The Beginning

The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach was established in January 1980 with the purpose to protect and celebrate the architectural and cultural heritage of Palm Beach. In 1984, the foundation oversaw one of its first major projects — the restoration of Palm Beach’s oldest existing house, Sea Gull Cottage.  The shingle style cottage was moved across the island to a location near its original lakefront location and the Foundation operated out the historic home.

In 1987, the Foundation purchased a parking lot in the Town Hall Historic district with the intention of creating an intimate park within the urban corridor that honored its founding Chairman Earl E.T. Smith. The land was purchased to prevent increased development in the area. Designed by Edward Durrell Stone Jr. and Associates, the park featured reproduced architectural features that connected to the surroudning landmark structures. The land was purchased to prevent increased development in the area. It was also time for the Foundation to expand — Hoffman, Schofield, Colgan, and Kirchoff Architects remodeled a gas station on the property that would serve as the first Foundation-owned headquarters. However, the space could not accommodate the Foundation’s architectural library which was located in the Paramount Building on 139 N. County Road. Today, the property is owned by the Fortin Foundation.