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Winter Club's dilapidated state delays sale of historical tidbits (Miami Herald) 8-31-84; Winer Club sale lures relic huntersTinter (Flub dale Lures Relic Hunters a group of residents lost their long legal battle to save the building last March. Condemned seven years ago, the decaying structure bears little re- semblance to the grand mansion built In 1926 expressly as a country club for Palm Beach millionaire Paris Singer. Years later, Sir Harry Oakes, a Canadian millionaire, purchased the 'building and enlarged it. - .Due to its historic significance to the area, the building holds a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. Now the aging structure suffers from years of decay and neglect. Yesterday's visitors stepped on bro- ken records and yellowed newspa- pers in the large room that once housed a ballet studio. Pigeon eggs were hidden near the porch. While most of the group was there to buy, a few local residents came out of nostalgia for the Winter Club. Al- though L.A. Nininger respects the historic value of the building, he said he won't be sorry to see it destroyed. "I Was in favor of taking it down," he said. "To me, if this had been a good stone building with a good foun- dation, it may have been worth sav- ing. But with this building, we'd have to start all over. We'd just be putting good money into something that would cost more than building a whole new structure." Village residents holding Nin- inger's view won at the polls. A ruling by Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Lewis Kapner put the club's future on the March 13 ballot and residents voted 1,692 to 1,525 not to spend hun- dreds of thousands of dollars to re- store the building, but instead to pay $17,143 to destroy it. Members of Save the Winter Club, the group that campaigned to restore the building, didn't show up yester- day. Some say they won't attend Tuesday's demolition, either. "It would be too painful for me to watch," said Jeri Athey, the group's president. "It's almost beyond my comprehension how they could do it. I try not to think about it." Group member Patty Moran said she'll witness the demolition, "proba- bly with a black arm band," out of respect for the building. She said yes - terday's,,3ouvenir sale was typical. of the publil.-'s attitude toward the build- ing. T .... ...... FILE PHOTO A demolition company has found the Winter.. E. aflaing 09 r.it*.kety for souvenir hunters. C1 b iliter U S I a i ate. . ate Air ­ft maw, -es Ilk d d.ela sale of hi ca ti I S 1 b By DAVID MARCUS flerWd Staff Writer 'We St:in a crew in there ... and we A sale of old bricks, cypress, door knobs and other knickknacks of North Palm. Beach history — f6und, t is quite high risk and scheduled for today .— has been delayed. dXlerA demolition cocu�;.) . mpany had planned to sell useable bits and pieces of the 57 -year-old Winter Club, but Candi Gvee., found the building too rickety for souvenir hunters. Delta Demolition %. iac. The sale has been postponed until at least Sept. 4. when the wrecking team starts, to tear down the rambling old yellow building - 1928 hurri `" cane and decades of changes and abandon a crew in there last night and we found ment. Now owned by the village, it has been it is quite high risk and dangerous,," Candi Geyer, condemned for seven years. Arguments over the vice president of Delta Demolition Inc.. said Thursday '"I won't have our men climbing up . in the mansion's future split the community for several years, until the council voted to raze it earlier this rafters to take wood out. year. Geyer had told town officials that workmen from The foundation will be uprooted and the area her. Fort Lauderdale company would scour the covered with sod. And the pecky cypress ceilings a building for pieces that could be sold. But Thursday other salvageable remnants probably will go afternoon, she called off the sale. buyers. The building, constructed as a country club for "You don't know what people are after," Villa Palm Beach millionaire Paris Singer, has weathered a. Manager Roy Holland said. By Jodi Schneider Staff Writer NORTH PALM BEACH — They gathered in the hot afternoon sun, oblivious to the historic importance .of the moment. When the doors were opened, they rummaged through the rubble as if at a garage sale. "I'm just looking for odds and ends," said Loxahatchee resident Gail Brown. "I'm building a house and looking for anything to fit into it — old brass doorknobs, pocket locks, things like that." "I wanted to buy