Delray Beach city commissioners have given their blessing to plans that will split the historic oceanfront property that was the 1930s home of famed cartoonist Fontaine Fox.
City commissioners voted in February to advance developer Frank McKinney’s plan and for a name change to “Historic Fontaine Fox House Properties” in the Local Register of Historic Places. The city’s Historic Preservation Board unanimously approved the project.
McKinney wants to divide the parcel into two lots and remove a 1960s addition to the original Fox home at 610 N. Ocean Blvd. He also intends to add a connection between the main house and an existing greenhouse.
McKinney says the newly created parcel on the 2.5-acre property will retain its historic character and have landscaped setbacks. He says the plans will ensure the preservation of the landmark house, designed by prominent South Florida architect John Volk, whose clients also included the Vanderbilts, Duponts and Pulitzers.
Fox, who died at 80 in 1964, created a popular cartoon strip called Toonersville Folks that ran in hundreds of U.S. newspapers from 1913 to 1955.
— Cheryl Blackerby
and Rich Pollack
Comments