Administration Buildings (Boca Raton, Florida)

Administration Buildings
Buildings as seen from Camino Real
Administration Buildings (Boca Raton, Florida) is located in Florida
Administration Buildings (Boca Raton, Florida)
Location within Florida
Administration Buildings (Boca Raton, Florida) is located in the United States
Administration Buildings (Boca Raton, Florida)
Location within the United States
LocationDixie Highway & Camino Real, Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Florida
Coordinates26°20′25.14″N 80°05′20.31″W / 26.3403167°N 80.0889750°W / 26.3403167; -80.0889750
Built1925
ArchitectAddison Mizner
Architectural styleMediterranean Revival
NRHP reference No.85001372[1]
Added to NRHPJune 27, 1985[1]

The Administration Buildings are a historic site in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. They are located at 2 East Camino Real. With both designed by well-known South Florida architect Addison Mizner in the mid-1920s, each of the Administration Buildings contain Mediterranean Revival-style features and are two stories in height. Mizner intended for these structures to house the offices for his Mizner Development Corporation and serve as prototypes for his plans for the then-new city of Boca Raton, but the end of the 1920s Florida land boom forced him to transfer the project to Clarence H. Heist in 1928. Nonetheless, the buildings remain important because transactions for thousands of acres of land occurred there under Mizner's ownership.

The Boca Raton Club used the structures for lodging its staff from 1928 to 1983. On June 27, 1985, the Administration Buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places. Currently, the structures are known as The Addison, an event venue.

History and description

Boca Raton was incorporated as a city on May 26, 1925.[2] One month earlier, well-known South Florida architect Addison Mizner purchased just over 2 miles (3.2 km) of waterfront property and another 16,000 acres (6,500 ha) farther inland. Shortly after, Mizner and his Mizner Development Corporation began planning two buildings to serve as prototypes for his future designs in Boca Raton.[3] In May 1925, the Thomas L. Holland Construction Company began erecting the north building,[4] while the Harry Vought and Company started constructing the south building in mid-summer.[3] However, neither business received permits for constructing their respective buildings, both valued at $50,000, until September.[5]

By November 1925, the first administration building opened.[6] Between December 1925 and May 1926, Marie Dressler, Charles Gilman Norris, Charles M. Schwab, and Stanford White's widow all visited the site following a publicity campaign by Harry Reichenbach.[5] Located at 2 East Camino Real,[7] both buildings have two stories and were designed in the Mediterranean Revival-style of architecture, while a courtyard sits between both structures.[4] However, the 1920s Florida Land Boom ended by early 1927, which also halted additional projects by Mizner. Consequently, Alexander Green and Michael Zimny of the Florida Bureau of Historic Preservation noted that "when the Administration Buildings were photographed for the Florida Architecture of Addison Mizner later in the year, they stood deserted, a relic of a dream that had failed."[8] Nevertheless, thousands of acres of land had been sold via transactions occurring within those structures.[9]

Clarence H. Heist acquired the project from Mizner in 1928. The Administration Buildings then served as lodging for Boca Raton Club staff until 1983.[10] On June 27, 1985, they were added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[7] One year earlier, Historic Tampa Hillsborough County Preservation Board director Stephanie Ferrell stated that the Administration Buildings "has not fared well. The current owner, the Arvida Corporation, says it wants to adaptively use the vacant structure, but it has left it untended and open to weather and vandals."[9] Currently, the Administration Buildings are now known as The Addison, an event venue.[11]

See also

References

General

  • Alexander Green; Michael F. Zimny (April 11, 1984). Administration Buildings (Report). National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. National Park Service. Retrieved May 25, 2026.

Specific

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ↑ "From Ancient Civilizations to Centennial Celebrations". City of Boca Raton, Florida. 2025. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  3. 1 2 Green & Zimny 1984, p. 5.
  4. 1 2 Green & Zimny 1984, p. 2.
  5. 1 2 Green & Zimny 1984, p. 7.
  6. ↑ Isabel Stone (November 6, 1925). "City Hall to Cost $100,00 Reflects Boca Raton's Pride". Miami Herald. p. 3A. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  7. 1 2 Green & Zimny 1984, p. 1.
  8. ↑ Green & Zimny 1984, p. 23.
  9. 1 2 Stephanie Ferrell (June 1984). "Addison Mizner's Florida Fantasy" (PDF). Historic Preservation. p. 30. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
  10. ↑ Green & Zimny 1984, p. 24.
  11. ↑ "Trim Your Trees With Boca Raton History: 2025 Holiday Ornaments From Boca Raton Historic Society". Boca Raton Club News. Vol. 19, no. 11. November 2025. p. 3. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
Wikimedia Commons logo
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Administration Buildings (Boca Raton, Florida).
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.