Bonnet House facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Bonnet House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Gate to Bonnet House grounds
Location in Florida Show map of Florida Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Fort Lauderdale, Florida
NRHP reference No.	84000832
Added to NRHP	5 July 1984

The Bonnet House (also known as the Bartlett Estate) is a special old home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. This beautiful place is located at 900 Birch Road. On July 5, 1984, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. This means it is an important historical site. The house gets its name from the Bonnet Lily, a pretty flower.

A Home's Journey Through Time

The land for Bonnet House was first bought in 1895. A lawyer from Chicago, Hugh Taylor Birch, owned it. In 1919, he gave the property to his daughter Helen. It was a wedding gift for her and her husband, Frederic Clay Bartlett. Frederic was an artist.

Frederic Bartlett built a large home on the property. It was designed like a Caribbean plantation house. He and Helen spent their winters there. Frederic's son, Frederic Jr., also lived with them. Helen sadly passed away in 1925. As a way to remember her, Frederic donated his large art collection to the Art Institute of Chicago.

Later, Frederic married Evelyn Fortune Lilly. They continued to use the Bonnet House as their winter home. Frederic lived there until he passed away in 1953. Evelyn lived there until 1997. In 1983, Evelyn gave the property to the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. This group now takes care of the house. It is a historic house museum called the Bonnet House Museum & Gardens. The estate was worth $35 million. This was the largest private gift in Florida's history at that time.

In 1988, a writer from The New York Times called it "an unrivaled time capsule." This means it was like a perfectly preserved snapshot of the past. It showed how wealthy families lived in Florida long ago.

Exploring the Estate

The Bonnet House estate is quite large, covering about 35.4 acres. It also has 100 feet of beach. The main buildings include the main house, an art studio, a music studio, and a guest house. Frederic Bartlett designed all these buildings himself. They are built in a simple, local style.

In April 2015, the Bonnet House worked with the city of Fort Lauderdale. They made the 700-foot stretch of beach in front of the house private. This allows them to host special events like wedding receptions there.

The property is also home to five different natural areas. These include sand dunes, mangrove wetlands, a freshwater swamp, and a maritime forest. Each area has its own unique plants and animals.

The Art Studio

The very first building finished on the estate was the art studio. This is where Frederic Bartlett created his artwork.

Inside the Main House

The main house has many interesting features. The ceiling in the drawing room is made of mahogany wood. This wood came from a huge log that washed ashore during a storm. Frederic and Evelyn Bartlett liked to use pairs of things in their designs. You can see this "pairs" idea throughout the house.

Bonnet House Today

The Bonnet House is a popular place to visit. In 1987, about 6,000 people took a tour of the site.

Evelyn Bartlett loved animals. She had a pet monkey and even bought many monkeys to live in the trees on the estate. When a nearby bar that had monkeys closed, some of their monkeys also came to live at Bonnet House. In 2014, at least three monkeys still lived there.

Frederic Bartlett's sister, Maie Bartlett Heard, also loved art. She founded the Heard Museum in Phoenix with her husband.

Since 2003, the Bonnet House has been used as a filming location. This helps them earn money to keep the house running. It was the finish line for the seventh season of the TV show The Amazing Race. It was also a filming location for the movie Hoot.

In May 2008, the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed the Bonnet House as one of America's Most Endangered Places. This meant it needed special protection. That same year, the Bonnet House settled a lawsuit about a tall hotel planned nearby. The settlement helped them get money for landscaping. This landscaping would help hide the view of the new building.

In 2012, the Bonnet House joined the Riverwalk Arts and Entertainment District. This group helps promote cultural places in the area. In 2017, Patrick Shavloske became the chief executive officer of the Bonnet House.