| La Querida | |
|---|---|
.jpg) La Querida as viewed from the ocean during the Kennedy family ownership (circa 1965) | |
 Interactive map of the La Querida area | |
| General information | |
| Type | Mansion |
| Architectural style | Mediterranean Revival |
| Location | 1095 N. Ocean Boulevard,Palm Beach, Florida, 33480, United States |
| Coordinates | 26°45′10″N80°2′11″W / 26.75278°N 80.03639°W /26.75278; -80.03639 |
| Year built | 1923 |
| Cost | $50,000 |
| Owner | Carl and Mary Jane Panattoni |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Addison Mizner |
La Querida ("the dear one"),[a] also known asCastillo del Mar ("castle by the sea") for several years, is a residence inPalm Beach, Florida, located at 1095 N. Ocean Boulevard. Completed in 1923, it was built in theMediterranean Revival style by well-known architectAddison Mizner at a cost of $50,000. The home is most notable for serving as the "Winter White House" during thepresidency ofJohn F. Kennedy. As of 2015, La Querida contains over 15,000 sq ft (1,400 m2) of living space, including eleven bedrooms, twelve bathrooms, and three half-bathrooms.
La Querida has been owned by a few other notable individuals since the Kennedy family sold the property in 1995, including businessmanJohn K. Castle and real estate investorJane Goldman. The current owners are Carl (founder ofPanattoni Development Company) and Mary Jane Panattoni, who purchased the home in June 2020 for $70 million.
Prominent South Florida architectAddison Mizner built La Querida in 1923 at a cost reported to be $50,000 forRodman Wanamaker ofPhiladelphia, heir to theWanamaker's Department Store fortune.[2] Constructed in theMediterranean Revival style, La Querida is located at 1095 N. Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach.[1] Following Wanamaker's death in 1928, all of his estate, which was valued at around $75 million, except for annuities was transferred to atrust.[3] That September, the home suffered major damage during the1928 Okeechobee hurricane,[4]: 5 withThe Palm Beach Post noting that "No chance remains of again utilizing the home of Rodman Wanamaker III, unless it is almost entirely rebuilt".[5]
Chalker and Lund, Inc. began restoring La Querida in early October 1928 under a $60,000 contract, with the expectation that work would be finished by January 1, 1929. The renovation also included the addition of a stronger seawall and asunroom, as well as the enlargement of theliving room and servants' quarters.[6] The house remained mostly vacant in the winter seasons of 1931–1932 and 1932–1933, except for a few visits by the late Rodman Wanamaker's niece, Mary Brown Warburton, who was the daughter ofBarclay Harding Warburton I andMary Brown Wanamaker.[7]
The Wanamaker family sold La Querida toJoseph P. Kennedy Sr. for $120,000 on June 30, 1933. At the time, a description inThe Palm Beach Post noted that the property included 176 feet (54 m) of oceanfront, six master bedrooms, five bathrooms, and "spacious living quarters".[7]
Following their purchase, the home acted as a winter retreat for the family. The Kennedys usually only lived at La Querida around theChristmas andEaster holidays.[8]: 31 One notable guest at the home during this period wasJames Roosevelt (eldest son of United States PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt) and his then-wifeBetsey, who stayed at La Querida a few times, including in 1934 and 1935.[9][10] Kennedy Sr. hiredMaurice Fatio, an architect with several notable works, to design a two-floor car garage, pool pavilion, and tennis court. He also enlarged the estate by purchasing adjacent land.[1]
In 1955, then-U.S. SenatorJohn F. Kennedy (D–Massachusetts) spent several months at the home in Palm Beach while recovering from a surgery necessitated by a spinal injury he suffered inWorld War II.[11] It is said that during his recovery at La Querida, Senator Kennedy wroteProfiles in Courage, aPulitzer Prize-winning book.[1] Senator Kennedy also handwrote the first draft of his announcement speech forhis candidacy forpresident of the United States in the upcoming1960 election while at La Querida on April 1, 1959. The handwritten draft sold for $160,000 at an auction in September 2015.[12]
One week after being elected president of the United States in 1960, John F. Kennedy hosted an informal press luncheon at La Querida on November 15.[13] Kennedy is also said to have begun selecting members of his cabinet in the home's library room.[2] In a 1995 lawsuit to argue against the significance of the property to discourage its designation as a Palm Beach town landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, lawyers representing the family denied that Kennedy appointed any cabinet members at La Querida.[14] However, in a press conference at the house on December 17, 1960, Kennedy announced his choice ofJ. Edward Day asUnited States postmaster general.[15] Twelve days later,The New York Times noted that during another press conference held at La Querida, president-elect Kennedy informed reporters about the selection of several other officials,[14] includingW. Averell Harriman as Ambassador at Large,Robert Roosa as Under-Secretary of the Treasury for Monetary Affairs, andJames M. Landis as a White House staffer.[16]
