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| Florida State Archives/Florida Memory |
By Jane Feehan
The “swank” Marie Antoinette apartment-hotel located at 2222 N. Atlantic Boulevard opened the last week in January, 1948. The 27-unit building was lauded as being one of the few in Fort Lauderdale offering complete hotel service—and an elevator.
Of French Colonial design, the Marie Antoinette was distinctive for its two large picture windows, 13 feet by nine feet. The windows provided an ocean view from two “studio apartments” each with a two-story living room and a bedroom with a balcony. All units in the hotel boasted wall-to-wall carpeting, one papered wall, jalousie windows—and a fire place. Imported marble graced the stairways and handrails. Apartment refrigerators stocked with food greeted guests as well as stationary printed with their names.
Designed by Upton C. Ewing of Coral Gables and C. Dale Dykema of Fort Lauderdale, the terra cotta block and concrete structure was 100 percent fireproof. The Marie Antoinette was built by Caldwell Scott Construction Company. Kay Kellogg served as its interior decorator. It was the fifth project in the area owned and operated by Fred C. Snedden.
The Marie Antoinette was beautifully maintained throughout all the years I remember, elegant in its coat of beige paint and white trim. The picture windows drew in passing eyes to an interior of a bygone era. It was probably part of the land parcels bought to make way for the Palm condominium, near the old Mark 2100 Hotel. Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.
Sources:
Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 29. 1948
Tags: Old Fort Lauderdale hotels, Fort Lauderdale in the 1940s, historical researcher for films, Fort Lauderdale history
