Despite the owner’s objections, a 1930s building that houses Palm Beach’s popular Church Mouse resale store will be considered for landmark designation by the City Council next month.
At its monthly meeting Nov. 20 at City Hall, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 5-2 to recommend the John Volk-designed building at 376 S. County Road as a landmark. The structure is owned by the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea.
If the property is approved as a landmark by the council at the Dec. 11 development review meeting, it will join more than 350 other landmark properties, sites and vistas protected under the city’s Historic Preservation Ordinance.
The building that houses the Church Mouse thrift store at 376 S. County Road was recommended as a landmark by the Palm Beach Landmarks Board on Nov. 20. The Georgian Revival structure was designed in 1936 by famed architect John Volk.
In Florida, a commercial building may be able to be designated a historic landmark even if the owner objects, depending on local laws and procedures.
Palm Beach does not list owner consent among its landmark requirements, the city said.
“There are many reasons why landmarking is useful,” Briton Damgard, one of five commissioners who voted in favor of landmarking, told her colleagues. “And the Church Mouse is such an iconic John Volk building. It’s part of the fabric of our city. It’s part of the fabric of our neighborhood. I went to a seminar recently and the gentleman had about old commercial buildings and why they should be a landmark. This is such an important event in our city.”
Representatives of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, which acquired the Church Mouse building in 1987, recognized the building’s historical significance and its value to the city.
But they argued that the one-story Georgian Revival-style building, which occupies a prominent spot in Palm Beach’s commercial and governmental center, should not be designated a landmark because the church is a “faithful steward” of the property and no plans to change or sell it.
The Church Mouse, staffed by church volunteers, offers a curated selection of high-quality second-hand items, including designer clothing, accessories, furniture, homewares and art.
Proceeds from the sale will be donated to charities through the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea Outreach Ministry.
“It is not appropriate or necessary to mark the Church Mouse building,” attorney and Bethesda-by-the-Sea representative Jamie Gavigan told committee members. “Bethesda has shown that they are stewards of their properties. They don’t sell their properties. They don’t do anything that negatively impacts them.”
John Brim, the treasurer of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, added: “We have no plans to change the mouse, or to change it, contrary to what you may have heard,” he said. “What we are asking of you is not to unnecessarily impose restrictions on any entity that serves the city at this time. We believe this would be the opposite of serving the city.”
Commissioner Alexander Ives responded that the city does not prohibit the use of historic properties and therefore would not limit the revenue an owner would earn from using those structures.
However, he added that he was against marking the building because he believed it did not meet the designation criteria set forth by the city in the Landmark Preservation Ordinance.
“You have a beautiful building,” he said. “But it’s not worth being considered a milestone.”
Commissioner Anne Fairfax also stated that she was against landmark marking, telling her colleagues that the Church Mouse building, which has been modified several times since its completion in 1936, was not “special” enough to serve as a landmark.
“I like to highlight things that are exceptional,” she said. “I don’t think this specific building meets that requirement in my opinion. I always ask the question: is this the best we can do? Is this the best architecture with which we create our town? I think it’s a pretty benign background building.”
Ultimately, commissioners moved forward with approving the building for landmark designation, agreeing with Aimee Sunny, director of Preservation and Planning for the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach, that the structure was a “quintessential John Volk property” that met the city’s criteria for landmarking.
“It is indicative of Volk’s work,” Sunny told committee members. “It is absolutely representative of the Palm Beach Regency or Georgian Revival style, and I think it reflects the broad changes in history and culture and usage patterns since 1936 in the city of Palm Beach.”
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.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Despite owners’ opposition, Palm Beach resale wants to vote for monuments
