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Town of Palm Beach, Florida Historic Sites Survey

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Town of Palm Beach, Florida Historic Sites Survey TOWN OF PALM BEACH, FLORIDA 2010 HISTORICSITES SURVEY Prepared For The Town of Palm Beach, Florida ResearchAtlantica, Inc. December2010 TOWN OF PALM BEACH, FLORIDA 2O1OHISTORIC SITES SURVEY Table of Contents ProjectStaff ii Acknowledgments ll Introduction I The Purposeof Historicpreservation WhatAre HistoricResources? TheNational Register of Historicplaces andthe FloridaSite File Inventorv SurveyMethod 3 The Growthand Development of the Town of palm Beach 4 ArchitecturalDescription of Sitesin palm Beach l9 Recommendations 22 Regulationof HistoricResources 3l Administrationof Historic Preservation 34 "PotentiallyEligible for the Local Register" 36 SeverelyAltered and Demolished Sites 52 Bibliography 54 PROJECTSTAFF TheTown of PalmBeach 2010 Historic Sites Survev wasconducted by: ResearchAtlantica. Inc. FieldSurvey: JaneS. Day, Ph.D. ArchitecturalHistory: JaneS. Day, Ph.D. HistoricalResearch: JaneS. Day, Ph.D. Photography: JaneS. Day, Ph.D. ComputerApplication: SandraL. Norman,Ph.D. Written By: JaneS. Day, Ph.D. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TheTown of PalmBeach 2010 Historic Sites Survey was a cooperativeeffort performed by many people.Like all successfulsurveys, it wasonly with thecommunity's help and input that much of theinformation could be gathered and recorded. TheTown of PalmBeach supported this project by fundinga specialcontract with longtime historic preservationconsultants Research Atlantica, Inc. to performthe work. Specialthanks should be given to Mayor Jack McDonald, and Town Council members:David A, Rosow, Town Council President,GailConiglio,GailConielio, President Pro Tem,Tem. William J. Diamond,Diamond.Richard M. Kleid and Robert N. Wildrick. Town Manager,Peter B. Elwell, and Directorof the Planning,Zoning & Building Department,Dgpartment,John Page,gave the projecttheir full support. The help of JohnC. Lindgren,Planning Administrator.Administrator, and CinCindy Delp, Office Manager,*is invaluable.Veronica Close, Paul Castro, Je-tlieyTaylor, Kathleen Rudderman, Jackie Kervi, and David Donta answered questions and lent a handwhenever asked. ThePreservation Foundation of PalmBeach played an important role in thiseffort. Adam A. Pinter and Wallis W. McMillin, summerinterns from the foundation'sAnthony K BakerInternship Program,worked in thefield andthe archives with JaneDay helping to documentnew listings on EvergladesIsland. We thank them for their help and hope that this experiencewill benefit their careersin the field of historic preservation.SoecialSpecial thankst should alsobealso be givensiven to AlexanderC. Ives, JaniceG. Owens,and John Masheckfor their tirelesssupport of the Town's preservation program. EugenePandula. Chairman of the LandmarksCommission. was always there to answerquestions anddiscuss the philosophybehind historic preservation issues. His knowledgeof architectureand preservationis broad, and he has servedthe Town well fbr many years. Other Landmarks Commissioners:William Lee Hanley. Jr., William O. Cooley.Dudley L. Moore,Jr., Edward Austin Cooney.Charles Roberts. William P. Feldkamp,D. ImogeneWillis. WallaceRogers. and Rachel Lorentzen.serve tirelessly throughout the year.We thankthem for theirdedication. We would also like to thank the staff at the Florida Division of HistoricalResources, Florida Departmentof State.Their leadership.suggestions and supporthelp all of us in Floridawho work lbr historicpreservation. Withoutthe citizens and property owners of theTown of PalmBeach none of thissurvey could have beencompleted. They permittedphotographs and site inspections.and answered questions to the bestof their knowledge.An historicsites survey is a workingtool andas such is nevercomplete. Formsand recommendationsshould be updatedas new informationbecomes available. It is the hopeof the stafl'of ResearchAtlantica, Inc. that this surveywill be the basisfor futurehistoric preservationplanning in theTown of PalmBeach and will helpthe citizens recognize the important placetheir community holds in SouthFlorida history. 