in new developments up and down the Florida peninsula. "It is style," said Donald Curl. "As an architect, he introduced Mediterranean revival, or Spanish revival, or whatever you wanted to call it. He made it not only popular but fashionable. Mizner was someone who was willing to take a lot of liberties and design buildings that were good for the climate and the lifestyle of the people who were his clients." "I never begin to design a home without first imagining some sort of romance about it. Once I have my story, then the plans take place easily." Mizner created a version of Spanish style that was appropriate to twentieth-century Florida. The loggia room has survived as the Florida room. The changing room is now an essential. The focal point, now swimming pool with bridge or hanging basket chair, creates the necessary element of excitement. Native building materials are touted. Red tile remains a precious commodity. Pastel colors prevail. Meandering streets with boutiques are today's key to a successful commercial adventure. The advantages of mixed residential and commercial use have become obvious. "Antiquing" buildings To get the all-important appearance of antiquity Mizner inflicted vandalism. He deliberately smudged up new rooms with burning pots of tarpaper, took penknife to woodwork and statuary, chipped tiles, used acid to rust the iron, made wormholes with an icepick, cracked a mantle with a sledgehammer, all creating what he called "the kiss of the centuries." He hired inexperienced help to lay roof tiles awry, and once had men in hobnailed boots walk up and down a stairway before the cement set to get the effect of centuries of wear. One of his original contributions to architecture was the discovery that worm-eaten cypress gave the desired effect of age; thus "pecky" cypress, weak and worthless for structural elements, suddenly became the mahogany paneling of Palm Beach. Selected buildings *An oceanfront Palm Beach estate was once owned by the late John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono Named El Solano, Located on South Ocean Boulevard, popularly referred to as Billioniares’ Row, the house is next door to a property owned by author James Patterson, records show. Mizner designed the Hitchcock Estate in Millbrook, New York, in 1912. Mizner's first major Florida commission was the Everglades Club, a Spanish-mission-style convalescent retreat built in 1918, that became (and remains) a private club. It stands at 4 Via Parigi (off