Government
 "An equal opportunity |
Unwrapping Ceremony Kicks Off
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County Commissioners pound on the building
as Chair
Karen T. Marcus
knocks the first brick from the wall. |
On January 22, 2004, County Commissioners, Historical Society members, public officials, architects, contractors and numerous individuals who played an important part in making the 1916 historic Court House restoration a reality were on hand to ceremoniously begin to “knock” down the Court House brick facade “wrap” to eventually reveal the original structure.
This momentous occasion was a result of the Board of County Commissioners’ vote (in April 2002) to allocate $18.5 million through the sale of public improvement revenue and refunding bonds to restore the1916 Court House, which was once destined to be destroyed when the new courthouse across the street opened in 1995. In February 2003, the Board voted to grant space in the completed building to the Historical Society to occupy the third and fourth floors, with the rest allocated to County government staff.
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It took approximately six months to remove the intial “wrap” and is projected to take two to three years for completion of the entire process. Fortunately, most of the stately Corinthian columns that graced the historic Court House were saved and are now standing in the Hillcrest Memorial Park and the Palm Beach Memorial Park. They will be donated back to the Court House at the appropriate time, and the surrounding area outside will once again have lush green grass and trees. Hedrick Brothers Construction was named as the construction manager of the project, working with REG Architects, both of West Palm Beach. Visit the Court House Web cam. |
Board of County Commissioners
Chair Karen T. Marcus
welcomes guests to the event. |
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