Tui Snider - author & speaker

monkey grave

Johnnie Brown, South Florida’s Famous Jazz Age Monkey

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Join me for an A to Z Road Trip!

I’m taking you on a road trip with me by sharing travel photos for this year’s A to Z Blog Challenge. So come along as we explore some of my favorite offbeat, overlooked and just plain interesting places in Texas… and beyond!

 

Today is letter J:
Johnnie Brown, the Jazz Age Monkey

Monkey grave at Pizza al Fresco in Palm Beach, FL (photo by Tui Snider)
Monkey grave at Pizza al Fresco in Palm Beach, FL (photo by Tui Snider)

Monkey on one shoulder, a parrot on the other

Throughout the Roaring Twenties, Addison Mizner was an eccentric south Florida architect and man about town. Of his many quirks, Mizner was especially known for his menagerie, which included raccoons, macaws, and anteaters.

Mizner lived on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, Florida which is now an upscale shopping street with a labyrinthine maze of gorgeous garden courtyards. His lavish dwelling had a large iron gate and trapdoors for dropping boiling oil on trespassers!

 

Monkey grave at Pizza al Fresco in Palm Beach, FL (photo by Tui Snider)
Monkey grave at Pizza al Fresco in Palm Beach, FL (photo by Tui Snider)

Famous Jazz Age Monkey

Mizner’s favorite pet was a spider monkey named Johnnie Brown. The architect often stepped out with Johnnie Brown on one shoulder and a parrot on the other. It must have been quite a sight!

I’m not sure why he was known as “the human monkey,” but Johnnie Brown certainly had a lot of personality. When he wasn’t happily cavorting through the foliage and vines of Via Mizner, he enjoyed stalking the milkman so he could sneakily pop the caps off of his deliveries.
In 1925, Johnnie Brown was even invited to the Scopes Monkey Trial!
One of many garden courtyards along Worth Avenue (photo by Tui Snider)
One of many garden courtyards along Worth Avenue (photo by Tui Snider)

Buried at an Italian Restaurant

When Johnnie Brown died, Addison Mizner buried him in his courtyard and marked the spot for the “human monkey” with a headstone befitting a human.

See for yourself:

As you can see from the photo at the top of this post, the grave of Johnnie Brown is now part of the outdoor dining area at Pizza al Fresco (14 Via Mizner, Palm Beach, Florida.) On the day I visited, the lovely courtyard bustled with diners enjoying the shady outdoor seating on a beautiful winter day in Florida.
To see more photos of the beautiful gardens and architecture of Worth Avenue, in Palm Beach, Florida, click this link: Worth Avenue – photos by Tui Snider.

 

*****I hope you enjoyed today’s post. Come back tomorrow for the next letter in the alphabet!*****

 

Psst! Instagram, anyone?

If you are on Instagram, I’d be delighted to follow you! Simply follow my photo feed (@TuiSnider) on Instagram and I’ll follow you back!

What is the April A to Z Blog Challenge?

 

Each April, bloggers from all over the world participate in the April A to Z blog challenge, and you can too. It’s a lot of fun and it’s a great way to meet other bloggers.

To play along, all you do is make a blog post for each letter of the alphabet during April, then use the blog hop linky to visit as many other bloggers as you can. In addition to my personal blog here, I’m also writing A to Z posts for the the Story Dam writing community. You can check those out by clicking here: Story Dam’s Writing Quotes & Encouragement

Check out more April A to Z Blog Challenge Participants by clicking the link below:

Find out more about the April A to Z blog challenge, and check out the other participants!

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Curious about my books? I’ve got 3, so far…


To read about more weird, offbeat, and overlooked places, check out my best-selling travel guide: 
UNEXPECTED TEXAS: Your Guide to Offbeat & Overlooked History, Day Trips & Fun Things to do near Dallas & Fort Worth.

For ghost hunting hot spots, check out my best-selling travel guide to haunted places: 
PARANORMAL TEXAS: Your Travel Guide to Haunted Places near Dallas & Fort Worth.

For a strange-but-true tale of Texas history, check out this bizarre piece of West Texas history: 
The Lynching of the Santa Claus Bank Robber

 


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Hey, you! Want to come along for the ride?

No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui's books can take you on a FUN adventure!
No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui Snider’s books can take you on a FUN adventure!

FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: For updates on my offbeat travels, books, & other fun stuff (such as postcards from the road!) subscribe to my newsletter using the form below. Each week, I’ll let you know the Historic Cemetery Symbol of the Week, who Teal Gray & I are interviewing on our show that night, and any other fun or interesting news. You can also mix & mingle with me by clicking this link & “liking” my Facebook Author Page:

Historic Cemetery Symbols: Monkey Grave at an Upscale Restaurant

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2 Graves at an Italian Restaurant?

Voted #3 in a list of the Top 10 Iconic Streets in the USA, Worth Avenue is an upscale shopping street in the resort town of Palm Beach, Florida.

So why are there two graves on Worth Avenue – one for a monkey and the other for a dog – tucked away in the courtyard of an Italian restaurant?

Monkey grave at Pizza al Fresco in Palm Beach, FL (photo by Tui Snider)
Monkey grave at Pizza al Fresco in Palm Beach, FL (photo by Tui Snider)

Jazz Age eccentric: Addison Mizner

It all starts with Addison Mizner (1872-1933) a quirky architect who settled in South Florida in 1918 after having lived all over the world, including China, New York, Guatemala, Alaska, and California.

