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Winter Club, once a haven for rich (Miami Herald) 7-4-83WINTER CLU7 REAS T CF ATION f i .. _ r ." '. r ter.... . •. 2 _ r. � f l .. �,,C .., { tr Fes:. .r. .. '1. r.•.•,. v. , r .. v ....: , By JOEL ACI-ILNBACH Herald Staff Writer It is a seedy old thing, a hollow colossus where millionaires onceplayed and now only pi- geons and stray cats find a •home. The residents of North Palm Beach are trying to decide wheth- er to tear it down or spruce it up. The Winter Club, once the pride of the North Palm Beach Country Club, has a history shroud- ed in greed, financial ruin, and murder,. For two decades it has steadily deteriorated. Owned by the village, it has been condemned for six years. "You're going to have to watch your step," village maintenance supervisor Bill Reinert said, leading two visitors into the musty interior. "There's a lot of debris in here," he said, sniff - `We don't have half a million [dollars] floating around. The charm is qutweighed by the practicality of fixing it up.' Mayor Toni Valente. ing, "and pigeons." Arguments over what to do with the 57 - year -old Mediterranean style stucture have split the community for several years, with the next public hearing scheduled for Wednesday evening in the Village Hall. This past week Public Service Director Charles O'Meilia released a report showing that $370,000 would be needed to repair the first fluor and seal off the remaining two stories. Among residents, the preservers say the building is charming, elegant and one of the last vestiges of Palm Beach County's patrician past. The potential destroyers say it's ugly, a fire- trap, a libel suit waiting to happen. Mayor Tom Valente says the village can't af- ford renovation.. "We don't have half a million [dollars_] float- ing around," he said. ` `The charm is outweighed YYmL.�[-R ; "1101„1 V1191 OW I.Plull Winter Club, with the Norm :Palm Beach Country Club pool in Please tuna. to CLUB / ?PB foreground, .is vacant as residents debate future. The Post, Sunday, July 3, 1983—B9 N y:Restdents happy Wit Surve h NPB By Michelle Armstrong Staff Writer NORTH PALM BEACH — A ran- dom survey by a Boy Scout. working to attain Eagle Scout status shows that Forth Palm " Beach residents want the Winter. Club demolished rather than, restored. The 14 -question survey also indi- cates that residents are satisfied in general with the recreational, police, fire and sanitation services provided by the village. Scott Schaag, 17, of Palm Beach Gardens and four other members of Troop 777 distributed approximately 450 surveys. Schaag received at least partial responses from 125 of them. The results were tabulated and will be presented to the North Palm Beach Village Council in mid-July. . Schaag said 80 residents think the historic Winter Club building should be razed and 33 think the club should be saved. There have been estimates that it will cost $1 'million to renovate the building. Schaag said several resi- dents think the figure is inflated. Only 22 of 107 persons responding to a question about cable television rates said they would favor an increase, even if it meant better reception. They also were asked about the rates for the North Palm Beach Coun- try Club. Schaag said 24 residents want re- duced rates, 15 are satisfied with cur- rent rates, 7 people want the club to become self-supporting and 54 favor a rate increase to see the club "become more exclusive." Ninety-three persons voted to retain the Public Safety Department with only 13 favoring to abolish it and set up separate police, fire and emergen- cy medical services. Schaag • said 51 residents say they support larger budgets for village de- partments and. 48 residents are satis- fied with current levels of financing. Those surveyed said they would not change4. e village's recreational pro- grams and facilities and that they are satisfied with sanitation services. Fifty-eight residents said the vil- lage Emergency Medical Service should charge for its services, 44 said the service should remain free and four said the village should charge a fee for nonresidents. . Schaag, who graduated from Jupi- ter High School this year, said he de- veloped the questions with the help of Village Manager Raymond Howland. C.J. WALKER I Miami Herald Staff Historian William Young tells of Winter Club's strange past. Historic club may riot be, ,but walk through is a -bit CLUB/ From I PB by the practicality of fixing it up. Valente and village historian Bill Young say public opinion is running three to one in favor of demolition. But the preservers hold their ground. "I think it's historical," said Dr. Edward Eissey, a resident and president of Palm Beach Junior College. "I think it's one of' the last vestiges that we have of what we had in the South, in estates, in mansions." He conceded, "Right now it's certainly not very at- tractive." Betty Perry has grown pessimistic that the building will be saved, but she hasn't given up. "There's not many old buildings in Palm Beach County. It's part of the heritage of the county," she said. Eissey and Perry were among a collection of - citi- zens who last year backed an elaborate plan to issue $2 million in bonds to restore the building and build an ad- jacent revenue -earning office building. Hundreds of cit- izens protested, and the Village Council eventually balked at the idea. Before that, the village did lay out $47,000 for a new roof, but officials were disappointed that a, listing in the National Historic Register brought in no addi- tional state or federal funds. Now Mayor Valente thinks a public referendum next March should decide the issue. The last such vote, in 1979, ended rather extraordinarily in a tie, 1,103 to 00 nxed S ook P 19103. If the Winter Club falls under the wrecker's ball, it will take with it a strange history. Palm Beach millionaire Paris Singer convinced de- veloper Harry Kelsey to build a country club to'cater to guests from one of Singer's new hotels. The Winter Club sprang from the ground in 1926, when North Palm Beach was just open fields and mangroves on Lake Worth. But Kelsey mismanaged his money, land values plummeted and then a 1928 hurricane ripped off the roof of the Winter Club. Enter Harry Oakes, -later Sir Harry Oakes, a man fanged for his greed and foul mouth. Oakes bought the Winter Club and moved in. The decadent lifestyle of Oakes came to end in 1943 in the Bahamas, when he was bludgeoned to death in his bed, soaked in gasoline and immolated. The crime was never solved. Although the murder took place far away, local wags still associate the crime with the Winter Club. Young stated emphatically that he wants to stay out of the often -intense controversy that envelops the, club. But he said the club lacks "'historical sex appeal." Y6ung thinks a historic structure needs something more than age. "For something that is historic, there should be some affection connected with it, respect, a warm feel- ing. There's nothing connected with. this building," Young said. NORM PALM BEACHPUBLIC LIOBRA'R�! a1117ey C.J. WALKER / Miami Herald Staff The east side of the Winter Club presents an imposing view to those who come to revisit history.