WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Change is now common with The Square of downtown West Palm Beach.
“It was a monumental insane change out here, like completely different place,” West Palm Beach resident Paul Masters said. “Honestly, it's bustling but it's also a lot of construction.”
This time around, chain link fences are going up around the heart of The Square, leaving some, like Palm Beach County native Isabella Gonzalez, worried the clock is ticking for the 98-year-old Harriet Himmel Theater.
“My fear is that this building will be unsympathetically, butchered when you don't have it designated, when you don't have it landmarked,” Gonzalez said. “When the city of West Palm Beach sold the deed to the developer completely, they lost an opportunity to protect one of our oldest buildings in our community.”
WPTV reached out to the city to see if the building is protected and they said the following via email:
"The Harriet Himmel Theater is not a designated historic building and there are no known attempts to have it designated. The related companies has expressed a desire to renovate the interior of the theater and provide at least one new restaurant"
WPTV also reached out to real estate developer Related Companies about any possible changes to the theater. They confirmed they are prepping the theater for renovations that would preserve the historic detail character and integrity of the building.
While that prep work is underway, several businesses have relocated. Gonzalez said she hopes the fabric of the theater doesn't go with them.
“The cypress doors that you walk up into the columns, that grandeur, that glamour, that style, that is what makes us who we are here.,” Gonzalez said. “It's the charm of Palm Beach County these buildings, and if they take them down, it would be a travesty.”
Not taken down, but confirmed renovations according to Related Companies. More changes that some said are part of the development process.
“At the end of the day, it's better for the people, it's better for retail,” Masters said. “There's more things to do and I think will be ultimately happy so I’m ultimately for it.”