LIVING HISTORY
20
VERO AT 100
2007 INDIAN RIVER MAGAZINE
JIM WILSON
>aldo oWened the ;urf *luI, toW left, in as a Wlace where artists could e_hiIit their worRs After that Wroed unWrofitaIle, he transformed it into a restaurant.
The Szechuan Palace, top right and lower right, has operated in the building for the last 28 years. Amateur historian Jim Wilson recently acquired
a 1956 sketch pad of Waldo’s that shows a rendering of the Turf Club, lower left, that was developed by Waldo and another artist. Waldo claimed that the
weathervane on the original building came from the barn of the famous thoroughbred Seabiscuit. Hence, he dubbed the building the Turf Club.
featuring grillworN, tiles and handcarved panels recovered
from various 3alm Beach estates. 7oday, the restaurant operates
as the 3atio Seafood 7avern under a lease with the building
remaining under the ownership of 5alph Seton·s heirs.
WALDO’S MOUNTAIN
:aldo·s 0ountain, started in , was one of :aldo·s last
maMor proMects. :hen a -acNsonville company was dredging
nearby property, :aldo saw opportunity and encouraged the
operator to dump the fill in lowlying spots on his oceanfront
property.
:hen :aldo returned a few days later, he was surprised to see
a mountain of fill towering above the trees. 3ositioned between
the Atlantic and Bethel &reeN was the foothigh ´mountain.··
:aldo would build a set of concrete and tile stairs leading to a
large cross at the top as well as Ning and Tueen thrones. UnliNe
his other proMects, he sought no profit in it. ,nstead, he promoted
it as a free tourist attraction and place of reÁection that travelers
could use as a stop while driving along AA.
7he mountain became a spiritual endeavor for :aldo, who
didn·t discourage comparisons of various mount references in
the Bible to it. He·d hoped that an artist colony would develop
around it.
His visions for the mountain were so elevated that he even
invited candidates 5ichard 1ion and -ohn ). .ennedy to debate
at the foot of the mountain during their presidential race.
7he mountain was vandalied over the years and was raed
in with the fill being used to shore up the 'riftwood and
2cean *rill during a storm threatening the buildings. 7hough
occupied by condominiums, the land underneath remains
owned by another Seton family corporation, 2slo 3acNing ,nc. >>
SEXTON FAMILY PHOTO
Waldo with members of the synchronized swimming team known as
the Dolphinettes on Waldo’s Mountain in the 1950s
JIM WILSON COLLECTION