Mar-a-Lago

Mar-a-Lago National Historic Landmark

Mar-a-Lago, Marjorie Merriweather Post's estate on Palm Beach Island.
Location 1100 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach, Florida, United States
Coordinates 26°40′40″N 80°02′10″W / 26.67778°N 80.03611°W / 26.67778; -80.03611Coordinates: 26°40′40″N 80°02′10″W / 26.67778°N 80.03611°W / 26.67778; -80.03611
Area 110,000 sq ft (10,000 m2)[1]
Built 1924–27
Architect
NRHP Reference # 80000961
Significant dates
Added to NRHP December 23, 1980[2]
Designated NHL December 23, 1980[3]

Mar-a-Lago (English pronunciation: /mɑɹ.ə.lɑ.goʊ/) is a landmark estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Built from 1924 to 1927 by Marjorie Merriweather Post and envisioned by her as a future winter retreat for American presidents;[4] the estate is currently owned by the President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump.

The 126-room, 110,000-square-foot (10,000 m2)[5] house contains the Mar-a-Lago Club, a members-only club with guest rooms, a spa, and other hotel-style amenities. The Trump family maintains private quarters in a separate, closed-off area of the house and grounds.[6]

Etymology

The name Mar-a-Lago is a Spanish word-for-word translation of "Sea-to-Lake."[7] "Mar-a-Lago", however, is not idiomatic Spanish, as dashes are rarely used in place names and the preposition "a" would normally be accompanied by an article.[8]

History

Living room of Mar-a-Lago, circa 1967
Entrance to Mar-a-Lago owner's suite, April 1967

Marjorie Merriweather Post built the house with her then-husband Edward F. Hutton. Post hired Marion Sims Wyeth to design it, and Joseph Urban to create interior design and exterior decorations.[9][10] Upon her death in 1973, Post willed the 17-acre (69,000 m2) estate to the U.S. Government as a retreat for presidents and visiting foreign dignitaries.[11] However, the mansion was not used for this purpose. The U.S. Government deeded it back to the Merriweather Post family. Mar-a-Lago was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1980.[3][12][13]

Mar-a-Lago has frequently hosted the International Red Cross Ball, an annual white tie, tails, and tiara ball. Founded by Post, it has a history of attracting wealthy socialites and ambassadors from across the world in support of the mission of the American Red Cross.

Donald Trump paid $7 million for the estate in December 1985.[14] After acquiring the property, Trump had the property renovated, with 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, a 29-foot-long (8.8 m) pietra dura marble top dining table, 12 fireplaces, and three bomb shelters. The club also has five clay tennis courts and a waterfront pool. Further additions have been made since then, including a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) ballroom.

In 1994, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley spent their honeymoon at Mar-a-Lago.

On April 18, 2012, the American Institute of Architects' Florida Chapter ranked Mar-a-Lago fifth on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places.[15]

The Mar-a-lago Club

The primary business occupying the estate is the Mar-a-Lago Club, which operates as resort and hotel for dues-paying members, and rents out estate venues for private events. Membership at the Mar-a-lago Club requires a $100,000 initiation fee, plus $14,000 annual dues.[16] According to financial disclosure forms filed by Donald Trump, the Mar-a-Lago Club realized $29.7 million in gross revenues in the period June 2015 to May 2016.[17]

Lawsuits

Flag litigation

On October 3, 2006, Trump raised a 20-by-30-foot (6.1 by 9.1 m) American flag on an 80-foot (24 m) flagpole at Mar-a-Lago. Town zoning officials asked Trump to adhere to town zoning codes that limit flagpoles to a height of 42 feet (13 m).[18] This dispute led the town council of Palm Beach to charge Trump $1,250 for every day that the flag stayed up. Trump filed a lawsuit against the Town of Palm Beach. Trump eventually dropped his lawsuit over the flag, and in exchange the town waived its fines.[19] As part of a court-ordered mediation, Trump was allowed to file for a permit and keep a pole that was both 10 feet (3.0 m) shorter than the original pole and located on a different spot on his lawn. The agreement also required him to donate $100,000 to veterans’ charities, as well as resulted in a change to town ordinances allowing out-of-town enrollees in club membership.[20]

Discrimination

Trump filed a lawsuit against Palm Beach in 1997[21] for discrimination. Original charges of discrimination against the club for admitting black and jewish members were lessened to 'unfair treatment' compared to other local clubs.

