Maurice Fatio

Maurice Fatio
Born	1897 Geneva
Died	1943
Nationality	Swiss
Occupation	Architect
Buildings	Casa Alva Eastover

Maurice Fatio (1897–1943) was a Swiss-born American architect.

Biography

Maurice Fatio was born in Geneva, Switzerland on March 18th 1897. He graduated from the Polytechnical School at the University of Zurich and studied under Swiss architect Karl Moser.

In 1920, he came to New York City where he first worked for society architect Harrie T. Lindeberg. He soon branched out on his own in partnership with William A. Treanor who was twenty years his senior. In May 1923, the twenty-six-year-old Fatio was voted the most popular architect in New York.^[1]

He moved to Palm Beach, Florida in 1925 and opened an office there^[2] In Palm Beach, he began designing harmonious Mediterranean-style houses and eventually branched out into everything from Georgian to contemporary. In 1929, he married Eleanor Chase, a prominent Palm Beach society girl and novelist, in New York City.^[3] Chase had earlier been the girl friend of Wilson Mizner.^[4]

His houses were so well known during his lifetime that composer-lyricist Cole Porter was inspired to write brightly in the late 1930s: I want to live on Maurice Fatio's patio...^[5] Fatio had two children with Eleanor, Alexandra (1932-2015) and Maurice Pierre "Petey"(1930-1961). Maurice Fatio died young in his forties of lung cancer.^[6] His wife, Eleanor (1901–1944), died the next year.^[7]

James H. Clark bought the 40,000 square foot Il Palmetto in 1999.^[8] In December 2010 Casa Alva sold for $27.5 M.^[9] That is a record as the second most expensive property that ever sold in Palm Beach County. The most expensive is Eastover which sold in July 1999 for $29.8 M to William Hearst.^[10]

Notable buildings

• Residence of David Rockefeller. 146 East 65th Street, New York City. 1924.^[11]
• Buenos Recuerdos . Palm Beach. 1927. Henry G. Barkhausen.^[12][13]
• Ribault Inn Club, 1928 Fort George Island
• First National Bank of Palm Beach. 1928.^[14][15]
• Casa Della Porta. 195 Via Del Mar, Palm Beach. 1928. Mr. & Mrs. William J. McAneeny.^[16][17]
• Clubhouse - Indian Creek Country Club. Miami Beach. 1929.
• Casa Eleda. South Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach. 1929. Mortimer L. Schiff.^[18][19]
• Il Palmetto. 1520 South Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach. 1930. Joseph E. Widener.^[20][21]
• Eastover. 1100 South Ocean Boulevard, Manalapan, Florida. 1930. Mr. & Mrs. Harold S. Vanderbilt.^[22][23] On the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
• Villa Today. Palm Beach. 1932. Mrs. Audrey Berdeau.^[24]
• Casa Alva. Manalapan, FL. 1935. Colonel & Mrs. Jacques Balsan.^[25][26]
• Brazilian Court Hotel. Palm Beach. 1936. South wing added by Fatio.
• Society of the Four Arts, Library. Palm Beach. 1936.^[27]
• Crespi Estate. Dallas, Texas. 1939. Pio & Florence Crespi.^[28]
• Four Winds. Palm Beach. Mr. & Mrs. Edward F. Hutton.^[29][30]
• Manana Point. Palm Beach. Mr. & Mrs Grover Loening.^[31][32]
• Villa Oheka. Palm Beach. Mr. & Mrs. Otto H. Kahn.^[33][34]
• Alva Base. Fisher Island, Miami Beach. Mr. & Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt, Jr.^[35]
• Dickinson House. 1240 Cocoanut Road, Boca Raton. On the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

References

Notes

1. Johnson 1991 p. 201.
2. Seebohm 2001 p. 239.
3. Palm Beach Post. July 20, 1929
4. Seebohm 2001 p. 203.
5. Kling, Cynthia. "Palm Beach style: move over, Mizner. Architect Maurice Fatio dazzled the society set, too.(STYLE LEGEND)." Veranda. 2010. HighBeam Research. (December 2, 2010). http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-234703859.html
6. Johnson 1991 p. 201.
7. http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/node/304524/print
8. "In Palm Beach, the Ultraluxury Market Is Sizzling". New York Times. 2001-08-05. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
10. Paik, Felicia (2000-12-14). "More Storage Space For CEO Of StorageApps". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved 09/08/2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
11. Reed p. 34.
12. Johnson 1991 p. 210.
13. Treanor 1932.
14. McIver 1976 p. 83.
15. Treanor 1932.
16. Johnson 1991 p. 202.
17. Treanor 1932.
18. Johnson 1991 p. 224.
19. Treanor 1932.
20. Johnson 1991 p. 236.
21. Treanor 1932.
22. Johnson 1991 p. 258.
23. Treanor 1932.
24. Johnson 1991 p. 278.
25. Johnson 1991 p. 270.
26. Treanor 1938.
27. http://www.palmbeachpreservation.org/
28. http://significanthomes.com/home/5555-walnut-hill-lane-dallas-texas/
29. Treanor 1938.
30. Mockler 2010 p. 206.
31. Treanor 1938.
32. Mockler 2010 p. 150.
33. Treanor 1932.
34. Mockler 2010 p. 74.
35. Mockler 2010 p. 196.

Bibliography

• Egan, Eric. Recent Florida Work by Treanor & Fatio, 1928-1937. Honor's thesis, Brown University, 1989.
• Fatio, Alexandra. Maurice Fatio: Architect. A. Fatio, 1992. ISBN 0-9632014-3-3.
• Johnson, Shirley. Palm Beach Houses. New York: Rizzoli, 1991. ISBN 0-8478-1313-4.
• McIver, Stuart. Yesterday's Palm Beach. Miami: E. A. Seemann, 1976.
• Mockler, Kim. Maurice Fatio: Palm Beach Architect. New York: Acanthus Press, 2010. ISBN 0-926494-09-0.
• Pryor, Hubert. Eleanor of Palm Beach. Philadelphia: Xlibris, 2002. ISBN 1-4010-6628-3.
• Reed, Henry Hope. The Golden City. New York: W. W. Norton, 1971. ISBN 0-393-00547-X.
• Seebohm, Carolyn. Boca Rococo: How Addison Mizner Invented Florida's Gold Coast. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2001. ISBN 0-609-60515-1.
• Treanor & Fatio. Recent Florida Work by Treanor & Fatio Architects. Palm Beach: Davies Publishing Co., 1932.
• Treanor & Fatio. Recent Florida Work by Treanor & Fatio Architects. Palm Beach: Davies Publishing Co., 1938. Second edition.