By Bob Davidsson
The Floresta subdivision in Boca Raton has the unique distinction of being designed by Palm Beach County's renowned architect Addison Mizner and completed by Hermann von Holst, a disciple and leading advocate of Frank Lloyd Wright's "Prairie School" suburban style of architecture.
In October 1925, the short-lived Mizner Construction Corporation began building 29 houses designed by the architect on West Palmetto Park Road in Boca Raton. New York builder Dwight P. Robinson was awarded the construction contract for the project.
Addison Mizner (1872 - 1933) planned a residential community featuring his iconic use of Spanish Colonial-revival style of archtecture. His use of barrel-tile roofs, rough-lined stucco walls and wrought-iron balconies have influenced building designs in Palm Beach County for more than three generations.
Mizner's 94 historic structures built in Boca Raton and the Town of Palm Beach include the Everglades Club, the Arcade (Via Mizner) off Worth Avenue, the El Mirasol mansion, and the Cloisters Inn section of the Boca Raton Hotel and Club.
Unfortunately for the Mizner Development Corporation and its chief architect, the Florida 'Land Boom" of the 1920s ended before he could complete his planned residential community in Boca Raton. His company became insolvent in 1927.
A group of investors holding the property's mortgage filed a bill of complaint against the developer and assumed control of the project.
Hermann von Holst and 'Floresta'
The architect called upon to complete Mizner's 29-unit subdivision was Hermann Valentin von Holst (1879 - 1855) of Chicago. He also was one of the investors in the Boca Raton project.
Von Holst was born in Freiburg, Germany, the son of noted historian Hermann Eduard von Holst. His family moved to Chicago in 1891, where the elder von Holst became a professor and head of the University of Chicago's history department.
His son received degrees from the University of Chicago in 1893 and also from the M.I.T. architectural school in 1896. In 1906, he opened his own architectural firm in Chicago.
Von Holst's career was influenced by architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 - 1959) whose Oak Park Studio was located near Chicago. Wright and his protégée designed the "Prairie School" style of architecture for their projects in the early 20th century.
When Wright moved to Europe in 1909, Von Holst took over his unfinished architectural commissions and managed the Oak Park Studio company until his return to America in 1911.
Von Holst is best known for the publication of "Modern American Homes" in 1912, followed a year later by the unabridged "Country and Suburban Homes of Prairie School Period," with its compilation of 424 photographic examples of this uniquely American architectural style.
A World Catalogue review of his comprehensive architectural guide states, "The 1913 publication of Von Holst's collection of 'Country and Suburban Homes of the Prairie School Period' is one of American architecture's finest primary sources of residential design."
Since its first printing in 1913, Von Holst's literary work has been released in 20 editions and is still a valued resource for architects more than a century later.
The "Prairie School" of architecture was made popular in America by Wright and his designers between the years 1900 and 1914. It is considered the first distinctive American design valuing what Wright termed "organic architecture" that reflected the surrounding environment and local history.
When Von Holst relocated in Boca Raton to supervise the completion of Mizner's subdivision, he wisely recognized that the Spanish-revival style homes designed for the community were compatible with Florida's indigenous Hispanic colonial architectural history dating back to the 16th century.
Von Holst named the suburban community "Floresta," meaning a "delightful rural place" in Spanish. The 39.7-acre subdivision was officially platted with street names listed by Von Holst in November 1927, according to Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts records.
By enhancing Mizner's designs with narrow tree-lined streets and lush subtropical landscaping, Floresta also met the "Prairie School" goal of blending with the local environment.
Von Holst was so impressed with Floresta that he chose to live the remainder of his life at his "Lavender House" home in the subdivision. His two-story Spanish colonial-style house was built between 1926-28. It was selected as a "National Register of Historic Places" site in 1995.
The architect retired in 1932, and lived with his wife, Lucy, at the Lavender House. He became active in civic affairs, serving on the Boca Raton City Council from 1934 to 1949, and as chair of the Boca Raton Planning Board in 1940.
A grateful City Council granted him an honorary emeritus life membership in 1953. Von Holst was lauded by the City of Boca Raton "in recognition of faithful, loyal and unselfish service." The architect died two years later while residing at his beloved Floresta home in Boca Raton.
The "Old Floresta Historic District" became the first subdivision to received this designation in 1990 by the City of Boca Raton. An historic marker was placed in 2008 by the Boca Raton Historical Society and Florida Department of State at the intersection of West Palmetto Park Road and Cardinal Avenue.
(c.) Davidsson. 2021
*NOTE: Read additional articles archived below and in "Older Posts".
No comments:
Post a Comment