During the 1895–96 winter season, business tycoon Henry Flagler opened the first Breakers resort, then the only oceanfront lodging south of Daytona Beach, to accommodate additional tourists due to the popularity of his Royal Poinciana Hotel.

While the Royal Poinciana Hotel permanently closed in the 1930s due to the Great Depression, The Breakers became a primary resort in Palm Beach, hosting many famous guests throughout the years.

This led to the construction of a 1,000 foot (300 m)-pier at the hotel and the opening of the original Port of Palm Beach, which allowed guests to travel to Havana, Nassau, and Key West via steamboat.

Efforts by the East Coast and West Palm Beach fire departments proved futile, with the hotel, a cottage, the casino, and several nearby stores burning down.

[4] Beriah Wilkins, an editor for The Washington Post, and Mary Caroline Blair, Duchess of Sutherland, became among the first guests to register at the hotel.

[10] One newspaper column claimed that "Astors, Vanderbilts, Morgans, and hundreds of others, who never see a ball game outside of Palm Beach... (are) rooting hard for their favorite team.

[11] Twelve years after Flagler's death, The Breakers caught fire again on March 18, 1925, attributed to an electric curling iron that had been left on in a room occupied by the wife of Chicago mayor William Hale Thompson.

In turn, some newspapers reported that Palm Beach declared martial law, which police chief Joseph Borman denied.

[17][18] On March 22, four days after the fire, Florida East Coast Hotel vice president H. E. Bemis announced the company's intentions of rebuilding The Breakers, with plans to abandon the wooden construction for fireproof concrete.

[19] The architectural firm hired by the Flagler heirs, Schultze and Weaver, modeled the 550-room replacement building after the Villa Medici in Rome, Italy.

The lobby ceiling was painted by 72 artisans,[3] including Alexander Bonanno, a classically trained New York City artist who taught at Cooper Union.

[21] Additionally, The Miami News reported 4 feet (1.2 m) of standing water inside the building and sand being deposited as high as the third floor.

[3] At its peak, the Ream General Hospital included 400 staffers and approximately 750 patients, many of whom suffered injuries during the North African campaign.

[28] Thereafter, Palm Beach architect and engineer John Volk and two Miami firms quickly restored The Breakers,[27] allowing some guests to check-in as early as December 24 but not fully re-opening until January 7, 1945.

A 2008 profile of the Breakers West Golf Club in The Palm Beach Post indicated the existence of 548 homes spread across "670 acres [270 ha] with tall pines and old Florida vegetation.

[31] During the same announcement in April 1969, Flagler System also stated their plans to add 174 rooms to the hotel and create The Breakers Beach Club on the former site of the casino, which closed in 1968.

[1] Despite the NRHP designation, workers demolished all cottages on the north side of the hotel to clear space for the Two Breakers Row condominiums in 1984.