Bonnet
House
This 35-acre beachfront estate (named
for the bonnet lily once blooming in
swamplands) was the winter residence
of the late Frederic and Evelyn Bartlett,
artists whose whimsical taste permeates
the breezy two-story home. (Lore has
it that when alligators peek from the
water, lilies sometimes cling to their
heads like bonnets.) Evelyn loved monkeys
and such a motif runs all over, with
two monkey statues from New York’s
Plaza Hotel flanking the den entrance.
Decor melds with the colony of Brazilian
monkeys outside, to this day adding
swinging high notes to weddings and
other outdoor celebrations. The estate
first belonged to Hugh Taylor Birch,
a Chicago lawyer arriving in 1893, enchanted
by Fort Lauderdale’s untamed coastline.
In 1919, when his daughter Helen married
artist Bartlett (also from Chicago),
Birch gave the property to the couple
for a winter cottage.
Bonnet
House was completed in 1920, but Helen
soon died unexpectedly. In 1931, Bartlett
married Evelyn Fortune Lilly, who
wintered at Bonnet House until 1995.
She died in Beverly Mass. two years
later at age 109, but not before making
sure her outpost of romantic eccentricity
was accorded protection from developer
encroachment. Bonnet House, on the
National Register of Historic Places,
is a property of the Florida Trust.
Peaceful surroundings insulate Bonnet
House from city bustle. East of the
boathouse is a fruit grove. As the
main gate opens, the grand entrance
is framed with stately melaleucas.
Wetlands to the west have a mangrove
jungle preventing erosion and supporting
wildlife. Tours pass through the gift
shop, stocking a cookbook for entertaining
in Bonnet House style.
900
North Birch Road. (954) 563-5393
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