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Mar-a-Lago

Coordinates: 26°40′37.439″N 80°02′13.157″W / 26.67706639°N 80.03698806°W / 26.67706639; -80.03698806
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This article is about the house and resort. For Swiss village, see Miralago.

Mar-a-Lago National Historic Landmark
Mar-a-Lago, Marjorie Merriweather Post's estate on Palm Beach Island
Mar-a-Lago is located in Florida
Mar-a-Lago
Mar-a-Lago is located in the United States
Mar-a-Lago
Location1100 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach, Florida, United States
Coordinates26°40′37.439″N 80°02′13.157″W / 26.67706639°N 80.03698806°W / 26.67706639; -80.03698806
Area110,000 sq ft (10,000 m2)[1]
Built1924–27
Architect
NRHP reference No.80000961
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 23, 1980[2]
Designated NHLDecember 23, 1980[3]

Mar-a-Lago (/mɑɹ.ə.lɑ.goʊ/) is an estate and National Historic Landmark in Palm Beach, Florida, built from 1924 to 1927 by heiress and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post. Post envisioned the house as a future winter retreat for American presidents and foreign dignitaries, and following her death in 1973, it was bequeathed to the nation. However, successive presidents declined to use the mansion and it was returned to Post's estate in 1980. In 1985, Mar-a-Lago was purchased by businessman Donald Trump. [4]

The 126-room, 110,000-square-foot (10,000 m2)[5] house contains the Mar-a-Lago Club, a members-only club with guest rooms, a spa, and other hotel-style amenities. The Trump family maintains private quarters in a separate, closed-off area of the house and grounds.[6]

Since being sworn into office on January 20, 2017 as President of the United States, Donald Trump has referred to Mar-a-Lago as his Southern White House and uses it as a Camp David-style presidential retreat.[7][8]

Etymology

The company identifies the name Mar-a-Lago as Spanish for "Sea-to-Lake."[9]

History

Living room of Mar-a-Lago, 1967
Entrance to Mar-a-Lago owner's suite, April 1967
Entrance gate in 2014

Marjorie Merriweather Post built the house with her then-husband Edward F. Hutton. Post hired Marion Sims Wyeth to design it, and Joseph Urban to create interior design and exterior decorations.[10][11] Upon her death in 1973, Post willed the 17-acre (69,000 m2) estate to the United States government as a Winter White House for presidents and visiting foreign dignitaries.[12] Richard Nixon preferred the Florida White House in Key Biscayne, however, and Jimmy Carter was not interested. The federal government soon realized the immense cost of maintenance, annual taxes roughly between $1–3 million, and the difficulty of maintaining security for diplomats.[13] The government returned it to the Post Foundation in 1981, which listed it for sale for $20 million. Dina Merrill and Post's two other daughters did not maintain the property, expecting to sell it,[14] but there was so little interest that the city approved its demolition to build smaller homes.[15] Mar-a-Lago was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1980.[3][16][17]

Donald Trump at a fundraiser for the Cleveland Clinic hosted at Mar-a-Lago in 2012

Donald Trump learned about the estate after unsuccessfully trying to purchase and combine two apartments in Palm Beach for his family. According to Trump, he offered the Post family $25 million for it, an offer that they rejected. Trump then put in a bid of $3 million to purchase the land between Mar-a-Lago and the ocean, stating he intended to build a home that would block Mar-a-Lago's beach view. The threat caused interest in the property to decline. Trump ended up getting the property for $7 million in 1985. [18][14] Trump renovated the estate, adding a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) ballroom[15] to the 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, a 29-foot-long (8.8 m) pietra dura marble top dining table, 12 fireplaces, and three bomb shelters. The club also has five clay tennis courts and a waterfront pool.

In the early 1990s, Trump faced financial difficulties. While negotiating with his bankers, he promised to divide Mar-a-Lago into smaller properties, alarming Palm Beach residents; the city council rejected his plan to do so. Trump instead turned the estate into a private club that—unlike other Palm Beach old money resorts like the Bath and Tennis Club and Everglades Club—accepted Jews, blacks, and (as one Everglades member said)[who?] "people who try to call attention to themselves"—as members. The new club hosted concerts by Céline Dion and Billy Joel, had beauty-pageant contestants as guests, and violated local noise ordinances. Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley spent their honeymoon at Mar-a-Lago.[15][14][19]

On April 18, 2012, the American Institute of Architects' Florida Chapter ranked Mar-a-Lago fifth on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places.[20]

Mar-a-Lago has frequently hosted the International Red Cross Ball, an annual "white tie, tails, and tiara" ball. Founded by Post, it has a history of attracting wealthy socialites and ambassadors from across the world in support of the mission of the American Red Cross.

