The name Mizner is no stranger to Boca. As you drive around town or shop for a house, you will find that name pop up a lot. Who was Addison Mizner and how did he influence Boca’s development?

Originally from California, Addison Cairns Mizner was the best known and most discussed living American architect in the early 1920’s. After spending time designing and developing real estate in Palm Beach, he moved south to Boca Raton in the early 1920’s with his eye on creating an entire city by developing 16,000 acres for residential and commercial use.

Mizner used Mediterranean Revival, Venetian, and Spanish Colonial designs to make him Florida’s foremost designer of resort homes. Headquartered at the corner of Dixie Highway and Camino Real, his Mizner Development Corporation was set up to control all aspects of the manufacture of the buildings he designed. He used extensive advertising to promote his development and to attract new residents. He promised that Boca was “the greatest resort in the world”.

Addison Mizner is best known for designing the city’s centerpiece, the Cloister Inn, built on the west side of Lake Boca Raton. It opened with 100 rooms in early 1926. After several name changes, it eventually became the current day Boca Raton Resort and Club. He also designed the neighborhoods Old Floresta and Spanish Village.

Unfortunately, Mizner’s time in Boca development came to an abrupt halt when he filed for bankruptcy during the banking collapse later in 1926. He left several projects unfinished, including Town Hall, but another architect took over the project.

Nonetheless, the Mizner name lives on, as he left a unique architectural stamp on the City of Boca Raton. His work continues to inspire architects and land developers to this day. Some of the properties that carry his same include Mizner Country Club, Mizner Lake Estates, Addison Reserve Country Club, Mizner’s Preserve, 101 Via Mizner, The Addison, Addison Mizner Elementary School, and of course the entertainment center Mizner Park.

In March 2005, an 11-foot-tall statue of Addison Mizner created by Colombian sculptor Cristobal Gaviria was erected in Boca Raton at Mizner Boulevard and U.S. 1 to commemorate his visionary contributions to both the city and Florida architecture.