Palm Beach was a busy place for us. Next we set out to learn more about the ubiquitous Florida developer/philanthropist by visiting the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum.

The museum building was constructed originally in 1902 as Whitehall, a winter retreat home for Henry and his wife Mary Lily. With more than 75 rooms, it allowed for a lotta retreating. After the deaths of both Henry and Mary Lily, the property was sold to a group of investors who expanded the building and reopened it in 1925 as the Whitehall Hotel.

In 1959 Flagler's granddaughter purchased the struggling property and reopened it in 1960 as a nonprofit museum. She reached out to family members and friends to regain for the museum the many art objects and items of furniture that had been dispersed in preceding years.

A lot of Henry Flagler/Florida history is recounted on posters scattered throughout the museum. I won't bore you by paraphrasing it, but here it is if you want to peruse it.

The entry to the musem is the Grand Hall, a reception area designed for entertaining guests. The Flaglers entertained almost constantly during the winters they spent here.

Speaking of halls, even the hallways and stairs in this place are opulent. The Flaglers also seemed to have a fascination with clocks.

First up on the second floor was a small history room, which displays the 18k gold tea set shown on the left. Also here is an 18-karat gold replica of the Western Union telegram sent to Henry Flagler to announce the completion of the Key West railway extension.

Upstairs are the master suite and a multitude of guest bedrooms. Particularly interesting is the enormous master bathroom, complete with indoor plumbing and a giant rug softening the impact of the cold floor tile.

Each guest bedroom has its own decorating style and color scheme. One head-scratcher is the "Silver Maple" room; the name wasn't explained, but I'm guessing the Flaglers must have had some aversion to "Red Room".

Waking up in the Yellow Rose Room would be, um, startling, to say the least. Matching wallpaper and fabric was a turn-of-the-century innovation and the Flaglers clearly wouldn't be caught behind the times.

The Morning Room wasn't a bedroom, but a private office and study for Mary Lily.

Servants' quarters were significantly more spare than the rest of the house. The third floor, not open to the public, housed rooms for the servants of house guests. How nice to travel with your own maid!

We returned downstairs to continue the tour. I stopped to check out a museum guest register page from 1979 that was signed at the top by Benny Goodman and, well, everywhere by Liberace.

The Grand Ballroom seemed very large until I pictured it filled with dancing couples. The ornate Louis XVI Drawing Room was exceptionally beautiful; its Steinway grand piano was made specifically for this room, with its decorative details matching those on the walls.

I could practically see the cigar smoke curling around in the Library, graced with another portrait of Henry Flagler above the fireplace. The Music Room featured a player piano and a 1,249-pipe organ built into the wall. Each season, Flagler employed a resident organist to entertain his guests.

The Breakfast Room dining table only seated six, although the room itself was the size of half my house. In contrast, the ornate formal dining room felt claustrophobic. I mean, there was hardly room for the servants to come and go!

Apparently, catering was complicated in the Gilded Age. Each kind of social event required a special set of china or service ware. An inventory taken in 1917 listed more than 1,000 plates, 500 glasses, and 20 tea sets. The hallway shown to the right is lined with cabinet after cabinet of dishes and cookware.

The Flagler-Kenan Pavilion was added to the museum in 2005 to house Flagler's private Railway Car 91. Not long after his 82nd birthday, Flagler traveled in this railcar to Key West along the Over-Sea Railroad, to celebrate the completion of the Florida East Coast Railway in 1912. The railcar has a salon, a master bedroom and bath, and even a tiny kitchen!

We were museumed out after several hours. We spent a few minutes enjoying the expansive coconut grove and the view across the water before heading back to our comparatively claustrophobic lodging. The rich really ARE different.