The 39th Red Cross Show House serves up a sweet confection this year, with its choice of Lake Worth’s historic La Florentia, also known as the Birthday Cake Castle.
With rooms galore, and plenty of nooks and crannies, the house is a verifiable 7,000-square-foot feast, which will be open to visitors March 5 through April 4, with a special preview party on March 4.
Recently bought by Scott Levine, the house was built by Sherman Childs in 1925, receiving its nickname when past owner Upton Close gave the house to his wife, Margaret Fretter Nye, as a birthday present in 1954. Cakey qualities include candle-ish pillars, icing-like swirls of thick plaster, and even a birthday cake stained glass window.
IF YOU GO:
The Red Cross Show House’s Birthday Cake Castle is at 1 Fifth Ave S., Lake Worth. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays, and noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
Tickets to the preview party are $200 per person. General admission is $35 per person at the door. In addition to tours of the home, guests may also shop at an on-site boutique. For information, call 650-9133.
![Dr. W. H. Cotton’s ode: “Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!” [circa 1920].](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yhHyCn84ZIQ/WezjlEL-0tI/AAAAAAAAPZ4/CzkhriK6zpEJJ3d9Je1495d49gIhnMlxACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/LakeWorthPioneers.JPG)