some doors," add- ed Jerry Cone, a Palm Beach Country Estates resident. "That's all." Only a dozen souvenir hunters and curiosity seekers remained yester- day afternoon when the crew from Delta Demolition arrived more than two hours late to open the doors to the 57 -year-old Winter Club. It was the last time the relic would remain intact, for the crew began selling off parts of the historic building as a prelude to its demolition Tuesday. Delta Demolition will raze the de- teriorating structure with a 3,000 - pound wrecking ball on orders from the North Palm Beach Village Coun- cil. The village was granted permis- sion to destroy the Winter Club after a group of residents lost their long legal battle to save the building last March. Condemned seven years ago, the decaying structure bears little re- semblance to the grand mansion built In 1926 expressly as a country club for Palm Beach millionaire Paris Singer. Years later, Sir Harry Oakes, a Canadian millionaire, purchased the 'building and enlarged it. - .Due to its historic significance to the area, the building holds a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. Now the aging structure suffers from years of decay and neglect. Yesterday's visitors stepped on bro- ken records and yellowed newspa- pers in the large room that once housed a ballet studio. Pigeon eggs were hidden near the porch. While most of the group was there to buy, a few local residents came out of nostalgia for the Winter Club. Al- though L.A. Nininger respects the historic value of the building, he said he won't be sorry to see it destroyed. "I Was in favor of taking it down," he said. "To me, if this had been a good stone building with a good foun- dation, it may have been worth sav- ing. But with this building, we'd have to start all over. We'd just be putting good money into something that would cost more than building a whole new structure." Village residents holding Nin- inger's view won at the polls. A ruling by Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Lewis Kapner put the club's future on the March 13 ballot and residents voted 1,692 to 1,525 not to spend hun- dreds of thousands of dollars to re- store the building, but instead to pay $17,143 to destroy it. Members of Save the Winter Club, the group that campaigned to restore the building, didn't show up yester- day. Some say they won't attend Tuesday's demolition, either. "It would be too painful for me to watch," said Jeri Athey, the group's president. "It's almost beyond my comprehension how they could do it. I try not to think about it." Group member Patty Moran said she'll witness the demolition, "proba- bly with a black arm band," out of respect for the building. She said yes - terday's,,3ouvenir sale was typical. of the publil.-'s attitude toward the build- ing. T .... ...... FILE PHOTO A demolition company has found the Winter.. E. aflaing 09 r.it*.kety for souvenir hunters. C1 b iliter U S I a i ate. . ate Air ­ft maw, -es Ilk d d.ela sale of hi ca ti I S 1 b By DAVID MARCUS flerWd Staff Writer 'We St:in a crew in there ... and we A sale of old bricks, cypress, door knobs and other knickknacks of North Palm. Beach history — f6und, t is quite high risk and scheduled for today .— has been delayed. dXlerA demolition cocu�;.) . mpany had planned to sell useable bits and pieces of the 57 -year-old Winter Club, but Candi Gvee., found the building too rickety for souvenir hunters. Delta Demolition %. iac. The sale has been postponed until at least Sept. 4. when the wrecking team starts, to tear down the rambling old yellow building - 1928 hurri `" cane and decades of changes and abandon a crew in there last night and we found ment. Now owned by the village, it has been it is quite high risk and dangerous,," Candi Geyer, condemned for seven years. Arguments over the vice president of Delta Demolition Inc.. said Thursday '"I won't have our men climbing up . in the mansion's future split the community for several years, until the council voted to raze it earlier this rafters to take wood out. year. Geyer had told town officials that workmen from The foundation will be uprooted and the area her. Fort Lauderdale company would scour the covered with sod. And the pecky cypress ceilings a building for pieces that could be sold. But Thursday other salvageable remnants probably will go afternoon, she called off the sale. buyers. The building, constructed as a country club for "You don't know what people are after," Villa Palm Beach millionaire Paris Singer, has weathered a. Manager Roy Holland said.