting the elite to what would become the world's premier resort destination, Palm Beach.
In 1896, Flagler built a second hotel, The Palm Beach Inn on the beachfront of the Royal Poinciana. Soon guests requested rooms "over by the breakers." When Flagler redoubled the hotel's size, he renamed it The Breakers. During an expansion project - the fourth in less than a decade - The Breakers burned down on June 9, 1903. Less than a year later on February 1, 1904, it reopened to universal acclaim. Rooms started at four dollars a night, including three meals a day.
The guest register read like a "who's who" of early twentieth century America - Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Astors, Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan vacationed alongside United States presidents and European nobility.
On March 18, 1925, twelve years after Flagler's death, tragedy struck The Breakers. Fire destroyed the all-wood building. Flagler's heirs were determined to build the world's finest resort as a testament to his vision - and to reopen in time for the 1926-27 winter season.
The New York City-based Turner Construction Company began work in January 1926, modeling the new building after the Villa Medici in Rome.
Seventy-five artisans were brought from Italy to complete the magnificent paintings on the ceilings of the 200-foot long main lobby and first-floor public rooms. Far grander than its predecessor, The Breakers remains an unrivaled masterpiece.