Aviation litigation

Trump has repeatedly filed lawsuits against Palm Beach County over aircraft going to and from Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) allegedly affecting Mar-a-Lago.[22]

Trump first filed such a lawsuit in 1995; that action was settled in 1996, with the county agreeing to collaborate with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and to change flight patterns so the noisiest jet aircraft flew over a wider area.[22] In July 2010, Trump filed another lawsuit aiming to stop the airport from constructing a second commercial runway.[23] That suit was dismissed.[22]

Trump filed a third suit against the county in January 2015, seeking $100 million in damages for "creating an unreasonable amount of noise, emissions and pollutants at Mar-a-Lago".[22] Trump claims that officials pressured the FAA to direct air traffic to PBI over Mar-a-Lago in a "deliberate and malicious" act.[24]

In November 2015, a Florida Circuit Court judge ruled against most of Trump's arguments, dismissing four of the six claims and allowing the others to proceed.[22] Legal maneuvering allowed the lawsuit to continue past the 2016 presidential election, in which Trump became President-Elect of the United States.[22]

References

  • Florida. DK Eyewitness Travel Guides. 2004. p. 117. 
  • Blair, Gwenda (2000). The Trumps. p. 364. 
  1. ↑ "Mar-A-Lago, the Trump Winter White House". The Huffington Post. August 11, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  2. ↑ National Park Service (July 9, 2010). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  3. 1 2 "Mar-A-Lago". National Historic Landmarks Program. National Park Service.
  4. ↑ Draper, Robert (May 18, 2016). "Mr. Trump's Wild Ride". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Trump Honored for Preservation of Mar-a-Lago". Miami Herald. March 2003.
  6. ↑ Sherman, Erik. "A Look Inside Donald Trump's Lavish, $200 Million 'Palace'". Fortune. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  7. ↑ http://www.maralagoclub.com/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=296077&ssid=177999&vnf=1
  8. ↑ Ortografía de la Lengua Española (PDF).
  9. ↑ Mar-a-Lago HABS No. FLA-195
  10. ↑ "The History and Memories Behind Mar-a-Lago". Palm Beach Post. December 17, 2005.
  11. ↑ Time, August 1, 1980
  12. ↑ Cecil N. McKithan (August 31, 1981). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Mar-a-Lago" (PDF). National Park Service. and Accompanying 4 photos, exterior, from 1967. (942 KB)
  13. ↑ "AssetDetail". focus.nps.gov. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Trump Fights Property Taxes". Associated Press. March 29, 1988.
  15. ↑ "Current Standings". 2015 People's Choice Award (Florida Architecture). Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  16. ↑ Jordan, Mary. "Inside Trump's Palm Beach castle and his 30-year fight to win over the locals". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Donald Trump Personal Financial Disclosure Form 2015" (PDF).
  18. ↑ "Page not found | www.palmbeachpost.com". Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  19. ↑ "City to Trump: You're Fined!". CNN. Archived from the original on January 21, 2007. Retrieved January 19, 2007.
  20. ↑ "Trump's war with Palm Beach". POLITICO. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  21. ↑ Journal, Jacqueline Bueno Staff Reporter of The Wall Street (1997-04-30). "Trump's Palm Beach Club Roils the Old Social Order". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Reid, Andy (December 11, 2015). "Trump's Airport Lawsuit Lingers as Presidential Bid Heats Up". South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
  23. ↑ Playford, Adam (July 20, 2010). "Trump Sues to Prevent Runway Expansion". Palm Beach Post.
  24. ↑ Sedensky, Matt (January 13, 2015). "Trump Sues for $100M, Says Air Traffic Targets Him". USA Today. Retrieved February 23, 2015.

External links

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