Kentucky Colonel Owned Illegal Casino

Readers: At times, you ask us about subjects we’ve already covered, and that gives us a chance to revisit them.
Joanne Elgini of Palm Beach Gardens asked us about the Blue Heron Hotel. In the 1920s, Paris Singer, part of the sewing machine family empire, and his partner, architect and developer Addison Mizner, planned the Blue Heron Hotel, a $4 million resort on what is now Singer Island. Singer died in 1932; the hotel was never finished, and its hulk stood for 14 years before it was razed during World War II. Blue Heron Boulevard, the road to Singer Island, is named for the hotel that never was.
Martha Mastran of suburban Juno Beach asked about the old Palm Beach casino. Kentucky colonel Edward Riley Bradley, a successful horse breeder and later owner of The Palm Beach Post, operated his elegant and popular but clearly illegal Beach Club casino with impunity for a half-century. It was a private club with strict rules and a cadre of security guards. Its membership was a who’s who. Florida residents were barred. Bradley made generous contributions to churches, charities, and politicians. Raids were rare, and the colonel always managed to get a tip in time to fold up the gaming tables. Bradley closed the Beach Club in 1945 and died at 86 a year later. As per his will, the place was razed for a park.