Just as New Yorkers don't
go to the top of the Empire State building people in Fort Lauderdale
don't usually go to the Bonnet House, a major attraction in the area.
Shame faced I must admit in 31 years living here I have never been
there. Wanting to do something different on a Wednesday, and the area
doing a 2-4-1 on many activities for the summer, Allen and I decided to
take a trip to the Bonnet House, named for all the bonnet lilies that
grow on the property.

There are 2 rules regarding
visiting the House and they are that you are not allowed to take any
pictures in the rooms and you are not allowed on the second floor.  It
is a square house built in sections around a wide, sun filled courtyard
which you can see a part of right above. I took the pictures on this
post as we toured around the property. Just wanted to point out the
Australian trees brought here almost 100 years ago that have survived
all the hurricanes that have hit Fort Lauderdale. By the way the 3
hurricanes that hit 5 years ago caused almost $800,000 of damage to the
property.

In 1919 Hugh Tylor Birch
gave his daughter, Helen, and her husband, Frederick, 35 acres near the
ocean as a wedding present. Frederick designed and constructed the house
over the next 20 years traveling extensively all over the world with
his wife collecting art. Helen died in 1925 and 6 years later Frederick
married another artist, Evelyn Fortune Lilly, yes, a member of the Lilly
fortune. After Fredrick died in 1953 Evelyn continued to come to
Florida in the winter--their main home was in Chicago--until she died
when she was 106. She made a gift of the estate to the Florida Trust for
Historic Preservation to ensure that it would remain as is.

In the middle of a concrete
jungle  and away  from a  busy roadway along the ocean the Bonnet House
is situated on a costal barrier with the Atlantic ocean to the east and
the Intracostal Waterway to the west. Barrier islands are none to
protect the mainland from the impact of the ocean tides and currents.
They also provide  a habitat for many kinds of wildlife.

Much of the natural
environment of barrier islands has been lost today to commercial
developments. The Bonnet House estate plus the Hugh Taylor Birch State
just north of the House and Sunrise Boulevard are the only significant
remnants of the coastal wilderness in Broward County.

Aside from the house itself
there is the Natural Trail which is a step back in time and a rare
experience of old South Florida. There are two greenhouses filled with
several hundred orchid plants that were part of Evelyn Bartlett's
collection.

In the garage is the
original 1941 Cadillac Deluxe Convertible Sedan that the Bartlett's
bought at the 1941 Miami Auto show.

I haven't even
mentioned the art on display or the native plants all over the lush
green grounds, the shell museum, Evelyn Bartlett's piano, a square
signed Steinway of which there are only 3 in the world.

There is a lot to see at the Bonnet House and
if you are planning a trip to Fort Lauderdale put an afternoon aside to
visit it and if you ahve lived here and haven't seen it yet, WHAT ARE
YOU WAITING FOR?!?!?!?   :O)

For more
info go to bonnethouse.org and sunny.org