Second Oldest Home in Naples

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

Palm Cottage was originally used as a guest house to house the overflow from the Naples Hotel. Walter Haldeman had it built sometime between 1893 and 1895. Originally, the house contained three bedrooms, which were eventually subdivided into five narrow sleeping rooms. Henry Watterson, editor of the Louisville Courier Journal was one of the first guests and spent hours on the cottage porch. Unlike the other visitors to Naples during that era, he scorned hunting and fishing and preferred observing the goings-on of more active vacationers.

The cottage is as sturdy and staunch today as it was at the turn of the century. It is the only remaining example of a cement that was made from shells and sand. The material, called tabby, was used in the foot-deep walls protecting the occupants from the elements. The house has 12-foot ceilings and an oversized veranda, providing a cool retreat long before air conditioning was even invented.

Walter Haldeman died in 1916, and the cottage was purchased by Walter Parmer, who kept it until 1939, when George Hendrie, a long-time friend of the family bought the cottage. Hendrie, a Canadian speculator, renamed the cottage, The Hamilton Ontario House. Eventually it was called "Hamilton House," by Alexandra and Laurence Brown. They bought the historic cottage in 1944 for $8,000.

The Browns were probably the most idiosyncratic and eccentric couple ever to grace the Naples scene. It was as if central casting had sent forth a pair of characters from an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. Larry, done up in baggy shorts, a broad-brimmed hat and a brilliant yellow serape, was often seen tearing around town in a vintage Mercedes coupe. To emphasize this swashbuckling appearance, he cultivated a long mustache, which was waxed and arranged in the manner of Pancho Villa.

It was common knowledge among early residents that Larry was also a "remittance offspring." Naples seemed to have several of these recalcitrant individuals who regularly received an allowance on which to subsist while remaining away from the family home and hearth.

Alexandra was more Tennessee Williams than Fitzgerald. She was a tiny wisp of a woman whose sharp wit and inner strength somehow contradicted her appearance of helplessness and fragility.

The Browns never sent out invitations to their frequent cocktail parties; they hoisted a special flag to inform everyone that their well-stocked bar was open. The house often was filled with visiting celebrities, local fishermen, and regular habitues of the Pier.

Exotic creatures were especially attractive to the Browns. They owned several basenjis, the barkless African hunting dogs with golden eyes and curled tail. The basenjis were frequent unpaid guests at the Naples Theater and roamed at will throughout Naples. Once when the Arcade Theater in Fort Meyers advertised a film that featured basenjis, the Browns loaded up their three canine companions, and off they went. When the ticked taker refused to allow the dogs in, Alexandra bought a ticket while Larry found the emergency exit door; once his wife was in the theater, she let him in with the dogs. No doubt a good time was had by all!

At the south end of Gordon Drive, the Browns maintained a beach cottage, which they moved regularly. The "Chicken Coop," as it was called, was lifted in toto and set farther back on the lot as the tides eroded the beach and threatened to break up the house. It was here that the couple kept Larry's gamecocks. Cockfighting was illegal, and although Larry smilingly claimed to raise the critters as a hobby, it was commonly known that the Brown menagerie was frequently booked to fight around Immokalee and Arcadia.

Alexandra and Larry were not without ingenuity when it came to entertaining themselves. When things got dull around town, they amused themselves by going to PTA meetings, carrying with them a portable bar in a large wicker basket. Although having no children of their own, nonetheless, they generously contributed their opinions and suggestions on school matters. After the meeting, while other attenders imbibed in iced tea, cookies and coffee, the Browns indulged in their own more potent potables.

The Browns became legendary figures,and tales about their antics were common cocktail gossip. One anecdote that made the rounds for several years concerned the Christmas card salesman who was making door-to door calls early one October. Few people were to be found in Naples, and when he happened on the Brown house he felt privileged to be welcomed in. On behalf of Alexandra and Larry, they also were delighted for they hadn't seen another friendly face in weeks. Both had been bending their elbows at the bar and urged their visitor to join them. After several refreshing libations, the salesman got down to business. And sure enough, he got an order for 500 of the most expensive cards. When he asked about a message, the Browns found a sample and insisted on having "See page 15 for appropriate message" on the cards. Even a call from the card company headquarters failed to change their minds. Few people who received the unsigned cards that year have forgotten its effect on their holiday mood.

In 1979, the Collier County Historical Society purchased Palm Cottage from the Brown estate. It is the only residence in Collier County on the prestigious National Register of Historical Places. The Society maintains its headquarters in the cottage, which has been scrupulously restored. Visitors are welcome to inspect the house, and parties and weddings frequently take place here.

Although built as a simple guest house, there is nonetheless an aura of grandeur and elegance uncommon in most cottages. The spacious veranda filled with the original wicker furniture is inviting and beckons one to pass through to the lofty entrance hall. A graceful stairway makes its way up to the second floor where reminders of the past induce nostalgia and longing. The primitive antiques and family mementoes remain along with the grander furnishings such as gilded mirrors, crystal chandeliers, porcelains, china and silver.

Palm Cottage is a serene oasis of solitude and serenity. It's as if Alexandra and Larry still live here and have taken the basenjis for a ride in the old Mercedes. Perhaps they've gone down to the beach house for a romp in the surf and a feeding session with those noisy and feisty fighting cocks. They'll be back any minute; so sit awhile on the front porch. Catch the breeze and watch the passers-by on their way to the Pier. And listen, listen, listen. Those creaks on the stairs, that rustling in the bedrooms, that sudden wisp of breeze that ruffles the curtains and that barely discernible fragrance of old perfume perhaps they belong to those restive ghosts of the past, guiding you gently into their world.

Alexandra Brown was not noted as a great cook, but her cocktail parties often had tantalizing tid-bits to lessen the effects of potent martinis, unpredictable old-fashioneds and formidable highballs of Kentucky bourbon and branch water. During the present era of white wine and mineral water, these inspired nibbles are delicious reminders of the more volatile spirits of her time.