Stacey's Top 10 Scouted Cultural Destinations
Hello, dedicated Scout Guide readers!
We welcome you to “Stacey’s Picks” – a monthly roundup of meaningful people, places and things with significance to The Scout Guide community.
This month, Stacey is excited to share her Top 10 Cultural Destinations of Palm Beach County. Read below to learn more about the cultural destinations that keep the roots of Palm Beach County flourishing.
1. The Society of the Four Arts
The Society of the Four Arts offers a dynamic lineup of cultural programming, including art exhibitions, notable speakers, concerts, films, and educational programs. Home to beautiful gardens and two libraries, The Four Arts is one of Palm Beach’s oldest and most respected cultural destinations.
2. The Historical Society Of Palm Beach County
The Historical Society of Palm Beach County is the world’s leading resource for Palm Beach County history, housing a permanent collection of millions of objects and images that span over 12,000 years of Palm Beach County and Florida history.
The Young Friends of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County will host its signature annual event, Evening on Antique Row, on Saturday, April 9. Interested in attending? Register here!
3. The Norton Museum
The Norton Museum’s collection includes over 7,000 works, with a concentration in European, American, and Chinese art as well as in contemporary art and photography. Not only is The Norton Museum the place to go in West Palm Beach to be inspired by all works of art, but The Norton Museum is the creative hub for festivals, films, concerts, family fun, and more!
4. The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach
The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach protects and celebrates the architectural, botanical, and cultural heritage of Palm Beach. Through advocacy initiatives, educational programs, architectural resources, and cultural events, the Foundation’s goal is to inspire the community to learn about and protect the places that make Palm Beach special.
5. Flagler Museum
When Flagler Museum was completed in 1902, the New York Herald proclaimed that Whitehall, Henry Flagler’s Gilded Age estate in Palm Beach, was “more wonderful than any palace in Europe, grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world.” Today, Whitehall is a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public as the Flagler Museum, offering self-guided tours, changing exhibitions, and special programs. Click here to purchase General Admission tickets.
6. The Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens
The Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens comprise the former residence of sculptor Ann Weaver Norton (1905 -1982), the widow of Ralph Hubbard Norton. The house is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and the two acre property, featuring a collection of 250 species of tropical palms, lies near downtown West Palm Beach on the Intracoastal Waterway.
Displayed throughout the house, studio and gardens are more than 100 works by the artist, including nine monumental sculptures, eight in brick and one in granite. The Gardens were designed by Ann Norton and Sir Peter Smithers. The largest tract of garden containing the great brick sculptures, is designed in a natural, unmanicured style. The experience of coming across Norton’s mysterious monoliths as surprises in their lush green jungle-like setting is akin to discovering another world.
7. The Kravis Center
The Kravis Center’s mission is to enhance the quality of life in Palm Beach County by presenting a diverse schedule of national and international artists and companies of the highest quality. The Kravis Center offers comprehensive arts education programs and provides a Palm Beach County home for local and regional arts organizations in which to showcase their work.
8. Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens strives to engage a diverse audience by presenting Japanese cultural experiences that educate and inspire.
Since opening in 1977, Morikami has been a center for Japanese arts and culture in South Florida. With rotating exhibitions, tea ceremonies performed monthly (October through May) in the Seishin-an tea house, educational outreach programs with local schools and organizations, and Japanese traditional festivals celebrated for the public several times a year, Morikami strives to spread appreciation for the living culture of Japan.
9. Armory Art Center
Housed in a historic art deco building, the Armory Art Center provides art classes for artist of all ages and abilities, exhibitions, art salons, lectures, and special events. Nearly 100 courses, held in 12 state-of-the-art studios, are offered in ceramics, digital arts, drawing, jewelry, painting, printmaking, fibers, sculpture, welding, and wood turning are offered each year.
10. Jupiter Lighthouse and Museum
Operated by the nonprofit Loxahatchee River Historical Society, the waterfront lighthouse, museum and grounds exhibits feature over 5,000 years of regional history. In addition to offering climbing tours of the landmark 1860 lighthouse, Jupiter Lighthouse and Museum is the proud site of the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area, National Conservation Lands.