4 : ia ni The PalmBeach Hotel and St. Edward's Church. date unknown lil INTRODUCTION The Purposeof Historic Presenation Increasinglyin SouthFlorida, historic and cultural resources are threatened by destructiondue to rapidgrowth in populationand ensuing development. Resources are links with thepast, they make communitiesunique, giving them a "senseof place,"and providea sourceof pride. More importantly,historic resources allow for the education ofpresent and future generations oftheir place andtime in the continuumof the humanexperience and societaldevelopment. The purposeof historicpreservation is not to halt growthor change,because it is recognizedthat bothare needed to keepa communityalive. The purposeof historicpreservation is to integratethe pastwith the presentand the future. What Are Historic Resources? Historicresources as defined in Chapter267 of theFlorida Statues are: "anyprehistoric or historicdistrict, site, building, object, or otherreal or personalpropety of historical,architectural, or archaeologicalvalue. These properties or resourcesmay include, but are not limited to, monuments,memorials, Indian habitation,ceremonial sites, abandoned settlements,sunken or abandonedships, engineering works, treasure trove, artifacts, or otherobjects with intrinsic historicalor archaeologicalvalue, or any part thereof,relating to the history, goverrrment,and culture of thestate." (s.267.021(3), F.S. 1986) Historicresources are the non-renewable visible remains of thepast. Oncethey are lost, they can neverbe replaced. The preservation and maintenance of historicresources results in a community's senseof stewardshipfor presentand future generations. The analysis and interpretation of historic resourcesare not undertakenjust to understandthe past,but to give a communitya senseof its uniqueplace in history. The NationalRegister of Historic Placesand the Florida SiteFile Inventora Historicresources are defined in a nationalcontext by the NationalRegister of Historic Places whichis maintainedby theNational Park Service, under the Department of theInterior. The criteria usedby theNational Register to determinehistorical significance can also be used as a guidelinefor localdetermination and listing. The criteria for listingon theNational Register are: l. A propertyis associatedwith eventswhich have made a significantcontribution to the broadpatterns of history;or 2. A propertyis associatedwith the livesof personssignificant in thepast; 3. A propertyis significantif it embodiesthe distinctivecharacteristics of a type, period,or methodof construction,for example,it representsthe work of a master, or if it possesseshigh artistic values,or if it representsa significantand distinguishableentity whose components may lack individual distinction, such as a district;or 4. A propertywhich yields,or may be likely to yield, informationimportant in prehistoryor history. The Florida Departmentof State,Division of Historical Resourcesutilizes the nationalcriteria but is lessrestrictive about what is includedin the FloridaMaster Site File. The FloridaMaster Site File (FMSF) inventory is maintained by the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resourcesand is utilized as a first sourceinformation bank for local preservationplanning. The generalprocedure for generatingan inventory is to recordall resourceswhich arefifty yearsor older. However,a site does not necessarilyhave to be fifty yearsold if an importantperson or event is associatedwith the resource,nor does it have to be historically or architecturallysignificant for recording. All sites,buildings, structures and objects,no matterhow insignificantthey may seem, shouldbe recordedon a FMSF form to havea comprehensiveinventory of historic resourcesin a community. Historic site surveysare important becausethey are the first step in establishinga community's historicpreservation program. Surveysare conducted to developan inventoryof historicresources in a community, and are used as the foundation for preservationplanning. Surveysidentiff styles of architecture,dates of construction,and conditionof historicresources. When available,surveys identifopast and present owners and their placein_a community's history. Surveys,therefore, build awarenessin a community of the scopeand significanceof their cultural resources. Severaltypes of historic resourcescan be recordedon the FMSF such as buildings, engineering structures,objects, landscapes, and archaeologicalsites. In the presentsurvey of the Town of Palm Beach buildings and other architectural featuressuch as fountains, entrancepiers, and walls were recorded.Each site's physical characteristics and historic significanceare recorded in a systematic way on a Florida MasterSite File form. With few exceptions,a site needsto be fifty yearsor older to warrant recording. Each site is assignedits own identification number by the Division of Historical Resources,Florida Departmentof State. The site'slocation is indicatedon a map and a photographis taken.The forms, maps,and photographsare then sentto the Division of Historical Resourcesfor processing.The forms becomepart of a state wide informational data baseand are crossreferenced into the state'scomputerized Geographical Information System. Recording sites on the FMSF doesnot in any way provide protectionfor a site or imposeany restrictions.Surveys ile strictly a meansby which a communitycan inventorytheir historic resources. Suruey Method An historic sitessurvey is a systematicand detailedrecording of historic resources.Surveys may be either thematicin scopeor
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