With Maralago circulating in the news, we thought it would be a good time to do a deep
dive on the mansion.
Hi everyone, ken here, welcome to this house.
Today we are exploring MarAlago and its history.
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house.
When Marjorie Merriweather Post inherited Post Foods in 1914, she became the wealthiest
woman in the United States.
She quickly grew the brand far beyond her Father’s wildest dreams, renaming it to
General Foods.
In 1924, she set out to build the largest vacation house in Palm Beach Florida with
a budget of 7 million dollars, or the modern day equivalent of over 120 million dollars.
The 118 room mansion was declared hurricane proof as it’s concrete and steel walls were
anchored to the coral reef sitting below it.
It was positioned directly between the ocean and Lake worth, with private tunnels leading
to each where it gained it’s namesake, maralago, meaning Sea To Lake.
Marjorie spared no expense in its construction, importing 20,000 roof tiles from older homes
in cuba, brining in 3 ship loads of stone from Italy and over 36,000 tiles from spain
dating from the 1400s.
With over 100 european artisans brought over to assemble the house, the 62,500 squarefoot
house began to take shape with a 75 foot tower soaring above the property.
The façade was inspired by an eclectic mix of Moorish, venetian, and Hispanic architecture
with ornate columns strung in curving arcades and a port cochere set at a larger than life
scale to impress guests at the front door.
Walking inside, you would pass through an iron door containing glass panels laid out
in a geometric pattern.
This immediately opened to the entrance hall, adorned with inlaid tiles and statuary carved
into the walls below a coffered ceiling.
An inglenook sat to the side, with a conical hood over the fireplace with busts set in
niches on either side.
Continuing forward, you would pass through a set of double doors, each panel containing
cherubs and surrounded by 500 year old Spanish tile.
This would bring you to the living room where slender Solomonic columns exaggerated the
height of the gothic arches taking the place of the frieze.
A coffered ceiling soared overhead with chandeliers dropping an entire story to rest above the
heads of guests.
The walls were decorated with centuries old European tapestries interrupted only by pointed
arches with armorial motifs set in their peeks.
The visual anchor was the hooded semicircular fireplace constructed from solid stone and
carved by master masons.
Along the east side of the living room could be found the entrance to the Loggia, continuing
with layered arcades of Solomonic columns set below pointed arches.
You could continue on to the dining room, with marble floors which had been stripped
from a castle and reassembled below the oversized persian rug.
Marble pilasters protruded from the walls, supporting decorative urns before forming
arches below the layers of molding composing the coffered ceiling.
The library was styled more to the likeness of the gilded age with half height wood panels
set between pilasters with and decorated with antique European furniture.
Going upstairs, you would pass through a series of groin vaults supported by architectural
elements mimicking gothic cathedral windows before arriving in a barrel vaulted hall leading
to bedrooms.
The venetian bedroom had low ceilings compared to the first floor with a traditional fireplace
centered across from the bed.
The dutch room was finished with in dark woods, with a picture rail connecting the door frames
below the coffered ceiling.
The fireplace was finished out in antique tiles with intricate carvings in its upper
mantle.
Marjorie’s bedroom was finished out in light colors, incorporating white fabrics broken
up by muted floral patterns.
Her walls were composed of gilted white wood panels with murals depicting urns and garland.
Marjorie thoroughly enjoyed her time in this palatial estate, but as she grew to old age,
she was unable to find anyone to will the home to.
She had offered it to her daughters along with a trust to pay for servants, but they
declined.
She offered it to the state of florida, which also declined.
Finally she pulled some strings in Washington DC and convinced former President Richard
Nixon to authorize the transfer of the estate to the National Park Service in 1972.
Marjorie wanted the home to be enjoyed by the worlds most elite, offering it as a retreat
for future presidents to impress foreign dignitaries.
Marjorie died the following year and neither Former presidents Richard Nixon nor Jimmy
Carter could find a use for the property.
It sat empty for the next 12 years and the government gifted it back to the Post Foundation.
At this point, the estate went up for sale and the then realestate tycoon, Donald Trump
offered a small sum for the property.
The foundation rejected his bid, so he spent 2 million dollars acquiring the land between
Maralago and the ocean and announced plans to construct a building so tall it would block
maralago’s ocean views.
A tactic that had been unsuccessfully implemented by Charles Crocker which we covered in a previous
video.
This caused the property’s value to plummet and trump purchased the home for less than
one third of its asking price with all its furnishings.
Trump had promised lenders that he would divide up the estate into multiple units to run as
a hotel, but that plan was not accepted by the city.
He decided to turn it into a club which his company operated from 1995.
Even though it was classified as a club, he was able to reserve an apartment for himself
to call home at maralago equivalent to a condo, not the entire mansion.
Additionally, Marjorie post had her ex husbands coat of arms engraved into many of the architectural
features along with the word “Integrity.”
Over the years, as each of these coats of arms have been discovered, the word Integrity
has been replaced with Trump.
This is the same coat of arms used for his business and the reason his logo is banned
in the UK.
Following the recent investigations at MarAlago, the future of the estate is uncertain at this
time.
While we could speculate all day, I do ask that any comments be civil as I’ve attempted
to bring you the facts without prejudice.
Which room was your favorite?
Could you see yourself living here in the future?
Let me know your thoughts down below in the comments section.
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exciting episode of this house.
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I’ll see you next time on this house!