A new exhibition in Palm Beach will explore post-Depression architectural trends that shaped the town’s residential streets.
“The Third Era of Design: Architectural Trends in Post-Depression Palm Beach,” which debuts Jan. 21, will look at how national ideas about modest, well-designed homes were adapted to Palm Beach’s distinctive character. The exhibit will be on view at the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach’s building on Peruvian Avenue.
The free exhibition will use architectural drawings, historic photographs and contextual materials to show how prominent local architects — including Marion Sims Wyeth, John L. Volk and Belford Shoumate — adapted small-house design principles for the town.
Such smaller houses represented a major change from the elaborate mansions and mega-mansions that found favor in Palm Beach before the Roaring ’20s came crashing to a close.
Architects in the post-Depression years proved that even with limited budgets, great design was possible and creativity and craftsmanship could thrive through ready-made, locally adapted plans, said Danielle Del Sol, president and CEO of the Preservation Foundation.
“This exhibition highlights a time when thoughtful design responded directly to social and economic realities,” Del Sol said. “It reminds us that good architecture has always been about more than size or cost. It’s about livability, beauty, and a sense of place.”
The exhibition, which is underwritten by the Alabama-based disaster recovery and debris removal company CrowderGulf, highlights Depression-era resilience and postwar optimism, showing how well-designed, thoughtfully sized homes remain influential today, the foundation said in a statement about the exhibition.
Visitors are encouraged to consider how the small house movement’s focus on efficiency, accessibility and quality continues to shape housing and community design, the foundation said.
The exhibition runs through May 1 at the Preservation Foundation, 311 Peruvian Ave., and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach is a non-profit organization that works to protecting the town’s architectural, cultural and botanical heritage through advocacy, education, restoration projects, and stewardship of historic sites and landscapes.
More information about the foundation’s winter exhibit is available at PalmBeachPreservation.org.
Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Preservation Foundation looks at post-Depression Palm Beach architecture
Reporting by Jodie Wagner, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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