Palm Cottage
Coming back from the Pier the other day we passed by the Palm Cottage. This restored beach cottage, which is filled with antiques, was built in 1895 and is the second oldest house in Naples. Walter Haldeman, owner of the Louisville Courier-Journal, bought most of what is now downtown Naples in 1890. In 1895 he built Palm Cottage as a winter residence for his friend Henry Watterson, the Pulitzer prize-winning editor of his newspaper.
The cottage was built of tabby, a home-made cement made from shells, sand and water and was quite large with seven bedrooms and 12 foot ceilings. Palm Cottage has had a few owners through the years, as well as some famous guest like Gary Cooper and Robert Montgomery, but in 1978, the house was to be torn down and replaced with a parking lot when it was acquired by the Naples Historical Society and listed on the National Register in 1982 and is now a historic museum.
The Palm Cottage is located right down from the Pier at 137 12th Avenue which is across the street from the city parking lot for the pier. Office hours are 9-5 Monday thru Friday. Call 239-261-8164 for more information on guided tours and private parties.
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