Janis FontaineWhat to see and do this season during the Palm Beach organization’s makeover.
Work on the renovation of two buildings on The Society of the Four Arts 10-acre campus supported by a $250 million Centennial Campaign began in May and is on schedule, if not a bit ahead, CEO Philip Rylands said last month at a media presentation.
The remodeling of the Rovensky Administrative Building, home to the popular children’s library, and the Esther B. O’Keeffe Gallery Building, site of the Gubelmann Auditorium, was needed “to upgrade our facility to match our programming,” Rylands said.
Addison Mizner designed both buildings but not for their current purpose. The Rovensky Building was an apartment building with a Rolls-Royce dealership on the ground floor. The O’Keeffe Building was a short-lived supper club financed by Col. Edward Bradley to compete with the Everglades Club. Both buildings, built almost a century ago, needed TLC, Rylands said.
The renovations also set a precedent. It made The Society of the Four Arts campus Palm Beach’s first dedicated Cultural Institution zoning designation. This historic rezoning, unanimously approved by the town in 2024, allowed the Four Arts to bypass the two-story restriction on their buildings, with a new 1,400-square-foot boardroom that will open onto a 1,629-square-foot terrace with a view of the campus.
Full reopening date not certain
“Restorations are notoriously difficult,” said Nathaniel “Nate” Rogers, Beyer Blinder Belle’s partner-in-charge of the project. They are optimistic they’ll welcome patrons late in 2027, but, realistically, it may be 2028 before the doors reopen.
“Sometime around December of this year, they’re going to have a much clearer idea of the timeline,” Rylands said.
The renovations have yielded a few surprises. “We cut holes all over the existing buildings before we started, and we found a lot of interesting things,” Rogers said.
They found the walls of the O’Keeffe Building were mostly fragile, thin plaster and slats. And they found Mizner’s original pecky cypress ceiling.
The Gubelmann Auditorium needed new seating, lighting and technology to bring it up to date. It will be a bit smaller — 650 instead of 700 seats — but many of those lost seats were poorly placed.
Some changes are things the public never sees but are important to artists. Previously, dancers changed costumes in tents set up outside. And when artists exited the stage left, they had to run across the grass, even in the rain, because there was no backstage.
Both the artists and the public were bothered by late-arriving guests. Because there was no vestibule between the lobby and auditorium, light and sound from tardy ticket holders spilled in. The new lobby will change that.
Outside the O’Keeffe Building, the ficus trees that shaded the walkway will be replaced with a colonnade and a roof, adorned with benches and a view of the lawn and its stately royal palms,. The roof will extend the usable space even in inclement weather. The whole campus is designed to be more pedestrian-friendly, Rogers said.
Because the renovation closed two important venues, the Four Arts reached out to its neighbors, who stepped up.
Temporary homes for films, concerts
The Royal Poinciana Chapel, a half mile north on Cocoanut Row, will host concerts and lectures, and Palm Beach Day Academy, a five-minute walk east, will host the Friday film series, the Met LIVE in HD and National Theatre Live. Select programs are also planned at the Flagler Museum, the Norton Museum of Art, and the Bunker Artspace.
Some of the campus remains open. The Dixon Education Building offers dozens of classes and lectures in its Campus on the Lake program. Leaders hope to fill gaps with an increase in online programming, and they added a cabaret series in the intimate Johnson Hall.
The King Library continues to host book clubs and its author series “Florida Voices,” and the Philip Hulitar Sculpture Garden will host a fine art exhibit featuring birds.
The library is open from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Sculpture Garden and adjacent Demonstration Garden are open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to the garden and the library is free.
One of the biggest misconceptions about the Four Arts is that it is “members only.” Members get benefits that nonmembers don’t, but at least 30% of the programs are free. Others, like the Friday Film Festival at $10, have a nominal cost. For a complete guide to The Society of Four Arts programs, visit www.fourarts.org.
Five don’t-miss events
Because parking remains limited, ride-sharing, carpooling and walking are encouraged.
1. Concerts in the Chapel
Music lovers this season can take advantage of the chapel’s magnificent, recently restored pipe organ with a performance by a legendary organist, Grammy Award winner Paul Jacobs, in a program of organ chamber music.
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center includes Jacobs, along with Lun Li, violin, Dmitri Atapine, cello, and Jens Lindemann, trumpet, at 7 pm Jan. 20.
A second organ performance features German Felix Hell in a solo recital and pre-concert lecture on the instrument on April 7.
Other Concerts in the Chapel include pianist Gabriela Montero, the Aaron Diehl Trio with soprano Mikaela Bennett, Les Violons du Roy with mandolinist Avi Avital, bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent, and the Viano String Quartet with pianist Sir Stephen Hough.
Tickets are $40 and will go on sale to the public for the November, December and January performances on Oct. 22. The public can buy or reserve tickets to February, March and April Four Arts programs on Jan. 26.
2. Cabaret at the Four Arts
This short series of intimate performances hits its crescendo with Norbert Leo Butz accompanied by Andy Roninson on March 17.
Held in welcoming Johnson Hall in the Dixon Education Building, this new cabaret series kicks off on Dec. 2.
The series is hosted by Tony Award nominee Alan Campbell, and also features Seth Rudetsky and Faith Prince, as well as a special recital by Metropolitan Opera singers Alexsandra Kurzak and Matthew Polenzani and dance performance by Flamenco Vivo dancer Carlota Santana.
Tickets are $40 and will go on sale to the public in January.
3. The Friday Film Series at Palm Beach Day Academy
The popular Friday film screenings continue on the nearby school campus at 241Seaview Ave. Films begin Nov. 6, but the most intriguing are the three “Secret Screener” films in February and March.
The films will be under wraps until showtime, but the teaser guarantees these are “either a pre-release film or a special presentation with a guest artist or filmmaker.”
Tickets are $10 and will go on sale to the public for November, December and January films on Oct. 22.
Palm Beach Day Academy also hosts 10 screenings of “The Met: Live in HD” and four screenings of National Theatre Live filmed live in London.
Tickets are $30, $15 for students and will go on sale to the public for November, December and January screenings on Oct. 22.
4. Florida Voices in the King Library
On Nov. 18, the library welcomes journalist and author Rebecca Fannin. The Harvard Business Review, Forbes, CNBC, Newsweek and The New York Times writer’s Wire China discusses “The New Tech Titans of China,” which takes a timely look at the companies driving China in its AI domination and superpower status.
Admission to this program, like the book clubs, including Page Turners, the Talk of Kings, the Biography and the Short Story book clubs, are free.
Tickets can be reserved starting Oct. 22.
5. Catherine Grace Katz lecture at the Campus on the Lake
Catherine Grace Katz will speak about the Hindenburg, the Nazis, and the eve of World War II on Jan. 12. The historian brings the disaster to life through the stories of the people on board in her new book “Shadow Before the Flame: The Hindenburg Disaster and a Prelude to War,” published in September. She’ll also sign copies.
This lecture is part of the Campus on the Lake programming, which features classes and workshops, the Beyer Artist in Residence, and the lecture series which offers “one speaker, one hour, one opportunity to explore a new perspective.”
Tickets are $20 and will go on sale to the public on Oct. 22.
Note: We did not include the Esther O’Keeffe lecture series which takes place at 3 pm Mondays from January to March, because none of the speakers have been announced.
These lectures at the Royal Poinciana Chapel are available only to members but will be simulcast at the Dixon Education Building for the public. Tickets are needed.
