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The Trumps have always had a penchant for Palm Beach society; first Donald with his purchase of Marjorie Merriweather Post’s 1924 Mar-a-Lago, which he promptly turned into a resort, and ex-wife Ivana, who since 1994, has been a full time resident only a half-mile north on Ocean Boulevard in an Addison Mizner designed mansion. Both Trumps seem to have a preference for the 1920’s romantic old world Spanish Revival Moorish style of architecture.
Ivana Trump has recently placed Concha Marina, her oceanfront Palm Beach mansion, on the market. Ivana purchased the estate for $4.4 million in 1994, two years after her divorce from Donald became final. It has been her primary residence since that time, but in an interview between her spokesperson and the “Palm Beach Daily News,” she said it is time to downsize now that her children are grown, though she intends to stay in Palm Beach for now.
In 1918, Addison Mizner moved from New York City to Florida for his health and quickly became the most popular architect of the 1920’s uber wealthy of Palm Beach. Taking into account the humid sultry days in South Florida, he designed homes in the Spanish-Moorish style that emphasizes cross-ventilation and kitchens in wings away from the living areas. There were open, shady loggias and courtyards with decorative columns supporting arches and red barrel tile roofs. He used French doors and casement windows to capture every breeze. In time, he opened his own company, Mizner Industries, in West Palm Beach to manufacture his own building materials and furniture.
Today, many of the Palm Beach homes he designed have become landmark properties, such as Concha Marina. One of his most beloved buildings is the Everglades Club which has been in continuous use since it was built in 1918. Concha Marina was a house that Addison Mizner designed for himself, though sold a year after its completion to George and Isabel Dodge Sloane. Isabel was the daughter of John F. Dodge, co-founder of Dodge Brothers Motor Company, and George was a wealthy stockbroker.
The original home was rather small by Palm Beach standards but was seamlessly added onto twice by the celebrity architects who followed, accounting for its current 14,406 square feet. The nine-bedroom, thirteen-bath house sits on three-quarters of an acre and has many of its original details intact. A rare special feature is the underground tunnel linking the main lot to its beachfront parcel. The courtyard has a lotus-shaped swimming pool and the four-car garage has an upstairs apartment. For more information.
Ivana Trump’s oceanfront Mizner-designed Palm Beach estate is now for sale at $18.9 million.
Photo courtesy of Fanjul Real Estate.
