Former US Ambassador to Morocco Plans Moorish-Style Guest House in Palm Beach

The Architecture Commission unanimously approved last Friday the construction of a new house with neo-Moorish style architecture for a North End property that the Fischer couple acquired last summer at 1025 N. Lake Way, just across from their lakefront estate, reports Palm Beach Post. "The couple plans to use the new three-bedroom residence as a guest house," architect Leslie Pearce of the Smith Architectural Group in Palm Beach told the board.

The two-story house is being built on a third of an acre between Garden Road and Laurian Lane. With a checkerboard stone terrace facing the pool, the house has a minaret-style chimney. The neo-Moorish style of the house has historical roots in Palm Beach, but is no longer common on the island, Leslie Pearce explained.

According to her, the retired American diplomat and his wife were captivated by the architecture of Moroccan buildings in 2020 and 2021, when David Fisher was US ambassador to Morocco. "They wanted to bring (to Palm Beach) some of the architecture they appreciated so much in Morocco," added Leslie Pearce.