Bonnet House - Fort Lauderdale's best kept secret

My visit to Bonnet House was part of a press trip hosted by Visit Lauderdale and Air Canada , but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Along Fort Lauderdale’s pristine white beaches, a parade of towering hotels and opulent private villas defines the coastline—save for one remarkable exception. At Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, nature’s lush greenery and serene calm take center stage, alongside a unique landmark: Bonnet House. This extraordinary estate, crafted over a century ago by artist and collector Frederic Clay Bartlett and his wives, stands as a testament to creativity and timeless charm.

The warm November sun gently warms my cheeks, while the wind plays forcefully with the palm leaves—a reminder of the hurricane moving across the Gulf of Mexico and leaving traces even here on Florida's east coast. Yet, the storm is imperceptible here. Arriving at Bonnet House feels like stepping into the peace of the countryside, even though I can make out the high-rises on the horizon if I try.

The wedding present for Helen

The road into Bonnet House goes through a swamp-like area, with thick greenery and narrow roads. That the lawyer Hugh Taylor Birch from Chicago dared to buy this swamp land in 1895 is a bit of a mystery to me. Birch found Chicago overcrowded and began searching for the warmth and tranquility of Florida. Through a storm, his ship ended up in what is now Fort Lauderdale, at an uninhabited and unexploited area of ​​marshland. Birch liked what he saw and decided to buy 5 kilometers of beachfront land. The area that today is the Bonnet House and Hugh Taylor Birch State Park.

At the main entrance, Bonnet House welcomes with its yellow color and contrasting Greek blue door, topped with a welcoming trunk fish. The house was built during the Roaring Twenties, after Birch's daughter Helen received the plot as a wedding gift from her father in 20. Helen's husband Frederic Clay Bartlett was an artist and the couple wanted to create a creative winter home that felt like home. It would be personal and practical and offer peace and rest.

The house was built in cement and stone, which is the main reason why we can still visit the house today. Hurricanes, moisture and termites have destroyed many wooden houses throughout the ages, but the Bonnet House was built to withstand Florida's challenges. A hundred year old house may not sound old to European ears, but with the above context you realize that this place is quite unique.

The house is built with an open atrium in the middle with a tropical garden. Water ripples from the small fountain and birds fly between the flowering bushes. Helen and Frederic were great collectors and their interest in collecting and artistic spirit shows in every corner of the house. It is not possible to say anything other than that this is playfully decorated, with a large portion of humor.

In room after room you will find one collection after another - everything from German beer steins to porcelain, shells and corals. It was Helen who was the biggest collector and things from their travels are collected here. It's not expensive things by famous designers or artists, but rather things that they liked. Souvenirs before souvenirs were invented.

In 1925 Helen died of cancer after only six years of marriage and Frederic left Florida and moved back to Chicago. For the next six years, he returned to Bonnet House only sporadically, although the house was constantly looked after by the staff.

The renaissance of the house

In 1931, Frederic remarried Evelyn Lilly, who had previously been married to the founder of Lilly Pharmacepticals (now the world's largest pharmaceutical company). Evelyn loved Bonnet House and embraced the house with great passion.

Evelyn was not an artist when she met Frederic, but as the years went by she began to paint. And painting became a bit of a passion. In one part of the house there is an exhibition of her fantastic portraits of family members and friends with a lot of heart and color. One of my favorites is the portrait of Frederic and Evelyn's daughter sitting on a red sofa, a painting with a lot of soul and with a lot of realism.

To wander around Bonnet House is to travel back in time to a well-to-do couple during the early 20th century. Everything was possible and nothing limited the desire to live and discover the world. In one of the corridors, shells have been built into the walls as decorations and the style of the ceiling lamps almost takes you to Morocco. This is not a home that was created for the trends of the time, but everything I see has been created with passion and creativity. Just as Frederic and Helen originally wanted it when they built the house.

Monkeys turn out to be a recurring theme in several places in the house. Evelyn had around 40 monkeys living at Bonnet House for a period, but there is also a large statue of a monkey dressed as a pirate and bronze statues of monkeys in strange poses. In the dining room there is a whole tableware with monkeys on it, hand painted by Evelyn herself. Today, there are no macaques left, but there are plenty of invasive large iguanas and raccoons.

We walk from room to room, one room more eccentric than the other. The collections come in different shapes and colors. There are so many details that I almost feel overwhelmed by all the gadgets, but in a positive way.

At the orchid house, you’ll find a small shell museum and a bamboo bar. A photograph of Evelyn mixing drinks hangs in the bar. It’s easy to imagine her entertaining guests here after a refreshing swim in the sea. Champagne and cocktails flowed, and laughter filled the air among the orchids and shells. The signature drinks were the Bonnet House Cocktail and the Rangpur Lime Cocktail, said to be so strong that one glass was enough.

Frederic passed away in 1953, but Evelyn continued to nurture and develop the house after his death. In 1983, Evelyn donated the Bonnet House to the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, with the condition that the site should be preserved for future generations.

Evelyn spent her final winter at Bonnet House in 1995 and passed away in 2006 at the remarkable age of 109. What she left behind is truly one-of-a-kind: a glimpse into the life of an eccentric, affluent family in mid-20th-century Florida. Bonnet House is neither a castle nor a dollhouse—it’s a time capsule of Fort Lauderdale’s history, far removed from the city’s glitzy hotels and waterfront villas. A hidden gem well worth a visit.

How do I get to Bonnet House?

Bonnet House is centrally located in Fort Lauderdale in Florida, USA. Today the house is a museum with admission and you can go on a guided tour through your mobile. For those who want to visit the house virtually, it is just as well to take the guided tour on your mobile phone from home Begin House Tour – Bonnet House.

Read more about Bonnet House on the official page about Bonnet House.

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