Hermann V. Von Holst - in Florida

In Florida

Von Holst was lured to Florida by the possibilities for work there during the land boom as well as the relief from Chicago winters. Practicing in Boca Raton, he was engaged in architecture and land development from the late 1920s onward.

In Boca Raton, von Holst headed a group that completed a subdivision of 29 Florida Spanish Revival homes named Floresta which means a delightful rural place. In addition to designing many of the homes including his own (Lavender House, circa 1928), von Holst named the suburb and named its streets for native Florida birds and plants, denoting an appreciation von Holst shared with noted Florida artists Sam Stoltz and Joy Postle (who drew von Holst's portrait). It was von Holst who brought the subdivision to completion following the Florida land bust.

Modern real estate agents in Boca Raton tend to mistakenly describe von Holst's residential work there as by the colorful, quixotic Addison Mizner. While Mizner did serve as the general contractor / developer of "Floresta" the architectural plans for these homes were von Holst's. Moreover, Mizner defaulted on payments to contractors, was successfully sued by von Holst, et al., and thereafter von Holst took chief responsibility for its success. Lucy von Holst, along with the wives of their two remaining partners (John Verhoeven and Fred Aiken), prepared unsold homes for stylish winter rentals for snowbirds. The true story of old Floresta has been carefully documented by Dr. Donald W. Curl in the journal of the Boca Raton Historical Society.

von Holst retired from architecture in 1932. He was chairman of the Boca Raton Town Planning Board in 1940. von Holst served on the Boca Raton Council from 1934–1947 and again in 1948-1949 and was granted honorary life membership on the board in 1953.