QuarryHouse Out and About: 11th Annual Addison Mizner Awards

At The Colony Palm Beach, the event was sold out, Photo by Capehart Photography

While The Institute of Classical Architecture and Art Northern California Chapter (ICAA Northern California) has the Julia Morgan Awards, the ICAA Florida Chapter boasts the Addison Mizner Awards program. Both juried competitions acknowledge excellence in classical and traditional design and provide continued exposure and recognition for practitioners of these disciplines. Each award recognizes contemporary architects, designers, artisans, students, builders, and patrons while honoring Morgan and Mizner's legacy and encouraging future generations. QuarryHouse's Ed Westbrook, a Chapter Board Member of ICAA Northern California, recently attended the Addison Mizner Awards. Fellow classicist and interior designer Christopher Roy joined Ed at The Colony Palm Beach for the festivities. Christopher has offices in Sausalito, California, and Charleston, South Carolina.

Christopher Roy and Ed Westbrook at 11th Annual Addison Mizner Awards, Photo by Capehart Photography

Addison Mizner also had connections to both the West and East coasts. The architect whose Mediterranean and Spanish Colonial Revival fantasies etch Palm Beach's landscape was born in Benicia, California, in 1872. His early exposure to Hispanic architecture started when he accompanied his father, a diplomat, to Guatemala. He traveled in Central America, absorbing Spanish culture and heritage during this time. Pursuing an architectural career, Mizner served a 3-year apprenticeship in the San Francisco office of Willis Polk, followed by ten years designing country estates in Long Island. An invitation from sewing machine heir, Paris Singer, brought him to Palm Beach in 1918, where he created an Andalusian-style legacy, The Everglades Club.

Addison Mizner’s Everglades Club, Palm Beach, Photo, by State Archives of Florida/Florida Memory/Alamy