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No offers came to move the Cramer House, which was built in 1925, about one block east of the present-day Sanborn Square. Photo provided by the Boca Raton Historical Society

By Mary Hladky

With no one coming forward to save it, the historic Cramer House has been demolished to make way for a large development in the heart of downtown.
“I am in mourning,” said Susan Gillis, curator for the Boca Raton Historical Society.
The bright blue house’s fate was sealed on March 11 when a contractor working for developer Compson Associates smashed a large hole in the building’s second story after the city issued a demolition permit.

Demolition of the Cramer House began March 11. The developer is seeking approval for a trio of high-rises, including a 12-story luxury apartment building. Photo provided by Alan Neibauer

The demise of the Mediterranean Revival house at 136 E. Boca Raton Road removes one of the last markers of the downtown’s history.
Realtor Harley Gates and his wife, Harriette, came to Boca Raton from Vermont in 1913 and built a house called the Palmetto Park Plantation, now the site of Wildflower Park, according to historical society records.
Gates then built a spec house on Boca Raton Road in the mid-1920s. Soon afterward, builder Jack Cramer, who constructed the original Town Hall, bought the house and added a two-story section.
After World War II, it was the home of Philip Azzolina, who had served in the band at the Boca Raton Army Air Field and was the original conductor of the Boca Pops Orchestra.
By the 1970s, the house had ceased to be a residence. It was occupied by a series of businesses over the years, including an art supply store and a gallery. In more recent times, it was vacant and had fallen into disrepair.
In the 1940s and 1950s, East Boca Raton Road was the city’s beating heart where everyone went to shop.
Those glory days ended in 1983 when Sanborn Square was expanded and the road’s intersection with Federal Highway was eliminated, making it a less convenient destination for shoppers.
Federal Highway emerged as the new “Main Street” and East Palmetto Park Road served as a hub for businesses of all kinds and as a major artery to the beach.
For now, the site of the Cramer House and a small two-story building behind it that also was taken down will sit vacant as Compson Associates seeks city approval for The Aletto at Sanborn Square.
The proposed project would include three buildings on 1.3 acres immediately to the east of Sanborn Square, between East Palmetto Park Road and East Boca Raton Road. If the project is approved, more buildings around the Cramer House would be demolished.
A 93-unit luxury apartment tower would rise to 12 stories, the maximum allowed in the downtown. A seven-story office and retail building would feature a restaurant with rooftop dining. An eight-story fully automated parking garage would provide 350 parking spaces and a rooftop pool.
Compson developed the 12-story Tower 155 luxury condominium at 155 E. Boca Raton Road, just north of the proposed project.
The historical society hoped someone would step forward to pay to move the Cramer House to a new location or that the developer would incorporate the house in plans for The Aletto at Sanborn Square.
But Carl Klepper, Compson’s vice president, said no one approached him about keeping the house as part of his company’s project or offered to move the house.
He would not have opposed moving it, he said before the Cramer House was demolished. But Klepper doubted it could have been done.
“I am just not sure it is very practical,” he said. “I am not certain that could be achieved. (The house) is really in disrepair.”
The Aletto at Sanborn Square is at the beginning stage of the city’s process for project approval. If Compson gets the go-ahead from the city, the land where the Cramer House sat will be used as a staging area for the project, he said.
Among those joining Gillis in mourning the loss of the Cramer House is City Council member Yvette Drucker, a former historical society president and member of the city’s Historic Preservation Board.
“I wish someone would have saved the house. We haven’t had any takers,” she said. “It is sad to see a piece of history go away.”
She urged people interested in preserving the city’s history to step in quickly when a historic structure is threatened.
“We need to be more proactive with our historical sites,” she said.
The Cramer House did not have a historic designation. But even if it did, that would not guarantee it could have avoided the wrecking ball, Gillis said.
The historical society has no role in historic designation, she said. That responsibility rests with the city’s Historic Preservation Board.
Either the owner of a historic property or the preservation board can submit an application for a historic designation, Gillis said.
If the preservation board gives its approval, the decision also must be approved by the Planning and Zoning Board and the City Council.
An owner of a designated property must get a certificate of appropriateness from the preservation board before making any changes to the building’s exterior. That is intended to protect the building, Gillis said.
The preservation board could deny a demolition permit, but Gillis said that has never happened. Short of that, a waiting period is put into effect so that the owner can avoid demolition by relocating the building or finding a new owner willing to protect it, she said.
“It would be better if we could be more proactive,” Gillis said. “But we need more help” from residents concerned about saving local history.