The "Winter/Southern White House"

President Trump has referred to Mar-a-Lago as his "Winter White House"[21] and alternately the "Southern White House".[22] It has a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility for communications with the White House Situation Room and Pentagon.[23]

The first visit of President Trump at the Winter White House took place on the weekend of February 3–6, 2017. On Saturday, he hosted the Diamond Red Cross Ball at Mar-a-Lago Club,[24] while on Sunday, he watched Super Bowl LI at Trump International Golf Club (West Palm Beach). The estimated cost (over US$3 million) of the weekend garnered some scrutiny as Trump, before being elected, regularly criticized President Obama for expensive taxpayer-funded vacations.[25]

On the weekend of February 10–12, 2017, President Trump and his wife hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife. This was the first use of his resort to entertain an international leader,[26] and the occasion for one of his first international security crises, that of a North Korean missile launch. Trump and Abe conferred in full view of the other diners.[27]

During the third consecutive weekend visit to Mar-a-Lago on February 17–20, Trump conducted a campaign rally at the Orlando Melbourne International Airport.[28] He also conducted interviews for a replacement National Security Advisor and named General H. R. McMaster as Flynn's successor on February 20, 2017.[29]

After President Trump's fourth weekend visit on March 3-5, questions were raised about the access his paying club members have to him and his entourage. A number of Democratic senators asked the President to release visitor logs of Mar-a-Lago and as well as a list of the members of the private club.[30] Subsequently, the "MAR-A-LAGO Act" was introduced, legislation requiring publication of logs of visitors at the White House and other places where the president conducts business.[31]

Trump's fifth presidential visit took place on March 17-18. Guests included Melania's parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs.[32]

During his next visit April 6-9, President Trump hosted the Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first two days.[33][34][35] At Mar-a-Lago the decision to strike a Syrian airfield was made.[35]

Security zone

When the President is in residence the Palm Beach region becomes a zone of temporary flight restrictions[36] affecting flights and air operations severely within a 30 nautical mile radius (nmr) (55.56 km).[37] Coast Guard and Secret Service secure the two waterway approaches, ocean and lake, and Secret Service cordons off streets to Mar-a-Lago during the President's visits.[38] By the third weekend in February 2017, nearby Palm Beach County Park Airport (Lantana Airport) had been shut down for three consecutive weekends accumulating significant financial losses for multiple businesses.[39]

The Mar-a-Lago Club

The primary business occupying the estate is the Mar-a-Lago Club, which operates as resort and hotel for dues-paying members, and rents out estate venues for private events. Membership at the Mar-a-Lago Club required a $200,000 initiation fee up until 2012 when it was lowered to $100,000. Sources close to the resort indicated the cut was in response to reduced demand following the Bernie Madoff scandal which affected many affluent Palm Beach residents.[40] The fee was returned to $200,000 in January 2017 following the election of Donald Trump as president [40] with $14,000 annual dues.[41] Overnight guests pay up to $2,000 a night.[15] According to financial disclosure forms filed by Donald Trump, the Mar-a-Lago Club realized $29.7 million in gross revenues in the period June 2015 to May 2016.[42]

The club has nearly 500 paying members and admits twenty to forty new members a year.[43] Members include oil executive Bill Koch, financier Thomas Peterffy, New Jersey Democratic Party leader George Norcross, lobbyist Kenneth Duberstein, real estate developers Bruce E. Toll and Richard LeFrak, media executive Christopher Ruddy, talk show host Howie Carr, talk show host Michael Savage’s wife, and NFL coach Bill Belichick.[43]

The club holds an annual New Year’s Eve party, described by journalist and author Ronald Kessler, who has known Donald Trump for two decades, in The Daily Mail: “The New Year's Eve party was held in that ballroom [described in Kessler's book The Season: Inside Palm Beach and America's Richest Society], with almost 700 guests who paid $1,000 per couple. First came hors d'oeuvres and champagne on the terrace overlooking the pool, always heated to 78 degrees, like the second pool right on the ocean. Cocktail shrimp, stone crab claws, cold lobster, oysters on the half shell, sushi, and caviar dished onto blini were among the offerings. After that, the guests swanned over to the ballroom for dinner and dancing. Dinner included truffle and ricotta ravioli and filet mignon and scallops. The bubbly: from Trump's own Charlottesville, Virginia vineyard.” [44] A second article by Kessler in The Daily Mail in February 2016 predicted that Trump would operate as president the way he runs Mar-a-Lago.[45]

In “A Roadmap to Trump’s Washington,” Kessler described the carrot-and-stick approach Trump used to get his Mar-a-Lago estate approved as a club by Palm Beach Town Council members and predicted he would operate in the same manner as president to win over support for his agenda.[46]

As of February 2017, President Trump is considering at least three club members for ambassadorships.[43]

