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Mar-a-Lago

 Subject
Subject Source: Local sources
Scope Note: Between 1924 and 1927, Mar-a-Lago was built for Marjorie Merriweather Post by architects Joseph Urban and Marion Sims Wyeth. Upon her death in 1973, Post bequeathed the estate to the National Park Service with the intention that it serve as a Winter White House. However, due to insufficient funding for its upkeep and challenges in securing the property, it was returned to the Post Foundation by an act of Congress in 1980. In 1985, Donald Trump, then a businessman and real estate investor, purchased Mar-a-Lago and used it as a personal residence. In 1994, he transformed it into the Mar-a-Lago Club, a private members-only establishment offering guest rooms, a spa, and other amenities. Since 2019, Trump has declared the estate as his primary residence.

This group of records contains historical information on Mar-a-Lago such as images and postcards, newspaper clippings, architectural drawings, and blueprints completed by Wyeth and Urban, and Preservation Foundation newsletters from the 1980s-1990s.

Found in 14 Collections and/or Records:

1100 South Ocean, Mar-a-Lago, 1928 - 2018, bulk: 1972 - 2005

 File
Scope and Contents From the Collection:

The Property File Collection houses over 3,000 property files that document vital information about the built environment of Palm Beach. The collection is arranged by address and contains brochures, photographs, newspaper articles, historic designaton reports, and other relevant property information. All files can be scanned upon request, although a majority are already digitized.

Dates: 1928 - 2018; Majority of material found within 1972 - 2005

A Dinner Party for Lady Bird at Mar-A-Largo, February 8, 1981

 File — Box 1
Scope and Contents From the Collection:

The periodical collection contains several out of print publications that document the social and cultural history of Palm Beach. The periodicals also contain information about the built environment and the architects who designed Palm Beach.

Dates: February 8, 1981

Designing Mar-a-Lago, May 24, 1981

 File — Box 1
Scope and Contents From the Collection:

The periodical collection contains several out of print publications that document the social and cultural history of Palm Beach. The periodicals also contain information about the built environment and the architects who designed Palm Beach.

Dates: May 24, 1981

Designing Mar-a-Lago, August 9, 1981

 File — Box 1
Scope and Contents From the Collection:

The periodical collection contains several out of print publications that document the social and cultural history of Palm Beach. The periodicals also contain information about the built environment and the architects who designed Palm Beach.

Dates: August 9, 1981

Harpers & Queen, June 1998

 File — Box 2
Scope and Contents

Photo of Southways Estate, renonvated, but not built, by John Volk. Article about Mar-a-lago

Dates: Other: June 1998

Hutton/Davies Residence

 Item
Scope and Contents From the Collection:

The Postcard Collection provides a vivid portrayal of early hotels and the resort lifestyle of Palm Beach, with many postmarked during the 1920s and 1930s, offering an insightful glimpse into life during that era.

Dates: Majority of material found within 1900 - 1950; 1900 - 2000

Job #484 Post/Davies 'Mar-a-Lago' - Palm Beach, 1940

 File
Scope and Contents From the Series:

John Volk and Gustav Maass projects not listed but available upon request.

Dates: 1940

Mar-a-Lago Exterior, 1988 - 1992

 File — Box 3
Scope and Contents From the Collection:

The Eugene Lawrence Collection contains photographs and newspaper clippings of and relating to properties designed and built by Eugene Lawrence and the Lawrence group between 1965-2013. Properties are both residential and commercial, and center in Palm Beach, Florida, although Lawrence did design buildings in other locations within the Palm Beach County, Florida region.

Dates: 1988 - 1992