Sea Gull Cottage keeps Palm Beach's oldest house story close
Sea Gull Cottage gives Palm Beach a small-house landmark story, with an 1880s cottage, a rescue move, and a restored place by Lake Worth.
Sea Gull Cottage is small next to many grand Palm Beach names. That is part of what makes it stick.
The Town of Palm Beach Landmark Manual dates McCormick Cottage, now called Sea Gull Cottage, to 1886. The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach identifies it as the oldest house in Palm Beach. In 1984, the cottage was at risk of being torn down. The foundation helped move it across the island and restored it near its old Lake Trail setting.
That gives the place a different kind of Palm Beach story. It is not only hotels, estates, and big formal rooms. It is also a late-1800s cottage tied to early life along Lake Worth. The old scale still has a place in public memory.
For a visitor, check the Preservation Foundation and Royal Poinciana Chapel area before assuming access or hours. For a Palm Beach owner, the lesson is plain: older buildings can have landmark status, review steps, easements, or old records. Check those pieces before a contractor starts work.
Where to see it
Sea Gull Cottage stands beside Royal Poinciana Chapel near its original Lake Trail setting. Check the chapel and Preservation Foundation before assuming access.
Place paths
Direct subjects and contextual connections are labeled separately so an example does not read like a local rule.
Official sources
Last checked against these sources: August 4, 2026.
Related Florida notes
Picked from direct subjects, contextual paths, topics, and tags, with direct relationships weighted more heavily.
Money and taxes
Worth Avenue keeps Palm Beach shopping in the town story
Worth Avenue is part of Palm Beach's winter shopping story, in a town shaped by hotels, railroad travel, local rules, and seasonal life.
Read this note ->Home and property
Boca Raton's Old Floresta puts Mizner-era homes into the permit file
Old Floresta gives Boca Raton a house-scale historic district where design, charm, and exterior project review meet.
Read this note ->Outdoors
Lake Worth Lagoon is Palm Beach's working water
Lake Worth Lagoon sits between mainland cities and barrier-island views, so Palm Beach County water plans often start with this living, working lagoon.
Read this note ->History and culture
Lilly Pulitzer's shift dress started at a juice stand
Lilly Pulitzer's bright shift dress began as a Palm Beach juice-stand uniform designed to hide citrus stains.
Read this note ->Home and property
Lake Eola Heights keeps older Orlando close to downtown
Lake Eola Heights keeps some of Orlando's older home blocks near downtown, with brick streets, varied house styles, and a local review path for exterior changes.
Read this note ->Home and property
Miami's MiMo stretch keeps motel modern on Biscayne
Miami's MiMo/Biscayne Boulevard Historic District turns a busy road into a midcentury property story, with old motels, signs, facades, and review rules beside daily traffic.
Read this note ->