Lawsuits

Flag litigation

On October 3, 2006, Trump raised a 20-by-30-foot (6.1 by 9.1 m) American flag on an 80-foot (24 m) flagpole at Mar-a-Lago. Town zoning officials asked Trump to adhere to town zoning codes that limit flagpoles to a height of 42 feet (13 m).[47] This dispute led the town council of Palm Beach to charge Trump $1,250 for every day that the flag stayed up. Trump filed a lawsuit against the Town of Palm Beach. Trump eventually dropped his lawsuit over the flag, and in exchange the town waived its fines.[48] As part of a court-ordered mediation, Trump was allowed to file for a permit and keep a pole that was both 10 feet (3.0 m) shorter than the original pole and located on a different spot on his lawn. The agreement also required him to donate $100,000 to veterans’ charities, as well as resulted in a change to town ordinances allowing out-of-town enrollees in club membership.[49]

Discrimination

In December 1997, Trump filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, after having criticized that the town was discriminating at Mar-a-Lago because it had allowed Blacks and Jews as members.[50]

According to Vanity Fair, "Trump and his attorney had already implied that he and his club had been discriminated against because many of its members were Jewish, and, worse, that the council members who had placed the conditions on him had not placed those restrictions on their own clubs."[50]

Aviation litigation

Trump has repeatedly filed lawsuits against Palm Beach County over aircraft going to and from Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) allegedly affecting Mar-a-Lago.[51]

Trump first filed such a lawsuit in 1995; that action was settled in 1996, with the county agreeing to collaborate with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and to change flight patterns so the noisiest jet aircraft flew over a wider area.[51] As part of the settlement, Trump leased 215 acres from the county, on which he built the 18-hole Trump International Golf Club.[14] In July 2010, Trump filed another lawsuit aiming to stop the airport from constructing a second commercial runway.[52] That suit was dismissed.[51]

Trump filed a third suit against the county in January 2015, seeking $100 million in damages for "creating an unreasonable amount of noise, emissions and pollutants at Mar-a-Lago".[51] Trump claims that officials pressured the FAA to direct air traffic to PBI over Mar-a-Lago in a "deliberate and malicious" act.[53]

In November 2015, a Florida Circuit Court judge ruled against most of Trump's arguments, dismissing four of the six claims and allowing the others to proceed.[51] Trump dropped the lawsuit after winning the presidency as the estate will likely have a no fly zone imposed by the FAA.[54][14] In January 2017, Palm Beach exempted Mar-a-Lago from a ban on landing helicopters on residential properties while Trump is president, including his own fleet and Marine One.[55]

