Flagler system

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The Breakers

The Flagler System Inc., until 1966 Florida East Coast Hotel Company (FEC Hotel), is an American hotel companies . The company originally belonged to Henry M. Flagler , who was largely responsible for the tourist development of the east coast of Florida. The five-star The Breakers is the only hotel still operated by the company today. The Palm Beach-based company is owned by the Kenan family, Flagler's heirs.

history

After several vacations in St. Augustine , the oil magnate Flagler recognized Florida's tourist potential . That is why he built the Hotel Ponce de Leon in 1888. From the beginning of the 1890s, Henry Flagler began building a railway line ( Florida East Coast Railway ) along the east coast of Florida. In order to promote the profitability of the railway line, further luxury hotels were built at the ends of the railway line. In 1894 the Royal Poinciana Hotel opened on Palm Beach , in 1896 the Royal Palm Hotel in Miami and in the same year the Palm Beach Inn (later The Breakers) on the Atlantic coast . This laid the germ cells for Palm Beach and Miami .

In order to run the business of the hotels independently of those of the railway company, the activities were bundled in the Florida East Coast Hotel Company (FEC Hotel) founded in 1896. The Model Land Company was founded with several subsidiaries for real estate and building land development. The Florida East Coast Steamship Company (from 1900: Peninsular and Occidental Steamship Company) was created in 1897 for shipping, including to Cuba . After the end of shipping to Cuba in 1959, the company was discontinued in 1967.

With the end of the Florida land boom and the Okeechobee Hurricane in 1928, Florida's temporary economic decline began. Some hotels were badly damaged or reached the end of their lifespan due to their wooden construction. That is why the Royal Palm Beach and Royal Poinciana hotels were demolished in the early 1930s.

Flagler ran the business until shortly before his death in 1913. Afterwards, his brother-in-law and administrator of wills, William R. Kenan, Jr. (brother of Flagler's last wife, Mary Lily Kenan Flagler), ran the Flagler empire.

After World War II, the hotel empire consisted only of the Ponce de Leon and the Breakers Hotels . After the Florida East Coast Railway, which had been in bankruptcy administration since 1931, came under the control of the St. Joe Paper Company in 1961 , economic activities were concentrated on hotel operations and the marketing of the existing properties.

At the beginning of 1966, the remaining companies from the Flagler empire, the FEC Hotel Co. and the Model Land Co. ( Ingraham Building in Miami) merged to form Flagler System Inc. This also cut the personal connection to the railway company. In 1967 the Ponce de Leon was closed.

In 1975 there were family disputes between Frank H. Kenan and Lawrence Lewis. As a result, Frank H. Kenan took over Flagler System Inc. with the Breakers Hotel, while Lewis took over the real estate in St. Augustine (Ponce de Leon).

In the early 1980s, the "Breakers West" residential area in West Palm Beach was developed and marketed. There is a golf course in this residential area. In addition, the subsidiary Flager Computer Software Inc., which was sold in 1994, developed software for hotels.

Corporate management

president

  • 1965-1. July 1969 Lawrence Lewis Jr. (great-nephew of Flagler's widow)
  • 1969 – August 1971: John S. Lanahan
  • 1971-20. April 1972: Frank H. Kenan
  • April 20, 1972-1976: James L. Myers
  • 1978-1980: John F. Clifford
  • 1981-30. January 1988: Stayton Addison
  • October 22, 1989-23. September 1994: Thomas Pierre Wicky (also CEO)
  • since 1994: Paul N. Leone (CEO from 2016)

Chairman of the Board

  • 1963-1965: William R. Kenan, Jr.
  • July 1, 1969–1975: Lawrence Lewis Jr.
  • 1975-1986: Frank H. Kenan
  • since 1986: James G. Kenan III

Company hotels

  • Royal Palm Hotel Miami (1896–1930), demolished
  • Ponce de Leon (1888–1967), now Flagler College
  • Royal Poinciana Hotel (1894–1930), demolished
  • Palm Beach Inn "The Original Breaker" (1896-1903), burned down
  • The Breakers (since 1904)
  • Hotel Key West (1897-1901)
  • Long Key Fishing Camp (1907–1935), demolished after hurricane
  • Casa Marina Key West (1920–1940), today Waldorf Astoria
  • Biscayne Hotel Miami (1896–1938), demolished
  • Hotel Ormond, Ormond Beach (1888–1949), demolished in 1992
  • Hotel Alcazar, St. Augustine (1889–1932)

Furthermore, hotels and other tourism facilities were operated at times in St. Augustine, Cocoa Beach , Gainesville and in Nassau (Flagler Inn on Paradise Island ).

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 23 Mar 1963, Page 19 - The Palm Beach Post at Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Peninsular & Occidental SS Co. Retrieved March 12, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Jan 21, 1966, 10 - The Miami News at Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Jan 10, 1988, 38 - Palm Beach Daily News at Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019 .
  5. ↑ A. Roberts MacMannis, 82, Headed Hagler system Companies in 60's . In: The New York Times . January 15, 1978, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed March 12, 2019]).
  6. ↑ 13 May 1969, Page 3 - The Palm Beach Post at Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019 .
  7. ^ 24 Aug 1971, Page 23 - The Palm Beach Post at Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019 .
  8. ↑ 20 Apr 1972, Page 71 - The Palm Beach Post at Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019 .
  9. ^ 19 Sep 1980, Page 120 - The Palm Beach Post at Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019 .
  10. ↑ 23 Apr 1978, Page 127 - The Palm Beach Post at Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Jan 30, 1988, 1 - Palm Beach Daily News at Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Sep 18, 1981, 1 - Palm Beach Daily News at Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019 .
  13. ↑ 23 Sep 1994, 1 - Palm Beach Daily News at Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019 .
  14. ↑ 22 Oct 1989, 18 - Palm Beach Daily News at Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019 .