Decaying Winter Club Razed (PBP) 9-5-84Don Preisler/THE POST
Demolition of the Winter Club began yesterday in North Palm Beach
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y Jodi Schneider
Staff Writer
NORTH PALM BEACH --- About 9 a.m. yesterday,
attorney Ted Babbitt planted a sign near the decaying
mansion at .the North Palm Beach Country Club.
"This property is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places," it read.
About an hour later that message became inconse-
quential as Eric Jenkins of Delta Demolition Inc. got
behind the wheel of a Caterpillar bulldozer and started
knocking the first pieces out of the 56 -year-old winter
Club.
"This is a sad, sad day," said Babbitt, who represented
Save the winter Club, the group that campaigned to
restore the building. "I can't help but believe that the
people who voted to do this must be having second
thoughts:"
Built by architect Louis de Puyseger in 1926 for
Palm Beach millionaire Paris Singer, the three-story
building later served as a vacation home for Canadian
millionaire Sir Harry Oakes and then John D. MacArthur.
The village of North Palm Beach bought the building
in 1961 and used it for recreation activities until the mid-
1970s. It was condemned seven years ago.
The demolition was ordered by the North Palm
Beach Village Council,
For years, village residents fought to preserve the
neglected structure and return it, to its former glory. In a
1979 election, they were able to keep their hopes alive
because of an amazing 1,103-1,103 tie vote. But on March
13, winter Club supporters lost for the last time when
village .residents voted 1,692 to 1,525 to tear down the
building.
Most of the small group of village officials, residents
and passers-by that huddled outside the building yester-
day attended the demolition out of nostalgia, not out of a
desire to see the mansion restored.
"I think it's seen its day," said Leon moon, a 10 -year
village resident. "I think restoring it was a useless ges-
ture.,,
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Onfce a playground for the wealthy, the decaying :winter Club the remains of a barrel -tile roof as a huge shovel prepares to
in North. Palin Beach was reduced. to rubble by wrecking chompboards ind bricks into splinters and dust:.
equipment Tuesday. Machine operator Eric Jenkins rolls over