L-R: Michele Walter, Lynne Freeman, Janet DeVries Naughton and Donna Artes look through photos of past gatherings at the Boynton Woman’s Club. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Jan Engoren
A full, festive day of activities took place March 22 at the Boynton Woman’s Club as the club marked the 100th anniversary of its recently refurbished 1925 Addison Mizner building at 1010 S. Federal Highway.
The 12,000-square-foot, two-story Mediterranean Revival style building showcases Mizner’s signature architectural elements, including its barrel tile roof, arched windows, grand hall, stucco exterior, tropical landscaping and open-air spaces.
It is one of the few Addison Mizner-designed structures open to the public in Palm Beach County.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
“We’re so happy for the success of this event and thankful to everyone who came out to support us,” said club member Barbara Erlichman. “The event was free to the public as a way to encourage people to come and see who we are and what we do and celebrate this beautiful building with us.”
The building was commissioned in 1925 by the club, thanks in part to funds contributed by city-namesake Major Nathan Boynton’s family, and finished in 1932.
It hosted World War II-era Red Cross dances, served as the city library until 1961, housed residents during hurricanes and was the heart of the community for decades. It hosted teas, lectures, concerts, art events, dances and galas — raising money for charities — most recently for college scholarships for local high school students.
The day’s participants included Tom Warnke of the Surfing Florida Museum, representatives from the Boynton Beach Historical Society, the Highwaymen Museum in Fort Pierce, the Girl Scouts, the Arthur R. Marshall Nature Preserve and the Boynton Beach Garden Club, which presented its signature Art in Bloom event.
Garden Club members made original floral arrangements inspired by artwork created by clients of The Arc of Palm Beach County, an organization advocating for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Upstairs, local historians Janet DeVries Naughton and Ed Lamont, a docent at the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, spoke about the history of Boynton Beach and about the life and work of Addison Mizner.
The Boynton Woman’s Club building has endured its share of ups and downs over the years and in recent times was in need of extensive repairs.
In 2017 it was taken over by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, which then sold it to the city four years later. The city painted and made repairs to the windows, railings and floors, and to the roof that had been damaged in 2017 during Hurricane Irma.
While repairs were being done, the Woman’s Club met elsewhere and its members are now thrilled to be back in their original home. They started up meetings there again in October 2023.
“We’re so grateful to the city of Boynton Beach, which has done a wonderful job in refurbishing our beloved Woman’s Club building,” said Donna Artes, a past president of the club and a trustee of the Boynton Beach Historical Society. “We’re finally back in our home and proud and excited that we get to enjoy it and show it off.”
Artes encourages residents to visit, appreciate the building and get involved with the Woman’s Club.
The evening ended in Jazz-age glamour, with a 1920s theme party, the ballroom transformed into “Mizner’s Hideaway,” a speakeasy complete with cocktails and a 17-piece jazz band.
Visit boyntonwomansclub.com and boyntonhistory.org
Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the first two people in the top photo. Those names have now been placed in the proper order.
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