Saturday, October 25, 2008
By JAN SJOSTROM
Daily News Arts Editor
Click-2-Listen
The Palm Beach Theater Guild will hold a free public forum to discuss the proposed landmarking of the Royal Poinciana Plaza and the Royal Poinciana Playhouse at 4 p.m. Nov. 7 at Nick & Johnnie's Patio Bar and Grill, 207 Royal Poinciana Way.
The Town Council will consider the Landmarks Preservation Commission's recommendation that the properties by landmarked at its Nov. 12 meeting.
The panel will be moderated by guild board member Paul Noble. Other panelists will be Karen Nickless, field representative for the National Trust for Historic Preservation Southern Office; John Ripley, executive director of the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach; R. Douglas Hulse, treasurer of the Theater Guild board; and Tim Frank, who recently retired as the town planner.
The guild wants to save the Playhouse and operate it as a theater offering a middle-of-the road menu of produced and co-produced plays, one-night shows, children's programs and movie screenings. It also would rent the hall to other users.
"We encourage people to attend and to take a stand to encourage our Town Council to vote in favor of landmarking the Royal Poinciana Plaza," guild president Patrick Flynn said in a statement.
On Friday, the guild released a letter from the state Division of Historical Resources endorsing the landmarking and preservation of the Playhouse.
"The Playhouse is an important cultural and historical resource in Palm Beach, and we strongly recommend that every effort be made to preserve its historic architectural integrity throughout," wrote Barbara Mattick, chief of the bureau of historic preservation.
Sterling Palm Beach, which has a long-term lease on the plaza properties, has proposed demolishing all but the eastern facade of the 50-year-old, John Volk-designed Playhouse and building five-story condominiums in its place.
A study produced for the developers by consultant Duncan Webb concluded that re-opening the 878-seat Playhouse, which has been shuttered since 2004, is not financially viable.
The developers oppose landmarking the entire plaza and propose landmarking only the cupola that tops the Slat House, the Volk-designed commercial buildings and the Playhouse's east facade.
"My partners and I are further willing to have the entire property be overseen by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in perpetuity even as it relates to any non-landmarked buildings or elements on the property to assure aesthetic consistency," said Brian Kosoy of Sterling Palm Beach.
The developers declined the guild's invitation to participate in the forum, because they will be too busy preparing for the Nov. 12 meeting and presenting their plan to the public, Kosoy said.
The developers, who have been showing their plan to select groups since Oct. 6, have said they will start letting the public see it in early November.
For information, contact Flynn at 366-8980.
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