The Harriet Himmel Theater, 700 S Rosemary Avenue, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA / Built: 1926 / Built By: Walker Brothers / Architect: Spencer and Phillips / Floors: 3 / Architectural Style: Spanish Colonial Revival

The Harriet Himmel Theater is the cultural centerpiece of Rosemary Square. The 11,000-square-foot facility hosts concerts, exhibitions, receptions and banquets, fashion shows, seminars, and meetings. The facility is equipped with staging, lighting, and sound, as well as state-of-the-art video.

Built in 1926 and refurbished as an event venue and theater in 2000, it can accommodate 275 seated for dinner, 400 theater-style, and 600 for receptions. The area’s premier caterer, Ovations Catering, provides creative menus and top service.

ARCHITECTURAL FACTS

Originally the First United Methodist Church, this structure is one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture of its time.

It was built by Walker Brothers of Birmingham, Alabama in 1926 at a cost of $225,000. The architects of the three-story, the 51,786-square-foot building were Spencer and Phillips, of Memphis, Tennessee.

The interior of this three-story facility is architecturally significant due to details like the original open-truss, pecky cypress ceilings, a tiered mezzanine, and large divided windows overlooking the main floor.

The structure of the building is composed of steel columns and beams. Exterior walls are hollow clay, with a moderately textured stucco surface. Interior walls are plaster. Cast concrete ornamentation is present on all facades.

Only minor alterations have been made to the building since 1926. Over the years, many of the windows on the ground floor were enclosed and covered with stucco. During the 1950s, the tower room was rebuilt and a memorial wall commemorating World War II was installed. In 1967, an elevator was added.

HISTORICAL FACTS

The 1914 cornerstone from the original church was laid on May 2, 1926. The church officially opened to the public on Christmas Eve, 1926, under the leadership of Reverend L.M. Broyles.

The church housed victims of the 1928 hurricane for nearly eleven months until all of the people who lost their homes were able to rebuild.

When the Crash of 1929 hit, pledges for the church were not met, and it was deeded back to the bondholders in New Orleans, Louisiana. Services had to be held in the high school auditorium. When the bondholders couldn’t sell the church, they offered the congregation the option of raising $25,000 to take it over. Church members sold everything-including wedding rings-to make the payment!

In 1987, the church was sold to Downtown/Uptown developers Henry J. Rolfs and David C. Paladino for $2.75 million. The deal included a clause stipulating the use of the church by the congregation until a new church was built. The final church services were held on December 31, 1989.

In 1990, the stained glass windows, organ, sanctuary floor, and the original cornerstone were moved from the old church to the new $8 million United Methodist of the Palm Beaches church at 900 Brandywine Road.

Renovations did not begin on the church until late 1998 when final plans were approved for the successor of the Uptown/Downtown project Palladium.

Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
twocityplazarealtor.wordpress.com/2010/08/04/history-of-t...

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Taken in: United States / Florida / West Palm Beach (show map)

Taken on: April 14, 2021

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The Harriet Himmel Theater

700 S Rosemary Avenue

Florida

Built: 1926

Walker Brothers

Spencer and Phillips

Floors: 3

Spanish Colonial Revival

Sunshine State

Palm Beach County

south Florida

downtown

WBP

561

historical landmark

shopping center

shopping mall

entertainment

night photography

street photography

real estate

architecture

urban

CityPlace

commercial property

cultural centerpiece of Rosemary Square

The Wishing Tree

concerts

exhibitions

receptions and banquets

fashion shows

seminars

meetings

staging

lighting

sound

state-of-the-art video

event venue theater

275 seated for dinner

400 theater-style

600 for receptions

Ovations Catering

First United Methodist Church

786-square-foot building

open-truss

pecky cypress ceilings

tiered mezzanine

steel columns and beams

Exterior walls are hollow clay

moderately textured stucco surface

interior walls are plaster

cast concrete ornamentation

opened to the public on Christmas Eve

1926

Reverend L.M. Broyles

church housed victims of the 1928 hurricane

Henry J. Rolfs

David C. Paladino

Uptown/Downtown project Palladium « less

Sets appears in: • City of West Palm Beach & Town of Palm Beach, Florida, USA • Urban Florida I

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