Rena
Blades,
Chief
Executive
Officer of
the Palm
Beach County
Cultural
Council,
the official
arts agency
that serves
non-profit
cultural
organizations
and
professional
artists
throughout
the county,
today
announced
the schedule
for Grand
Opening Week
at the
Council’s
new home in
downtown
Lake Worth.
Just two
weeks ago,
the Palm
Beach County
Cultural
Council
moved into
the historic
Robert M.
Montgomery,
Jr.
Building
at 601 Lake
Avenue. It
first opened
in 1940 as
the Lake
Worth
Theater and
later
housed three
different
art museums,
but
has been
closed to
the public
since 2005.
When the
Montgomery
Family
donated the
classic
building
to the
Cultural
Council in
January
2010, it was
the largest
single
donation in
the
Council's
33-year
history.
Named after
the late
Robert M.
Montgomery,
Jr.,
a prominent
attorney and
philanthropist,
the
building was
renovated
with
assistance
from the Lake
Worth
Community
Redevelopment
Agency (CRA),
which
committed
$700,000 for
the project.
The
CRA’s grant
is part
of its larger Cultural Renaissance Program that focuses on
redevelopment
through the
establishment
of
artists,
cultural
centers and
institutes
within Lake
Worth,
expanding
the economic
base and
improving
the
investment
image of the
area.
Scheduled to
open to the
public on
Thursday,
January 19,
the newly
renovated
Robert M.
Montgomery,
Jr. Building
will serve
as the
Cultural
Council’s
headquarters.
The
building’s
11,000
square feet
will include
galleries
for
community
exhibitions,
Artist
Resource
Center,
tourism
services,
education
and training
facilities
and
meeting
space.
Grand
Opening Week
January
18,
Wednesday –
6 to 7:30
p.m.
Donors
Dedication &
Tour
By
invitation
only.
January
19, Thursday
– 10 a.m. to
5 p.m.
Opening
Day
+ 10
a.m.
– Ribbon
Cutting with
the Lake
Worth city
officials,
CRA and
Chamber of
Commerce.
+ 11
a.m.
– Public
Tours
throughout
the day
January
21, Saturday
– 1 to 3
p.m.
Thank You
Reception &
Tours
For the
Builders and
Laborers &
Their
Families
By
invitation
only.
January
23, Monday –
5 to 7:30
p.m.
Welcoming
Reception &
Tours
For
Cultural
Council
Members &
Member
Organizations
By
invitation
only.
“It is
critically
important
for the
umbrella
organization
for art and
culture in
Palm Beach
County to
have a hub,”
said
Cultural
Council
Board
Chairman
Michael J.
Bracci.
“The
building
will help
people
understand
the
importance
of art and
culture to
our quality
of life. It
provides a
place for
the cultural
community as
well as our
residents
and visitors
to gather
and find
information.
It is also
vitally
important to
the
strategic
goals of the
Cultural
Council. We
couldn’t be
more
pleased.”
“The icing
on the cake
is that we
are
continuing
in the
footsteps of
other
visionaries
who saw that
this
building
could be a
place for
art. From
its origins
as a movie
theater, to
J. Patrick
Lannan’s
repurposing
it for his
collection,
to its years
as Palm
Beach
Community
College’s
Museum of
Contemporary
Art and the
Palm Beach
Institute of
Contemporary
Art under
Robert and
Mary
Montgomery’s
leadership,
this
building has
a remarkable
past,” added
Rena Blades.
“We feel
incredibly
blessed with
that
history, and
also an
awesome
sense of
responsibility
to continue
such an
impressive
legacy of
arts
programming
and
visibility.”
To date, the
Cultural
Council has
spent more
than $1.5 to
renovate the
building.
In addition
to the
original
donations
by the
Montgomery
Family and
the Lake
Worth CRA,
major
supporters
of this
project
include
Irene &
James Karp,
the Lawrence
A. Sanders
Foundation,
the Estate
of Nancy
Grayson,
Alex &
Renate
Dreyfoos,
The Roe
Green
Foundation
and Berton
E. & Sallie
G. Korman.
Additional
donors
include
Northern
Trust Bank
of Florida,
Bruce A.
Beal &
Francis V.
Cunningham,
Jean S. &
Frederic A.
Sharf, Mrs.
Cil Draime
and Herbert
& Diane
Hoffman.
Quote
from Mary
Montgomery
When She
Donated the
Building to
the Cultural
Council:
“I am
extremely
proud to
make this
gift in
honor of
Bob’s
memory, and
the legacy
he built in
the legal,
cultural and
philanthropic
communities.
Giving this
historic
building to
the Cultural
Council will
strengthen
Bob’s vision
of a healthy
cultural
foundation
developing
better
students,
better
citizens and
a better
community.”
(1/9/10)
About the
Palm Beach
County
Cultural
Council:
The Cultural
Council is
Palm Beach
County's
official
arts agency
and serves
non-profit
cultural
organizations
and
professional
artists
throughout
the county.
The
Cultural
Council's
responsibilities
include
marketing
the county's
cultural
experiences
to visitors
and
residents,
administering
grants to
organizations
and artists,
expanding
arts and
cultural
education
opportunities,
advocating
for funding
and
arts-friendly
policies,
and serving
cultural
organizations
and artists
through
capacity
building
training and
exposure to
funders and
audiences.
For more
information,
please
visit www.palmbeachculture.com.