Happy Hour with the Historian: Building the American Riviera

The Key West Art & Historical Society is excited to offer a series of fun historical lectures entitled ‘Happy Hour with the Historian’.

Historian: Cori Convertito Ph.D.
Topic: Building the American Riviera: The Hotels of Henry Flagler

American industrialist Henry Flagler played a crucial role in transforming Florida’s East Coast into a luxury destination during the Gilded Age. A co-founder of Standard Oil, Flagler turned his attention to Florida in the late 19th century, recognizing its potential as a winter retreat for wealthy Americans and international travelers.  Through his Florida East Coast Railway and a chain of opulent hotels, he opened up one of the last frontiers on the eastern seaboard.

Nicknamed the ‘American Riviera,’ Flagler’s hotels—from St. Augustine to Palm Beach and Miami—were designed to rival the great resorts of Europe.  Combining luxury, accessibility, and strategic marketing, he created a new standard of leisure that attracted the nation’s elite.

This talk will explore the histories of several of Flagler’s most iconic hotels, offering insight into what life was like for the leisure class in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  These stories reveal not only the extravagance of the Gilded Age but also the broader social and economic shifts shaping Florida and the American South.