Here’s some Superbowl Sunday shots of and from the location of Errol’s old secret hideaway in Boca Raton. The original and then-exceptionally-remote beach-side home in which he stayed is gone, but these photos will help reveal what a premier location it was, and still is. .. Extremely few people know that Errol stayed here, even, I can confirm, including people who live on and nearby the property.
“Errol Flynn in Boca Raton 1936”, from a Private Palm Beach County Collection:
Where the home was located, on old Ocean Road (aka Beach Road), now known as A1A:
His view of the Atlantic, toward the Bahamas:
From the direction of the Neilson property toward The Cloisters, “the greatest resort in the world”, one of Errol’s most majestic South Florida haunts in the late 30s:
A view Northwest, towards what is now Mizner Park:
— Tim
Here’s a couple of images of the world renowned Cloisters, where Errol visited when in Boca:
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Great information and photos yet again,thanks Tim. :)
I hope you write a book about Errol (and your Errol travels) one day,it would be amazing for sure.
Thank you for such kind & generous thoughts & encouragement, Lollie. We are so fortunate that David has provided this extraordinary forum for all of us, through which so many have contributed to the legend & legacy of the great Errol Flynn,. I’m just honored to be able to join the authors here in that noble endeavor, in whatever way I’m able. I have no hopes or plans to write any books or travelogues, as I could never top what all of us are doing here with David’s selfless guidance, help, and hard work. Nor could I ever hope to top a biography like the tremendous one Tom McNulty wrote.
… Hopefully, this amazing EFB network will continue to grow and expound upon the unparalled life of The Mighty Flynn. It will take an army of authors and explorers to document even half of all Errol did in his astonishing life. Fortunately, the EFB has great and devoted talent around the globe!
You are very kind, Tim. It has been an honor to meet via the EFB so many people with the same respect and love for the old rascal, and to enjoy the ongoing discoveries and dialogues. People come and go, as they please so it is sometimes a small party, other times quite boisterous! Jacvk Marino says he and Louise will host another private Errol Flynn party one of these days, and judging from the last one it will be historic! So it’s been a true family affair …
Thanks, David. As Flynn himself loved to seek knowledge, you have made it easy & fun for all of us to find and share all we learn about Errol in all our separate lives & locales,on all our separate journeys & explorations. Like Errol said: ~ As a bird collects twigs, as a dog finds bones. All the authors & other contributers to the EFB are creating an unparalled resource of information and evidence for future Flynn historians, investigators, biographers & filmmakers. This will prove invaluable to Errol’s fans, family, and legacy.
Hope to see you and all of Errol’s great friends and allies at Jack & Louise’s party!
Yes, I can’t say when it will happen but Jack it in mind. He is still working on his new house in Grenada Hills – but some day!:-)
Our Dear Friend David… if it were not for YOU this blog would not exist; nor would any of us have the opportunity to post anything. You are the humble web-master who makes it all possible. We all enjoy keeping up with the various posts; viewing the one-of-a-kind photos and stories. Here’s to you and your tireless efforts to improve and expand on this wonderful site. Kudos to you…
Suzanne, thank you so much for the kind words. It is the subscribers and authors here over the years who have made our blog what it is. It’s always been an all volunteer endeavor and people have always been free to come and go as time and tide permit. It’s hard to believe Errol Flynn packed so much living into his brief span on earth and was able to give us so much to think about in his personal life and so much to admire in his film career and writings. There are still areas little documented or explored fully but some light is being shed on them, too, thanks to the efforts of people who are taking the time out of busy lives to do the research. But whether you are a Flynn Detective, as I like to call them or a Flynn reader, all of us are pleasantly caught up in the mystery and mystique of Errol Flynn, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Amen to that wonderful tribute, MzSuzie49!
Right on target with that awesome gif below, David! Thanks, I Love that scene – one of the coolest in film history!!
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Errol Flynn and “Uncle Carl”
Here’s the old bridge Errol used to cross to get to The Cloisters:
www.bocahistory.org…
Have not determined exactly when and how Errol became friends with Fred Nielson, but Nielson was a very big deal back in the day – president of one of the world’s greatest aircraft manufacturers. On his watch, Sikorsky very famously developed the first helicopter as we know it, and dominated the skies with their magnificent Flying Clippers.
And Errol was right there with a front row seat during those years! – staying at the president’s home in Boca. The guy was truly amazing!
Pan American used the very remote Boca Raton airfield to train Flying Clipper pilots, perhaps one reason why Nielson had a home nearby. Out of Miami, Pan Am had a legendary Latin America route. Very good chance Errol used the airline for his sensational, 21-country air tour of South America in 1940.
www.historymiami.org…
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One of Errol’s favorite places, just north of Boca, was the Arcade Tap Room in Delray Beach. Frequented by many of the world’s wealthliest people, social elite, top athletes, Hollywood stars. and leading cartoonists – even some Windsor royalty, this was the number one place in Florida to party south of Palm Beach and north of Miami. Catholics were essentially prohibited in Palm Beach, so Joe Kennedy (and bootlegger Bill McCoy) brought his best liquor (“the real McCoy”)to Delray – illegally before ’33, Crosby, Hope, Swanson, Cooper, and Our Man Flynn were some of the big names – no one a bigger show stopper than Errol, of course! Directly on the other side of the street was a top shelf race betting parlor, said to be just like the one in The Sting. Local kids would run the bets across for the rich & famous, often for very large tips. Especially during the Depression it was considered a plum job. … The wood-paneled Tap Room had two famous mahogany bars on each side of a beautiful outdoor dining area. (The mahogany bars are still there, I can attest … though one’s a health food store juice bar, where I get my protein shakes when I’m up that way!) The bar & restaurant were significantly modeled on Antoine’s & The Court of Two Sisters in New Orleans, with a splash of Beverly Hills Polo Lounge and Trader Vic’s mixed in. In later years, the very popular Perry Como was a frequent visitor, along with his friend, golfer Toney Penna.
We all love going back in time and revisiting the era when glamour and a glorious lifestyle where at their peak. There will never be another Errol though many come and go. His private life, candor and lessons he leaves us cannot but enhance the mystery that surrounds his eternal appeal. Thanks to all who dig deep and research!! I appreciate you all.
A quick trip south of Errol’s oceanfront hideaway in Boca was the legendary Club Unique, subsequently known as Cap’s Place. Just south of Palm Beach County – in Broward hCounty – where Al Capone had established his most powerful Florida stronghold during Prohibition – Club Unique was a famously exclusive restaurant, bar & casino that some of the world’s premier personalities and political figures.
Located on an island near the Hillsboro Inlet, Club Unique was accessible only by boat. This helped greatly to prevent raids on it’s illegal gambling operations (and, during Prohibition, its illegal rum-runniing operations and liquor sales.) It’s many illustrious patrons included Flynn, Churchill, Roosevelt, the Vanderbilts, and the like. Since days of Flynn it has hosted DiMaggio, Harrison, Namath, Mariah Carey, among MANY others. Errol was, of course, one of its most luminous patrons.
Churchill & Roosevelt dined in 1942 during meetings involving the planning of D-Day! At those meetings, also, were Beaverbrook & Marshall. Quite a place! Famous for it’s sabal palm salad & fresh fish – and for its unique Spanish galleon bamboo bar where Errol used to entertain.
Cap’s Place
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Here’s the famous bar Errol sat at, most likely drinking what only a few years earlier was ordered as “Bimini Tea”, i.e. Caribbean rum.
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