When president-elect Kennedy visited Palm Beach in December 1960,Richard Paul Pavlick nearly carried out an assassination attempt. Pavlick drove fromNew Hampshire to Palm Beach with a car full of dynamite.[17] While Kennedy was at La Querida preparing to leave forSunday Mass at St. Edward's Catholic Church on December 11,[17][18] Pavlick waited outside the home and intended to crash his car into Kennedy's limousine. Pavlick decided to forgo his plan after noticing that Kennedy was accompanied by his wife and young children and decided to pick another day for the assassination attempt. However, on December 15,[17] thePalm Beach Police Department arrested him at the intersection of North County Road andRoyal Poinciana Way after receiving information from theSecret Service.[18] Pavlick was charged with threatening to assassinate Kennedy, but after he was declared legally insane by federal judgeEmett Clay Choate on December 2, 1963, charges were reduced to unlawful transportation of dynamite across state lines.[19]
In January 1961, Senator Kennedy, with the assistance of speechwriterTed Sorensen, drafted much of hisinaugural address at La Querida.[20] After Kennedy assumed the office of president of the United States, La Querida became his "Winter White House".[1] He met there withSecretary of StateDean Rusk on April 1, 1961, to discuss theLaotian Civil War, with the president calling for a ceasefire and for theSoviet government to "use their influence" to assist with stopping the conflict.[21] Also that weekend, Easter, local and federal law enforcement uncovered an alleged plot by four pro-Castro Cubans to assassinate Kennedy and abduct his daughterCaroline, then three years old, while they stayed in Palm Beach.[22] Thereafter, Kennedy sometimes temporarily stayed at the home ofJosephine Perfect Bay andPaul Michael Iogolevitch, such as in the 1961–62 and 1962–63 winter seasons.[23] However, in December 1962, President Kennedy met withIsraeliforeign affairs minister (and laterprime minister)Golda Meir at La Querida. They discussed the sale ofMIM-23 Hawk missiles and Kennedy's concerns aboutIsrael developing nuclear weapons and their raids on refugee camps inJordan andSyria.[24]
President Kennedy's final trip to Palm Beach occurred in mid-November 1963, during which he stayed at La Querida. There, Kennedy, special assistant to the presidentRalph A. Dungan, andPeace Corps officialRichard N. Goodwin discussedLatin American policy due to waning enthusiasm for hisAlliance for Progress program among several officials in the region.[25] Kennedy's trip to La Querida turned out to be his last weekend alive, as he wasassassinated days later in Texas.[1]
Following Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.'s death in November 1969, several newspapers reported that the family intended to sell La Querida. In January 1970, however, the Kennedys stated that they did not plan to sell the estate and instead considered renting it out after significant renovations, before ultimately scrapping that idea as well.[26] During the next few decades, the house occasionally became associated with some drinking incidents involving SenatorTed Kennedy and later withWilliam Kennedy Smith's 1991 rape trial.[27] In the early morning hours of March 30, 1991, Smith rode with a woman he met at Au Bar in Palm Beach, later identified as Patricia Bowman, back to La Querida. Bowman then alleged that Smith raped her by the pool. However, Smith argued that the encounter was consensual, with the trial resulting in his acquittal on December 11.[28]
The town government of Palm Beach began attempting in the 1980s to list the property as a local historic landmark via the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Owners of properties designated as landmarks must seek permission from the commission to make any significant changes to their structure. The Kennedys fought against efforts to list La Querida as a local landmark. In 1980, town commissioners rejected the proposal to give the home this designation due to a report by a consultant concluding that the property lacked architectural significance.[29]
A second attempt to list the house as a town landmark occurred in 1990.[29] That time, the Kennedy family hired an attorney to fight the designation,[30] as owners cannot directly reject having their property selected.[29] The Palm Beach Landmarks Preservation Commission chair James Sullivan remarked that by resisting the home's selection, "The Kennedys have lost an opportunity to acknowledge the significance of a home that played such an important role in our nation's history."[30] Landmarks Preservation Commission decided to table the proposal.[29]
