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Bonnett House Museum & Gardens
Categories: Museums, Botanical Gardens [Edit]
900 N Birch RdFort Lauderdale, FL 33304
(954) 563-5393
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
4 reviews for Bonnett House Museum & Gardens
From the minute I saw the photos on the Bonnet House's website, I immediately fell in love with this beautiful beach house. Truthfully, I can't imagine how I never knew about this place until just a few weeks ago. Recently Martha Stewart came to the house and featured it in one of her magazines, and after visiting the house myself, I can see why. It's beautiful decorated with tropical motifs, contrasting colors, and luscious landscapes. Despite being steps away from the beach, you wouldn't know it once you enter the vivid blue and yellow doors.
For the summer, the Bonnet House has been offering 50% off "Family Days" on specific Saturdays each month. Normally the admission is $20, but for $10 we decided to give it a shot last weekend.
If you are planning on going with the hopes of nabbing some good photos, you are only allowed to do so in the courtyard and outside areas. You are required to go on the tour, but if you want to go back and see areas without the tour guide, there is someone that monitors the courtyard, and he was more than happy to allow me to walk around on my own which I took full advantage of.
The entire house is filled with eclectic findings, but my favorite part of the tour was Mr. Bartlett's art studio which featured some of his art collection, as well as his own unfinished paintings. Although we didn't see any monkeys, there was a beautiful family of swans in the lake located behind the house. One of the employees even knew how to "call" them over which was pretty neat.
Whether you're a native Floridian or a tourist, I definitely recommend visiting the Bonnet House to help preserve a beautiful piece of Florida's history. Plus, it's right across the street from the beach, making it a great place to steer your beach day towards an "off the beaten path" direction.
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This place has the opposite feeling of the Flagler Mansion. Instead of being exclusive, the people who lived here seemed to be inclusive. Add on well-traveled and artistic -- the estate is quirky and full of surprises. The way they treated their staff makes them seem "rich, but cool."
Built in 1920 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Bonnet House Museum & Gardens is a 35 acre subtropical estate and historic house museum. The tour is very interesting look into life in South Florida at that time.
The Main House is filled with a collection of art and the personal treasures of the Birch/Bartlett families. The surrounding grounds of the estate range from a mangrove swamp to a coastal hammock, providing habitat for a variety of fish, monkeys and other wildlife.
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The best part about the Bonnet House: there are monkeys on the premises.
The worst part about the Bonnet House: we didn't see any monkeys while we were there.
This is not my usual type of vacation-y activity, but it was really nice to do, and a very interesting glimpse into a bygone Fort Lauderdale. The other thing learned: it's really good to be a member of the Chicago Elite. Appears to open a lot of doors, or, you know, provide you with the funds to purchase half the land that is now Fort Lauderdale.
The Bonnet House is a plantation-style home in Fort Lauderdale. The house tour is all walking with one sit-down movie break and lasts nearly 2 hours altogether. You can walk the gardens, or there is a golf cart that will drive you around.
