Celebrate the Holidays at Whitehall

Throughout the month of December Whitehall is decorated for Christmas in grand style. The focal point of Whitehall decorations is a 16-foot Christmas Tree in the Grand Hall adorned with colored electrical lights and traditional ornaments in the Gilded Age style.

An American Christmas: An Illustrated Lecture by Philip B. Kunhardt III Sunday, December 6, 2009

2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

$25 Includes Lecture, Museum Admission and Tree Lighting

Lecture sponsored by:

Author of best-selling books on the American past, historian and film producer Philip Kunhardt, will present a richly illustrated lecture on the evolution of Christmas in 19th and early 20th century American culture. Focusing on such fascinating and influential figures as Washington Irving, Clement Clarke Moore, Thomas Nast, Phillips Brooks, Louisa May Alcott, and L. Frank Baum, as well as on American presidents and on Christmases in the White House, Kunhardt will shed light on the changing face Christmas, and on the secular meaning of the holiday. The presentation will be illustrated with images from the Meserve-Kunhardt Collection, and will include surprising and moving stories that will help put audiences into the Christmas spirit.

Tree Lighting Events
Sunday, Dedcember 6, 2009

3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Free with Museum Admission

For more than four decades the Flagler Museum has observed the tradition of Henry Flagler's youngest descendants lighting the Museum's Christmas Tree on the first Sunday of December. The afternoon's events include the following:

Seasonal refreshments in the West Room
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Santa Claus in the Pavilion
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Brief Organ Performances in the Music Room
3:30 p.m. to 3:40 p.m.

3:50 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

4:10 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.

Installed in 1902, the O’Dell pipe organ incorporates 1,249 metal and wood pipes powered by massive bellows. The Flaglers employed an organist to provide music for all their social functions held at the estate throughout the Season.

Brief Piano Performances in the Drawing Room
3:30 p.m. to 3:40 p.m.

3:50 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

4:10 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.

Holiday music will be performed on the Steinway Piano. Original to Whitehall’s Drawing Room, the grand art case piano was custom designed to match the aluminum leaf detailing of the Louis XVI style room.

Holiday Caroling in the Courtyard
4:30 p.m. - 4:50 p.m.

A choral performance will celebrate the season with holiday carols. Entertaining during the Flagler era often centered around musical events. Musicale, concert, and orchestra performances were often held at Whitehall during the winter Season.

Christmas Tree Lighting
4:55 p.m.

Henry Flagler’s youngest descendants will light the 16ft. tall Grand Hall Christmas tree. The Flaglers celebrated Christmas in a traditional Gilded Age fashion, with a tree richly decorated with ornaments, colored electric lights, and gifts for the local children.

Holiday Evening Tours

December 19 - 23, 2009

Experience the sites, sounds, and traditions of the Holidays in grand Gilded Age fashion with a Holiday Evening Tour of Whitehall. Holiday Evening Tours include a tour of Whitehall's first floor, carolers, refreshments, and a special Whitehall Christmas Cracker. Guided tours are available each night at 7:05 p.m., 7:15 p.m. , and 7:25 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children age 18 and under. Advance ticket purchase is required. Gates open five minutes prior to the reservation time.

Lunch at Cafe des Beaux-Arts

There may be no better time than during the Christmas Holidays to enjoy lunch at the Flagler Museum's Café de Beaux-Arts. A fixed price Gilded-Age Style Lunch is served daily, from 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Sunday, in the Museum's Café de Beaux-Arts. The price for admission and tea is $18 for Members and $36 for non-members. The price includes Museum admission, tax and gratuity. Advance purchase is recommended. Non-advance-purchase patrons will be served on a first-come, first-served basis. Groups are advised to call the Museum at (561) 655-2833 or e-mail the Museum, for reservations. Special group rates may apply.

Holiday Shopping

The Flagler Museum Store has a variety of Christmas gifts related to the Museum and America's Gilded Age. The Museum Store is open year-round. Members receive free admission to the Museum and a 10% discount on all purchases. To shop for Flagler Museum products online, click here.

For more information about any of the Museum's Holiday Activities, please call the Museum at (561) 655-2833 or e-mail the Museum at mail@flaglermuseum.us