Winter Exhibition Features Great Railway Palaces of the Gilded Age
In conjunction with the opening of the Museum’s new Flagler Kenan Pavilion, The Flagler Museum will host an exhibition called "Great Railway Palaces of the Gilded Age," from Jan. 18 through April 17, 2005. The exhibition will feature over 60 artifacts, including: photographs, portraits, stock certificates, maps and ephemera related to rail travel in the elegant Gilded Age.
Railroad builders used their flagship stations and private railcars to showcase the romance and power of train travel, which gave Americans the newfound ability to traverse the country safely, quickly and in lavish style. William Henry Vanderbilt’s Grand Central Station in New York; Alexander Cassatt’s Union Station in Washington, DC; and E.H. Harriman’s Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri are among the great surviving railway palaces of the Gilded Age featured in the exhibition.
Coinciding with the exhibition, visitors will be able to tour the new Flagler Kenan Pavilion, an exquisite, 8,100 square foot pavilion, which houses Henry Morrison Flagler’s private railcar. Reminiscent of a 19th Century railway palace, the Pavilion is the first public Beaux Arts-style structure to be built in the United States in six decades.
Designed by Palm Beach architect Jeff Smith and built by Hedrick Brothers Construction, the architectural style of the Pavilion is consistent with that of Whitehall, which was designed by the noted architectural firm of Carrère and Hasting and completed in 1902.
"In addition to being a showcase for Flagler’s railcar, the Flagler Kenan Pavilion will also house the Museum’s Whitehall Café and a permanent exhibit on Flagler’s Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway, as well as providing the Museum with new options for programming and operations," said Flagler Museum Executive Director, John Blades.
Built by the Jackson & Sharp Company of Delaware in 1886, Flagler’s Private railcar, Railcar No. 91 was described in newspapers of the time as a "palace on wheels." The Railcar was used by Henry Flagler to survey the construction progress along his FEC Railway. Flagler also traveled aboard Railcar No. 91 in 1912 for the inaugural trip to Key West via the Over-Sea Railroad, celebrating the most ambitious engineering feat ever undertaken by a private individual.
The Flagler Museum acquired the Railcar No. 91 in 1959 and restored it to its original appearance using documentation from the National Museum of American History, the Smithsonian, the Delaware State Archives, and the Hagley Museum and Library in Delaware. Visitors to the Museum’s Flagler Kenan Pavilion will be able to tour Railcar No. 91’s salon, master bedroom, master bathroom, guest quarters, and kitchen restored to their original splendor.
Flagler Museum Opens New Building
The new Flagler Kenan Pavilion will be unveiled this winter at The Flagler Museum in Palm Beach. The new 8,100 square foot pavilion, which houses Henry Morrison Flagler’s private railcar, is reminiscent of a 19th Century railway palace, and is the first public Beaux Arts-style building built in the United States in six decades.
Designed by Palm the Smith Architecture Group in Palm Beach, and built by Hedrick Brothers Construction, the architectural style of the Pavilion is consistent with that of Whitehall, which was designed by the noted architectural firm of Carrère and Hasting and completed in 1902. "In addition to being a showcase for Flagler’s railcar, the Flagler Kenan Pavilion will also house the Museum’s Whitehall Café and a permanent exhibit on Flagler’s Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway, as well as providing the Museum with new options for programming and operations," said Flagler Museum Executive Director, John Blades.
Built by the Jackson & Sharp Company of Delaware in 1886, Railcar No. 91 was described in newspapers of the time as a "palace on wheels." The Railcar was used by Henry Flagler to survey the progress along his FEC Railway. And, Flagler traveled aboard Railcar No. 91 in 1912 for the inaugural trip to Key West via the Over-Sea Railroad, celebrating the most ambitious engineering feat ever undertaken by a private individual.
In 1935, the Florida East Coast Railway sold Railcar No. 91 to Georgia Northern Railroad, which named it ‘Moultrie.’ By 1949 the Railcar had been sold again and was being used as housing for migrant farm workers in Virginia. The Flagler Museum acquired the Railcar in 1959. Railcar No. 91 has now been restored to its original appearance using documentation from the National Museum of American History, the Smithsonian, the Delaware State Archives, and the Hagley Museum and Library in Delaware. Visitors to the Flagler Kenan Pavilion will soon be able to tour Railcar No. 91’s salon, master bedroom, master bathroom, guest quarters, and kitchen restored to their original splendor.
The Flagler Kenan Pavilion
will be open to the public during regular Museum hours beginning
February 4, 2005.
