In the early 60s , many of the lavish and grand estates of Palm Beach , Florida were falling on not so good times . As always there were a few exceptions which included the Kennedy compound , alongside Mir-a-Lago . Mar-a-Lago was mainly a winter residence and was a destination for high society guests . The Kennedys Palm Beach estate was mainly used as a family compound and not so much for socializing . Many of the other grand estates , which didn ’ t come close to the grandeaur of Mir-a-Lago pretty much were closed down by the owners since the the cost of maintaining and operating them became such an expense . Many were transformed into museums , or even torn down to make room for future developement .
Above : April 1967 , Detail of tower from the southeast Left : April 1967 , General view of dining room from the north .
Even by Palm Beach standards , Mar-a- Lago was grandiose : 58 bedrooms , 33 bathrooms with gold-plated fixtures ( easier to clean , Post believed ), an 1,800-squarefoot living room with 42-foot ceilings . Its 110,000 square feet glinted with gold leaf , Spanish tiles , Italian marble and Venetian silks . All told , Post spent $ 7 million — somewhere north of $ 90 million today .
PORTFOLIO MAGAZINE 29