The town government began a third attempt to designate the property as a local landmark in February 1995.Eunice Kennedy Shriver filed a lawsuit, describing the new effort to place La Querida on the list of landmarks as "nothing but harassment".[31] A judge decided not to allow the suit to proceed until after town proceedings were complete. By then, the lawyer representing the Kennedys argued that landmark designation could even decrease the value of the house and prospects for selling it.[29] Although the Kennedys and the Landmarks Preservation Commission agreed on a compromise to allow only the gate and wall to be designated, town commissioners narrowly rejected the proposal on May 9 because, as mayorPaul Ilyinsky stated, "the whole business should be sent back for a complete designation hearing,."[32]
The Kennedys placed La Querida on the real estate market in late 1993, although a sale did not occur until May 1995, about four months afterRose Kennedy's death. A historian who closely documented the family,Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., wrote that "Palm Beach is not a place where the youngest generation of Kennedys finds sustenance," contributing to their decision to sell La Querida.[27]John K. Castle, the CEO ofCastle Harlan, purchased the house for approximately $5 million, below the asking price of $7 million.[33] In the process, the 15-year dispute to designate the property as a landmark concluded.[27] The town council initially rejected a proposal to landmark only the gate and front wall, but reversed course in a unanimous vote on May 16. They, along with the Kennedys and Castles, reached a compromise that would immediately list the gate and front wall as landmarks but also the entire structure within five years.[34]
An architect hired by Castle described the house as not having any significant renovations since 1928, other than electricity and plumbing. Castle stated his intentions to renovate La Querida but in a manner consistent with town guidelines for designation as a historic landmark.[27] Nicknaming the houseCastillo del Mar ("castle by the sea"),[2] the Castles retained furnishings from the Kennedys in several rooms, added fireplaces, and replaced some windows and doors.[35] In 1998, the Castles moved into the residence.[2] However, many of these changes were reversed after Castle sold the home to real estate investorJane Goldman in 2015 for $31 million.[35] After moving out, the Castles offered 153 items for auction in January 2016 at the Leslie Hindman Auctioneers showroom inWest Palm Beach, profiting nearly $500,000.[36]
In June 2020, Goldman sold La Querida to its current owners, Carl and Mary Jane Panattoni, for $70 million. Carl Panattoni is the owner and founder ofPanattoni, an international real estate and warehouse developer. The Panattonis gained approval from town commissioners in October of that year for a few landscape changes and the removal of the tennis court, to enlarge the driveway.[37]
The property on which La Querida sits comprises approximately 1 acre (0.40 ha), including about 200 feet (61 m) of oceanfront. Noted South Florida architect Mizner designed the house in 1923 in the Mediterranean Revival style. ThePalm Beach Daily News noted that according to the 2015 listing by Lawrence A. Moens Associates, La Querida contained "15,347 square feet [1,425.8 square meters] of living space, 11 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms and three half-baths".[1] The house includes French doors, added during Goldman's ownership of the property.[38] Floor-to-ceiling windows are present in the dining room, kitchen, living room, and model room (a den).[39] Walls in the living area are painted light blue and white, while the dining room has a similar color scheme, along with gold accents. Parts of the house have Moroccan-inspired tile.[40] A spiral staircase is enclosed within aturret along the front façade of the house.[41] The south end of La Querida is a two-story addition, constructed when the Castles owned the home, which allowed for a den on the first floor and another bathroom and bedroom on the second floor.[2] Guest rooms and workspaces were created on the second floor when the Castles merged former staff bedrooms.[41] La Querida also has a library room, where President Kennedy is said to have selected cabinet officials. Externally, the second story includes severalwrought iron–lined balconies.[2]
A wooden gate and tall perimeter wall partially obscure the front of the house from the road.[1] Between the wooden gate and the entrance to the main house is aloggia, with a garden on one side.[42] At least twooutbuildings exist on the property: a two-story pool house and a two-story garage, the latter designed by Fatio.[41] Under the ownership of Goldman, the garage was converted to a foyer. Other features added outside the main house by Fatio included a tennis court and pool,[41] both of which remain on the property to this day, albeit with renovations and expansions.[43]
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