Mizner’s architectural designs made a tremendous impact on South Florida. While builders prior to him based their designs on wood and shingles, Mizner’s “Mediterranean Revival” style favored tile, stucco, and stone.

Not only are Mizner’s buildings beautiful, with a real European flavor, but they withstand hurricanes better than wood and are well-ventilated (a real plus in an era before air-conditioning.) Mizner soon made a fortune designing opulent mansions and social clubs throughout the region.

Monkey grave at Pizza al Fresco in Palm Beach, FL (photo by Tui Snider)
Monkey grave at Pizza al Fresco in Palm Beach, FL (photo by Tui Snider)

Monkey on one shoulder, a parrot on the other

Throughout the Roaring Twenties Addison Mizner was an eccentric man about town, known for his menagerie which included raccoons, macaws, and anteaters. Mizner lived on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, which is now an upscale shopping street with a labyrinthine maze of garden courtyards. His lavish dwelling had a large iron gate and trapdoors for dropping boiling oil on trespassers!

In addition to Johnnie Brown, Mizner had two other spider monkeys, Ethel and Deuteronomy. Johnnie Brown, however, was Mizner’s favorite. The architect often stepped out with Johnnie Brown on one shoulder and a parrot on the other.

I’m not sure why he was known as “the human monkey,” but Johnnie Brown certainly had a lot of personality. When he wasn’t happily cavorting through the foliage and vines of Via Mizner, he enjoyed stalking the milkman so he could sneakily pop the caps off of his deliveries.
In 1925, Johnnie Brown was even invited to the Scopes Monkey Trial!
Dog grave at Pizza al Fresco in Palm Beach, FL (photo by Tui Snider)
Dog grave at Pizza al Fresco in Palm Beach, FL (photo by Tui Snider)

Johnnie Brown’s grave

After Johnnie Browns’ death, Addison Mizner buried him in the courtyard of his home in Palm Beach with a cement headstone inscribed:
Johnnie Brown
The Human Monkey
Died April 30, 1927

Laddie’s grave

After Addison Mizner’s death in 1933 wealthy socialites, Rose and Morton Sachs, bought Via Mizner and lived there until 1983. When the Sachs’ beloved golden retriever, Laddie, died in 1959, the couple buried him in the same courtyard as Johnnie Brown. Laddie’s white marble tombstone is adorned with Christian crosses and reads:
Our Laddie
April 19, 1949
Dec 1 1959
We miss you so

Monkey & dog ghosts?

While I don’t know if Laddie and Johnnie Brown knew each other in life, according to Palm Beach ghost hunters, their ghosts have been spotted playing together in Via Mizner. If I find out any more about it, I will share it in another post.
One of many garden courtyards along Worth Avenue (photo by Tui Snider)
One of many garden courtyards along Worth Avenue (photo by Tui Snider)

For more information:

As you can see from the photo at the top of this post, the graves for Johnnie Brown and Laddie are now part of the outdoor dining area at Pizza al Fresco (14 Via Mizner, Palm Beach, Florida.) On the day I visited, I didn’t seen any ghosts, but the lovely courtyard bustled with diners enjoying the shady outdoor seating on a beautiful winter day in Florida.
To see more photos of Worth Avenue, click this link: Worth Avenue – photos by Tui Snider.
To read more about Johnnie Brown and Addison Mizner, check out this article over at one of my favorite websites, Roadside America: Grave of Johnnie Brown, the Human Monkey.

Historic Cemetery Symbolism:

I am currently writing a field guide to historic cemetery symbolism. Each week, I share a small snippet from my upcoming book, as well as my travels to interesting graveyards and the stories behind unusual burials around the world.

It’s my goal to create a handy-dandy pocket guide for taphophiles, genealogists, ghost hunters, and anyone else interested in the historic graveyard symbols that have become forgotten over the years.

Which symbols are you curious about?

Let me know in the comments if there is a certain symbol that you are curious about. Also, if you would like to know when the cemetery symbolism guide is available for purchase, scroll down and sign up for my newsletter! I look forward to hearing from you!

Curious about my books? I’ve got 3, so far…


To read about more weird, offbeat, and overlooked places, check out my best-selling travel guide: 
UNEXPECTED TEXAS: Your Guide to Offbeat & Overlooked History, Day Trips & Fun Things to do near Dallas & Fort Worth.

For ghost hunting hot spots, check out my best-selling travel guide to haunted places: 
PARANORMAL TEXAS: Your Travel Guide to Haunted Places near Dallas & Fort Worth.

For a strange-but-true tale of Texas history, check out this bizarre piece of West Texas history: 
The Lynching of the Santa Claus Bank Robber

 


white-line-separator

Hey, you! Want to come along for the ride?

No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui's books can take you on a FUN adventure!
No matter where you live in the galaxy, Tui Snider’s books can take you on a FUN adventure!

FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: For updates on my offbeat travels, books, & other fun stuff (such as postcards from the road!) subscribe to my newsletter using the form below. Each week, I’ll let you know the Historic Cemetery Symbol of the Week, who Teal Gray & I are interviewing on our show that night, and any other fun or interesting news. You can also mix & mingle with me by clicking this link & “liking” my Facebook Author Page: