Bonnet House is a historic landmark in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, built in the 1920s as a seaside residence. The house is now an art gallery, events venue, and museum with 50 acres of land, including natural habitats and a collection of works by artists such as Picasso and Gauguin. Visitors can tour the house and gardens for a fee, attend public events, and see temporary exhibitions. The property was given to the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation in 1983.
Bonnet House is an American Association of Museums-accredited institution, art gallery, and events venue in South Florida. The house and its 50 acres of land are located in Fort Lauderdale, not far north of Miami. The building was built as a seaside residence in the 1920s and has since become a commercial venue managed both to preserve it and to open the site to the public. Bonnet House is recognized throughout America as a historic landmark.
The 1895 World’s Fair in Chicago elicited two responses from two very different men. Hugh Taylor Birch moved south and bought the land now known as Bonnet House to escape the large numbers of people who came to the town for the fair. Archaeologists have since discovered that the land dates back to ancient times, with mounds of shells and a settlement built by Spanish explorers unearthed. Birch did not build on the land, but instead gave the land to his daughter Helen Birch.
Birch’s daughter married a man named Frederic Clay Bartlett. Bartlett was also at the Chicago World’s Fair. Instead of wanting to escape, he discovered a love of art. After dedicating himself to murals, he studied at the Royal Academy of Monaco and worked with numerous architects across America. The couple built the Bonnet House on Birch’s land in 1920.
The house was designed to evoke images, as envisioned by Bartlett, of Hispanic architecture and Caribbean plantation mansions. Bartlett wanted Bonnet House to have none of the formality and trappings of wealthy manor houses and mansions. Instead, he wanted it to be a holiday home or a seaside retreat, but also a suitable place to produce works of art. Some elements of wealth can still be seen beyond the size of the building and its lands, as there are Davenport dessert plates and a number of Spode china pieces.
After the death of Bartlett’s wife Helen he remarried and continued to visit the house. He filled himself not only with his works of art, but also with the ones he collected. Bartlett’s collection at Bonnet House includes works by Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin and Georges Seurat. His second wife, Evelyn, kept the house until 1983 when it was given to the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation.
Visitors can tour the Bonnet House and check out its art galleries, but there are entrance fees associated with this. Bartlett’s work and her collection are displayed as part of the Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection. Evelyn Bartlett also dabbled in painting and her work is in the Carl J. Weinhardt Gallery in her home.
Bonnet House also hosts a number of other events. These range from private functions such as parties and wedding ceremonies to public events such as the Impressions art, food and music festival. There are also a range of lectures, temporary exhibitions and music concerts. Music includes opera and vocal ensemble performances.
Tourists can also visit the gardens of Bonnet House. These include a mangrove swamp and a marine forest. The natural habitats are one of the few remaining examples of a natural South Florida barrier island habitat. This is due to the mass development of barrier islands in the 20th century. The grounds of the Bonnet House are also home to manatees, gopher tortoises and Costa Rican squirrel monkeys.
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