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Article Photos: Historian, 95, brings Palm Beach landmark to life
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In this Sept. 11, 2012 photo, Jim Ponce stands outside The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla., after leading a tour of the old hotel. No place in this storied playground of the rich evokes as much history as The Breakers and no one knows the sprawling resort's story better than Ponce. Sixty years after first coming to work as a front-desk clerk at the hotel, 95-year-old Ponce still serves as the in-house historian, showing up every Tuesday to offer a tour to guests. He dresses in period clothes, this day most notable for a red blazer, Panama hat and brass-handled ebony walking stick. And from the frescoed ceilings to the terrazzo floors, the 15th-century tapestries to the Roman arches, he guides visitors through one of America's most celebrated hotels. He's spent so much time here, he admits it's as if his own history is entwined with that of the property. "It certainly isn't just a hotel to me," he said. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
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