Harry Seymour Kelsey and car, c. 1950
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Material Information

Title:
Harry Seymour Kelsey and car, c. 1950
Series Title:
Mary Linehan Slide Collection
Donor:
Scan gift of Lantana Public Library.
Publication Date:
Physical Description:
1 black and white slide; 1 x .7 inches
Physical Location:
Scan only

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Automobiles
Kelsey City (Fla.)
Kelsey, Harry Seymour, 1879–1957
Mary Linehan Slide Collection
Spatial Coverage:
Florida -- Lake Park
Coordinates:
26.79838 x -80.073079

Notes

General Note:
Harry Seymour Kelsey leaning against his car. Partially visible notes pasted on the photo include a few quotes, including "The city of happiness is in the State of Mind." Harry Seymour Kelsey (1879–1957) made a fortune as a restaurant magnate in Boston in the late 1910s. When he sold his assets, he moved to Florida. After purchasing an immense amount of land, he started building Kelsey City, Florida's first planned community. Landscape architects Olmsted brothers and John Nolan designed the town, which consisted of an industrial zone, residential zone, and commercial zones. The industry included some a lumber mill, a brick factory, a dairy, and a nursery. Some of the industry was related to Mizner's developments. Kelsey auctioned residential lots in 1919, built the town and incorporated 16 Nov 1923. Although he was starting to have to sell land as early as 1925 to support the project, in 1925 Kelsey purchased the bankrupt Florida East Coast Canal and with Paris Singer built the Palm Beach Winter Club and golf course. The hurricane of 1926, IRS problems of 1927, the hurricane of 1928, and the stock market crash of 1929 were too much for the overextended Kelsey City to survive, and he gave it all up and returned to Massachusetts in 1929. By 1930, the town had only 75 residents and the state nullified the charter. In 1939, the town changed its name to Lake Park.
General Note:
Item number: SC2020-009-LP-006
General Note:
Scan gift of Lantana Public Library.

Record Information

Source Institution:
Boynton Beach City Library Local History Archives
Holding Location:
Boynton Beach City Library Local History Archives
Rights Management:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-RUU/1.0/
Resource Identifier:
FI20111906 ( FIU number )
2020.009 ( Accession number )

dpSobek Membership

Aggregations:
Boynton Beach City Library Local History Archives