Our Own Castle

As far back as I remember while growing up in Boca Raton in the 1940s and 1950s we had a castle in our town. It was big and beautiful and old. Surrounding it was lush landscaping – tropical plants, palm trees, bougainvillea, hibiscus. The golf course grass, bathed by shimmering arcs of water, was always green and neatly clipped. The wonderful stone fountain enthroned in the center circle leading onto the grounds splashed sun-laden drops of water.

No matter where I've been, no matter the wonderful architecture I've seen, none of it overwhelms me. They are lovely, yes; but I have always had my own special castle right in my own town. It was the Boca Raton Hotel & Club ... and what could compare to that?

Palm Beach architect Addison Mizner was the weaver of the dream; in 1925 he envisioned the development of an entire Mediterranean city in Boca Raton. By 1926 the castle of my childhood, the Cloister Inn, was opened. But Mizner's dreams and money faded away leaving him bankrupt. Through the years several owners, Clarence Geist, J. Myer Schine, and Arthur Vining Davis, purchased the property, enlarging and expanding it and creating a private club. Enhancing the opulence was the Cabana Club built on A1A south of the inlet which offered a beach and cabanas, a salt water pool, and informal dining and patio areas. By 1969 a twenty-six story tower was added to the hotel and club.

The castle was expensive to visit; it was unbelievably beautiful and was enjoyed by the rich and famous who visited and then later came to live in our small town. But the regular folk, the townspeople, enjoyed and used it too.

When the army air corps base was built in 1942 to house a radar training school, the club was taken over by the air corps for officers' housing, classrooms and offices. Shortly after World War II ended and the hotel was back in business, it was opened to the community as a shelter from the 1947 hurricane. I was four years old and remember walking with my mother through the long darkened hallways to our room. Later, as I grew older, I would ride my bicycle with friends along the narrow private road on the club grounds which wound along the golf course from Palmetto Park Road to Camino Real. Many citizens of Boca Raton relied on the club to supply them with jobs during the winter months when it was open.

The various owners of the castle were generous with Boca Raton's school children, inviting us to attend art shows in winter and to take Red Cross swimming lessons in the summer. It was always exciting to take a trip to the club or to swim the summer away with friends at the cabanas. I have a wonderful memory from my teen years when my senior prom was held at the castle in the spring of 1960. The night was as exotic as the theme, "Hawaiian Magic," and I was the lucky girl who was crowned queen of the prom.

The castle still exists with the buildings and grounds impeccably kept. The pink stucco fits the fairy tale reputation and there is an air of abundance and mystery which can compare with any European castle or elegant New York hotel. But, best of all, it is ours.