Bonnet House, the beloved historic gem near Fort Lauderdale’s beach, is highly vulnerable to hurricanes but has never had state-of-the-art protection.
Now, after a successful campaign to raise $36,000 for new shutters, the estate at 900 N. Birch Road, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will finally be safer next time a storm beckons.
The house succeeded in raising $18,000 from the public, which was matched by a member of its board. Local residents seem able to relate to a historic house that needs to be safeguarded from Florida weather, said chief executive officer Patrick Shavloske, who signed a contract this week for the mesh-screen coverings and hopes they are installed before hurricane season begins June 1.
“It’s an investment in preventing damage that is likely to occur,” he said.
Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel
A peak inside the master bedroom at Bonnet House in Fort Lauderdale in 2023.
With its old-time Florida feel and lush landscape between the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway, Bonnet House Museum & Gardens is a favorite destination for tourists and a beloved venue for locals hosting weddings and public gatherings.
Thrice-married artist Frederic Clay Bartlett, who died in 1953, and his second wife, Helen Louise Birch, began construction of the house in 1920. Bartlett’s third wife, Evelyn Fortune Lilly Bartlett, donated the estate to the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation in 1983, but after a financial dispute with the trust, local history enthusiasts took ownership of the 35-acre property in 2020.
The local board has been busy repairing the landscape and old buildings, which suffer from humidity, salty air and winds from the nearby ocean. Although the house has had steel-panel and mesh-screen shutters for many years, several other buildings, such as the former servants’ quarters, were protected with sheets of plywood, which had been attracting termites, Shavloske said.
Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel
Fort Lauderdale’s historic Bonnet House was built in the 1920s. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
“Plywood doesn’t do a whole lot of good,” he said. “The new mesh shields are like Kevlar, like a bulletproof vest.”
During this most recent campaign, the nonprofit surpassed its fundraising goal by $2,000, Shavloske said. Any further money that comes in will go toward other preservation projects on the property, including replacement of Moroccan lanterns that have deteriorated in the salt air ($4,000), staircase repairs ($11,000) and a $400,000 plan to restore a waterway with a coral rock shore.
To donate, go to bonnethouse.org.