Wednesday, October 15, 2008
By DAVID ROGERS
Daily News Staff Writer
Click-2-Listen
The last of four Alfred Browning Parker-designed houses in Palm Beach isn't going down without a fight.
With a backhoe operator scraping and pounding on the solid concrete structure, however, the Modern-style house at 144 Wells Road is being reduced to rubble.
The demolition began shortly after 11 a.m. Wednesday.
Before 1 p.m., when told a construction worker estimated the demolition would take 90 minutes, backhoe operator Vern Duncan laughed.
"I can't see the other end of the house yet," said Duncan, of Cushing Demolition in West Palm Beach.
The house was built to last.
"It's really heavy," Duncan said. "It's all poured (concrete) walls, probably 12 inches. It's just heavy, a lot of (steel) rebar. We'll get through it, but it'll slow us down."
Duncan said he couldn't say when the demolition would be finished.
Built for Adele Rogers (then Adele Manus) and the late Allen Manus, the house featured long, cast-concrete roof overhangs, high ceilings, expanses of floor-to-ceiling glass and built-in furnishings. Browning Parker, a devotee of Frank Lloyd Wright, is known for well-sited, organic designs.
Request causes uproar
When Peter and Ricki Cohen applied for a demolition permit for the 1960 structure this summer, to make way for a two-story British Colonial-style home, there was an outcry from local preservationists and admirers of Browning Parker, 92, a renowned architect and professor emeritus at University of Florida.
Members of the Architectural Review Commission, acknowledging the house's architectural significance, deferred the couple's request to tear down the house.
ARCOM's deferral, and a move by the Landmarks Preservation Commission to landmark the structure — even though a demolition permit had been issued — were called inappropriate by the Town Council.
Members of the council, however, expressed concern about the loss of the house and directed the landmarks board to review a group of potential landmarks identified by town preservation consultant Jane Day so more noteworthy homes aren't lost to the wrecking ball.
Neighbors watch
Helen Guest, who has lived in the house just west of the Manus house for 32 years, favors that action. Although she didn't like the blue roof on the Manus house, Guest appreciated its architecture.
"I think that the town was lax not to have been on top of it beforehand. I think it should have been landmarked a while ago," Guest said, as the banging of the backhoe and sound of crumbling concrete reverberated through the neighborhood. "I think anything in this town that has a history should be preserved," including the Royal Poinciana Playhouse.
John Eberhardt, whose home at 127 Dunbar Road abuts the south side of the property, rode over to watch the demolition on his bicycle.
"I think it's too bad," said Eberhardt, who has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years. "It was very much like a Frank Lloyd Wright house. I always loved to show it to guests from out of town and friends. I just thought it was so unusual. It's a showplace."
Guest said the Manus house demolition will likely take more than two days. She recently had to endure the noise caused by the demolition of the former Claude Dimick Reese Jr. home on Dunbar Road. Two weeks of material removal followed.
"Not a lot of fun," Guest said.
Staff Writer William Kelly contributed to this report.
Lee Hershfield
(enlarge photo)
Vern Duncan of Cushing Demolition steers the bucket and claw of his backhoe into the north side of the Manus House at 144 Wells Road during its demolition on Wednesday morning.
• View More Photos
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Photo courtesy of Manus family
(enlarge photo)
The pool area of the house.
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