Maurice Fatio

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

Maurice Fatio (1897–1943) was a society architect in New York and Palm Beach. Born in Geneva, Switzerland in 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]

Fatio moved to Palm Beach 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 Fatio 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]

Fatio's 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] Maurice Fatio died young in his forties of 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.^[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]
• 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. 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]
• Four Winds. Palm Beach. Mr. & Mrs. Edward F. Hutton.^[28][29]
• Manana Point. Palm Beach. Mr. & Mrs Grover Loening.^[30][31]
• Villa Oheka. Palm Beach. Mr. & Mrs. Otto H. Kahn.^[32][33]
• Alva Base. Fisher Island, Miami Beach. Mr. & Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt, Jr.^[34]
• 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. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04EEDB143CF936A3575BC0A9679C8B63&sec=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2010-12-02. 
9. ^ http://www.architecturaldigest.com/resources/estates/2007/10/estates?slide=8#slide=8
10. ^ Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2000/12/12/1214movers.html. 
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. ^ Treanor 1938.
29. ^ Mockler 2010 p. 206.
30. ^ Treanor 1938.
31. ^ Mockler 2010 p. 150.
32. ^ Treanor 1932.
33. ^ Mockler 2010 p. 74.
34. ^ 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 0963201433.
• Johnson, Shirley. Palm Beach Houses. New York: Rizzoli, 1991. isbn 0847813134.
• McIver, Stuart. Yesterday's Palm Beach. Miami: E. A. Seemann, 1976.
• Mockler, Kim. Maurice Fatio: Palm Beach Architect. New York: Acanthus Press, 2010. isbn 0926494090.
• Pryor, Hubert. Eleanor of Palm Beach. Philadelphia: Xlibris, 2002. isbn 1401066283.
• Reed, Henry Hope. The Golden City. New York: W. W. Norton, 1971. isbn 039300547X.
• 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.

Persondata
Name	Fatio, Maurice
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth	Geneva
Date of death
Place of death