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This site is the home of Palm Beach County’s first school and served the learning needs of all grade levels. After years of abandonment, in 1988 Currie Sowards Aguila Architects was retained to breathe new life into the historic campus. Through programming, master planning, architecture, and historic preservation, the project now serves as the region’s cultural jewel. The campus includes the Cornell Museum of Art and American Culture (in the former 1913 Delray Elementary building); the Crest Theatre (in the former 1925 high school building); the Vintage Gymnasium (c. 1925); the Pavilion (a state of the art outdoor performance venue); and the School of Creative Arts (located in the Crest Theatre classrooms and studios); where events, theater, exhibits, and learning opportunities enrich the South Florida community.
This award-winning, nationally recognized center successfully combined historic preservation and the arts to become the catalyst for the 1990’s renaissance of downtown Delray Beach. The charming Cornell Museum of Art and American Culture presents rotating local, national, and international exhibits of fine art, crafts, and pop culture. The only new structural addition to the campus is the Pavilion/Amphitheatre which was completed in 2002 as part of the center’s master plan and serves as the stage for outdoor concerts and hosts many of the City’s major events.
The project’s most recent evolution addressed a “new” masterplan which includes an enhanced amphitheater with seating for 2,500 patrons, a new landscape, lighting, and signage program. The firm’s vision, design, and masterplan for Old School Square is credited in large part to the economic revitalization of Delray Beach’s thriving downtown and has resulted in the revitalization of the City’s east, west, north, and south corridors, including numerous preservation projects and new building development ranging in varied sizes, programs, and architectural styles.
This project won an AIA Award of Excellence (PBC Chapter) in 1990 and was presented with three awards from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation – 1990, 1992 and 1994 as it was a phased project. The elementary school was constructed in 1913, followed by the main classroom building, Crest Theatre, and gymnasium in the 20’s. The original architect for the 1926 classroom building and the gymnasium was Samuel Ogren, the Father of Delray Beach Architecture.
More Info: www.delrayoldschoolsquare.com/about
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