The Everglades Club is a social club in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...

. When its construction began in July 1918, it was to be called the ''Touchstone Convalescent Club'', and it was intended to be a hospital for the wounded of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. But the war ended a few months later, and it changed into a private club. The Club has no sign, website, or

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

Cell phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

s are prohibited.

History

Paris Singer Paris Eugene Singer (20 February 1867 – 24 June 1932) was an early resident of Palm Beach, Florida. He was 22nd of the 24 children of inventor and industrialist Isaac Singer of Singer Sewing Machine Company fame, from whom he inherited money; h ...

and his good friend, the architect

Addison Mizner Addison Cairns Mizner (December 12, 1872 – February 5, 1933) was an American architect whose Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style interpretations left an indelible stamp on South Florida, where it continues to inspire archit ...

, were visiting Palm Beach in the spring of 1918. Singer decided to build a hospital with Mizner as the architect. Singer had already built three hospitals in France for the wounded. It was during World War I when only war-related buildings could be built. Construction began in July. (The site at the west end of Worth Avenue formerly contained Alligator Joe's, a tourist attraction.) By November 1918 seven residential villas and a medical center had been built on the north side of Worth Avenue, across from the main building. Singer purchased laboratory and surgical equipment and fittings for an

operating room Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. Singer sent out as many as 300,000 invitations to eligible Army and Navy officers, who had to be screened and had to be able to pay their own room and board. However, World War I had ended, and most former soldiers wanted to go home. The hospital was reinvisioned as a private club; the medical equipment was donated to a hospital in

West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

. There was a main building, eight separate villas, tennis courts, a parking garage across the street, and a yacht basin. The club opened on 25 January 1919. Paris Singer was the President of the club and he decided who could become a member. For its second season in 1920, Mizner supervised the construction of a nine-hole golf course and the landscaping of the club's 60 acres. He also built Via Mizner, an addition on

Worth Avenue Worth Avenue is an upscale shopping and dining district in Palm Beach, Florida. The Avenue stretches four blocks from Lake Worth to the Atlantic Ocean. Worth Avenue also includes smaller, architecturally significant "vias" off the main avenue. ...

with eleven apartments and sixteen shops. Mizner's design for the Everglades Club was widely considered to be the biggest success of his career." It helped establish a new architectural style for Florida. In the club's first season Mizner received four architectural commissions. He went on to become America's foremost society architect of his era. Singer began his club with twenty-five charter members. Two years later, the membership was closed at 500 members.

Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt Webb Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt Webb (September 20, 1860 – July 10, 1936) was an American heiress.

(1860–1936) was one of its earliest female members.Vanderbilt rehab a study in family memories
the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', May 01, 2005 Businessman

Jack C. Massey Jack Carroll Massey (June 15, 1904 – February 15, 1990) was an American venture capitalist and entrepreneur who owned Kentucky Fried Chicken, co-founded the Hospital Corporation of America, and owned one of the largest franchisees of Wendy's.Gle ...

was a member. An additional nine holes were added to the golf course in 1930.

Today (2018)

The club deliberately does not have a website. Cellphones are prohibited on the property.

Membership policies

The Club has long been criticized for alleged discrimination against Jews and blacks. Sammy Davis, Jr. was turned away at the door. According to socialite

C.Z. Guest Lucy Douglas "C. Z." Guest ('' née'' Cochrane; February 19, 1920 – November 8, 2003) was an American stage actress, author, columnist, horsewoman, fashion designer, and socialite who achieved a degree of fame as a fashion icon. She was fr ...

, she and her husband were temporarily suspended from the club after they brought Jewish guests — Estée Lauder and her husband — to a party there in 1972.

Joseph Kennedy Joseph Patrick Kennedy (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the Irish-American Ken ...

, father of the slain president, resigned his membership in the early '60s "to avoid scrutiny for belonging to a club known for excluding African-American and Jewish people." The referenced article does not provide verifiable sources to these claims. As of 2014, there has never been an African-American member. According to 2009 president William Panill, no African-American has ever applied. The Club now has Jewish members, but how many is unknown because, according to Panill, "we don't ask." Panill admitted in 2009 that he receives inquiries about whether a member can bring a Jewish guest.

''And I know that people have called me on the phone when I -- in the first years, and said I have so and so guest in my house, he's the president of some big university, he's Jewish, can I bring him to the Everglades Club? I say absolutely, no problem at all. Anybody you have in your home or anybody that's a friend of yours, bring them.'' ''And they brought them and there had been no incident of any complaining, or, and no letters issued, or no. I have many friends that are Jewish people that come to the club and they are welcome there, and there's no problem with it. ''

Famous members

* Willis S. Paine (1848-1927) *

Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt Webb Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt Webb (September 20, 1860 – July 10, 1936) was an American heiress.

(1860-1936)Vanderbilt rehab a study in family memories
''

'', May 01, 2005 *

Clarence H. Geist Clarence Henry Geist (1866 – June 12, 1938) was an American financier who played an important role in the early history of Boca Raton, Florida. Biography Clarence Geist was born and raised on a farm in LaPorte County, Indiana. When he was 18 he ...

(1866-1938) * Clarence Dietsch (1881-1961) *

Owen Ray Skelton Owen Ray Skelton (February 9, 1886 – July 20, 1969) was an American automotive industry engineer and automobile designer. Along with Fred M. Zeder and Carl Breer, he was one of the core group who formed the present day Chrysler Corporation. ...

(1886-1969) *

Gurnee Munn Gurnee Munn (April 30, 1887 - May 7, 1960) was a businessman, president of the American Totalisator Company and former member of the New York Stock Exchange. He served in World War I and World War II. Biography Munn married Marie Louise Wanamake ...

(1887-1960) *

Audrey Emery Anna Audrey Emery (January 4, 1904 – November 25, 1971) was an American heiress and socialite who was the wife of one of the last Russian grand dukes. Early life Audrey was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on 4 January 1904. She was the youngest ...

(1904-1971) *

(1904-1990) * Paul Miller (1906-1991) *

Guilford Dudley Lord Guildford Dudley (also spelt Guilford) ( 1535 – 12 February 1554) was an English nobleman who was married to Lady Jane Grey. King Edward VI had declared her his heir, and she occupied the English throne from 10 July until 19 Ju ...

(1907-2002) * Alfonso Fanjul Sr. (1909-1980) *

John L. Hanigan John L. Hanigan (1911 – July 1, 1996) was an American businessman. He was the president and chief executive officer and chairman of the Brunswick Corporation in the 1960s and 1970s, and the chief executive officer and chairman of Genesco in ...

(1914-1996) *

Adolphus Busch Orthwein Adolphus Busch Orthwein, also known as Dolph Orthwein, (September 2, 1917 - November 25, 2013) was an American heir and business executive. Biography Adolphus Busch Orthwein was born on September 2, 1917, in St. Louis, Missouri. His father was P ...

(1917-2013) * William Johnston Armfield (1934-2016)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Curl, Donald W. ''Mizner's Florida''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1984. * Michener, Edward C. ''The Everglades Club''. (Palm Beach): The Everglades Club, 1985.

External links