References

  1. ^ "Mar-A-Lago, the Trump Winter White House". The Huffington Post. August 11, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Mar-A-Lago". National Historic Landmarks Program. National Park Service.
  4. ^ Draper, Robert (May 18, 2016). "Mr. Trump's Wild Ride". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  5. ^ "Trump Honored for Preservation of Mar-a-Lago". Miami Herald. March 2003.
  6. ^ Sherman, Erik. "A Look Inside Donald Trump's Lavish, $200 Million 'Palace'". Fortune. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  7. ^ "Donald J. Trump on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  8. ^ "See Inside the 'Winter White House' at Mar-a-Lago". Time. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  9. ^ "History". The Mar-a-Lago Club. Trump Golf 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  10. ^ "Mar-a-Lago HABS No. FLA-195" (PDF).
  11. ^ "The History and Memories Behind Mar-a-Lago". Palm Beach Post. December 17, 2005.
  12. ^ Time, August 1, 1980[full citation needed]
  13. ^ Kessler, Ronald (1999). The Season: Inside Palm Beach and America's Richest Society (1. ed.). New York, NY: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 181. ISBN 0060193913.
  14. ^ a b c d e Seal, Mark (February 2017). "How Donald Trump Beat Palm Beach Society and Won the Fight for Mar-a-Lago". Vanity Fair.
  15. ^ a b c d Brown, Ian (December 31, 2016). "A look inside Palm Beach, where wealthy Canadians are one degree of separation from Donald Trump". The Globe and Mail.
  16. ^ Cecil N. McKithan (August 31, 1981). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Mar-a-Lago". National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying 4 photos, exterior, from 1967. (942 KB)
  17. ^ "AssetDetail". focus.nps.gov. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  18. ^ "Trump Fights Property Taxes". Associated Press. March 29, 1988.
  19. ^ Mazzei, Patricia (January 17, 2017). "Haughty Palm Beach learns to love Trump, once a scorned outsider". Miami Herald.
  20. ^ "Current Standings". 2015 People's Choice Award (Florida Architecture). Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  21. ^ Caputo, Marc. "Trump dubs Mar-a-Lago the new 'Winter White House'". Politico.
  22. ^ Dave Boyer (February 18, 2017). "Trump dubs his Mar-a-Lago resort 'The Southern White House'". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  23. ^ Nunez, Elissa (April 7, 2017). "What this photo of Trump's war room tells us". CNN.
  24. ^ "Trump in Palm Beach: Another golf course visit today". Palm Beach Post. February 5, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  25. ^ Matthew Nussbaum (February 3, 2017). "Trump's Mar-a-Lago getaway could cost taxpayers more than $3 million". Politico. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  26. ^ Ayesha Rascoe (February 11, 2017). "Trump and Japan's Abe take a swing at golf diplomacy". Reuters. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  27. ^ Liptak, Kevin (February 13, 2017). "At Mar-a-Lago, Trump tackles crisis diplomacy at close range".
  28. ^ Dave Boyer (February 18, 2017). "Trump dubs his Mar-a-Lago resort 'The Southern White House'". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  29. ^ Mason J, Zengerle P (February 20, 2017). "Outspoken general named Trump's top security adviser". Reuters. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  30. ^ Kristina Webb (March 6, 2017). "NEW: Senators call for release of visitor logs from Trump's Mar-a-Lago". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  31. ^ Jessica Estepa (March 25, 2017). "Democrats introduce the 'MAR-A-LAGO Act'". CNBC. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  32. ^ Chris Spargo (March 18, 2017). "The family's all here! Trump plays golf for the 10th time since becoming president as Melania's parents join them at Mar-a-Lago". Daily Mail. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  33. ^ "Said and unsaid: the hits and misses of Xi-Trump talks in Mar-a-Lago | This Week In Asia | South China Morning Post". South China Morning Post. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  34. ^ Alan Wong (April 5, 2016). "When Xi Jinping Visits Trump at Mar-a-Lago, 'Nothing Involving Golf Clubs'". New York Times.
  35. ^ a b George Bennett (April 7, 2017). "Trump in Palm Beach: Syria strike OK'd at Mar-a-Lago". Plam Beach Post. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  36. ^ Dan Narnowitz (February 14, 2017). "AOPA Seeks FAA Meeting on Mar-a-Lago TFRs". AOPA. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  37. ^ "TFR List 7/4956 (Plam Beach, FL)". FAA. February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  38. ^ Liberman S (February 24, 2017). "Mar-a-Lago resort — Donald Trump's winter white house — serves the elite in Palm Beach". My San Antonia. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  39. ^ Terry Spencer (February 17, 2017). "Small airport businesses to Trump: Your Florida visits hurt". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  40. ^ a b Frank, Robert (January 25, 2017). "Mar-a-Lago membership fee doubles to $200,000". CNBC. Retrieved February 13, 2017. The initiation fee for Mar-a-Lago had been $100,000 since 2012, when it was cut from $200,000. People close to the resort said the fee was reduced following a decline in memberships after the Bernie Madoff scandal, which claimed many wealthy Palm Beach victims.
  41. ^ Jordan, Mary. "Inside Trump's Palm Beach castle and his 30-year fight to win over the locals". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  42. ^ "Donald Trump Personal Financial Disclosure Form 2015" (PDF).
  43. ^ a b c Nicholas Confessore; Maggie Haberman; Eric Lipton (February 19, 2017). "Trump's 'Winter White House': A Peek at the Exclusive Members' List at Mar-a-Lago". The New York Times. pp. A1. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  44. ^ Kessler, Ronald (January 6, 2016). "EXCLUSIVE: Truffle and Ricotta Ravioli". The Daily Mail.
  45. ^ Kessler, Ronald (February 29, 2016). "Take a Look at How Donald Trump Operates Mar-a-Lago". The Daily Mail.
  46. ^ Kessler, Ronald (April 3, 2017). "A Roadmap to Trump's Washington". Washington Times.
  47. ^ "Town cites Trump, but big banner still waves | www.palmbeachpost.com". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  48. ^ "City to Trump: You're Fined!". CNN. Archived from the original on January 21, 2007. Retrieved January 19, 2007. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  49. ^ "Trump's war with Palm Beach". POLITICO. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  50. ^ a b http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2016/12/how-donald-trump-beat-palm-beach-society-and-won-the-fight-for-mar-a-lago. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  51. ^ a b c d e Reid, Andy (December 11, 2015). "Trump's Airport Lawsuit Lingers as Presidential Bid Heats Up". South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
  52. ^ Playford, Adam (July 20, 2010). "Trump Sues to Prevent Runway Expansion". Palm Beach Post.
  53. ^ Sedensky, Matt (January 13, 2015). "Trump Sues for $100M, Says Air Traffic Targets Him". USA Today. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  54. ^ "Mar-a-Lago no-fly zone renders Trump lawsuit moot".
  55. ^ "President Elect Trump Given Permission to Land Helicopter at Mar-A-Lago Estate". Heliweb. January 2017.

Further reading

  • Florida. DK Eyewitness Travel Guides. 2004. p. 117.
  • Blair, Gwenda (2000). The Trumps. p. 364.
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