Happy Hour with the Historian

Building the American Riviera: The Hotels of Henry Flagler

December 14, 2023 | 5:00pm-6:00pm

Historian: Cori Convertito Ph.D.

American industrialist, Henry Flagler, constructed numerous luxury hotels along Florida’s East Coast during the Gilded Age.  Dubbed the ‘American Riviera’, his chain of hotels were intended to attract wealthy Americans and world travelers to vacation in one the last east coast frontiers.  Flagler understood that with the suitable combination of access and marketing, Florida’s coast would flourish into the premier luxury destination of the East Coast elite.

This talk will explore the assorted hotels’ histories to provide insight to what life was like for the leisure class in the 19th and 20th centuries.

This event is sponsored in part by the Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture and the State of Florida, with additional support provided by The Helmerich Trust and Comedy Key West.