BONNET HOUSE MUSEUM
AND GARDENS

By  Mike Miller November 19, 2025

Bonnet House Museum and Gardens encompasses 35 acres in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The site centers on a 1920s Mediterranean Revival mansion built by artist Frederic Clay Bartlett for his second wife, Helen Birch.

It includes gardens, a lagoon, and native habitats. The property preserves the legacy of Frederic and third wife Evelyn Bartlett, who occupied it during its heyday.

Visitors explore art-filled rooms, an orchid house and wildlife spots. Brazilian Squirrel Monkeys and swans roam the grounds. The estate reflects early 20th-century coastal living.

The land occupied by Bonnet House has been inhabited for thousands of years, tracing back to the Tequesta people around 2,000 B.C. In the 1890s the site held pineapple plantations.

In 1895 Hugh Taylor Birch, a prominent Chicago attorney, real estate investor, and naturalist, bought the land.

In 1919 he gave it as a wedding present to his daughter Helen Louise Birch and her new husband, widower Frederic Clay Bartlett.

Frederic, an artist, art collector and amateur architect, designed the house from 1920 to 1922. He drew inspiration from Caribbean plantations and blended Spanish Revival with Florida vernacular elements.

Stucco walls and tile roofs mark the style. Tragically, Helen died in 1925 of breast cancer. The house survived a severe 1926 hurricane with minor damage.

Frederic’s visits became sporadic after Helen’s death. In 1931 Frederic married Evelyn Fortune Lilly, an heiress to the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical fortune.

They spent winters at Bonnet House together and were responsible for much of the estate’s artistic expansion in the 1930s-40s.

A guest house and orangery (a building for growing orange trees) were added, as were murals, hand-painted ceilings and faux marble floors. The couple hosted painters, musicians, and writers, including members of Frederic's Chicago art scene.

This was the estate's "renaissance" era, with musical evenings in the dedicated music room (originally for wife Helen) and dinners with Evelyn’s extensive china collection.

It was said that guests never ate off the same plate twice. Evelyn cultivated the grounds with orchids and shells, gifting matching pairs to visitors.

When Frederic died in 1953 the property passed from him to Evelyn. In 1983 she donated Bonnet House to the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation to ensure its preservation as a public museum.

It was the largest private donation in Florida history at the time, valued at thirty-five million dollars. Key displays include Frederic's art collection, featuring Asian textiles and his own works.  

The estate avoided major changes, keeping its original furnishings.  It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1984, for its association with significant persons and architectural merit.

Today it remains protected for its representation of Florida's Gilded Age estates. It is managed by the nonprofit Bonnet House Museum and Gardens.

It was designated a Fort Lauderdale historic landmark in 2002 and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. In 2004, the National Trust for Historic Preservation included Bonnet House in its Save America’s Treasures program.

In 2008 due to the threat posed by massive nearby development, the National Trust and the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation listed Bonnet House as one of America’s 11 most endangered sites.

You should visit while you still can!

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Bonnet House Museum and Gardens is at 900 N. Birch Road, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304. It borders the Intracoastal Waterway.

You can reach it via U.S. 1 to Sunrise Boulevard then north. Park in the lot off Birch Road.

It’s open Wednesday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed on Tuesdays.

Self-guided tours of the ground floor and gardens run Tuesday-Friday, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, and Saturday & Sunday, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Guided tours are also available but you must pre-register. Downstairs guided tours are on Tuesday, Thursday & Friday at 10:00 am & 1:00 pm and Saturday at 10:00 am.

Upstairs/Downstairs guided tours are on Wednesdays at 10:00 am & 1:00 pm. This is a VIP experience of the upstairs and downstairs of the main house.

Take a sneak peek inside normally closed areas of Evelyn and Frederic Bartlett’s private living quarters. You must be able to climb 20 stairs to go upstairs.

Various blooming examples of Evelyn’s orchids are rotated regularly through the estate’s Orchid Display House.

You can also walk the 1.3-mile grounds loop and spot otters in the lagoon. You may see monkeys, swans, and exotic birds.

There is a gift and orchid shop that sells art, handmade crafts, collectibles, antiques, clothing, jewelry, live blooming orchids and other assorted items.

You can also enjoy a light meal at The Little Cafe located at the Museum Shop. Check their website for special events and programs.

BONNET HOUSE MUSEUM AND GARDENS WEBSITE

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