Floods, Termites, Time Capsules: A Rich History of Campus

This story I loved because I got to dive into the history of the campus. There was not a lot of accessible information that was corroborated each other so I had to spend hours researching and now have so many interesting stories to share about this area. I only wish that I could include it all in the story!

Floods, Termites, Time Capsules: A Rich History of Campus

Building 1 is unbreakable.

Well, at least not permanently breakable. It’s been through a lot in its 100 years on campus: renovations, remodels, and racoon encampments. Nevertheless, Building 1 still stands the test of time.

Building History

However, there would be no Building 1 without Building 2. Constructed in 1908, Building 2 was the original Central School and was known as the school on “The Hill.” Students traveled by boat and horse-drawn wagon to reach the campus. As the school’s population increased, Buildings 1 and 3 were added to the campus to accommodate other grade levels. The three buildings have now stood facing Sapodilla Avenue for a century.

“I remember the first time I ever came here, and I was just blown away,” Principal Blake Bennett said. “This campus is just stunningly beautiful, and I would think ‘that's my dream school. I would love to work there.’”

The buildings began as Palm Beach High School and evolved into Twin Lakes High School when the school was racially integrated in 1970. As communications dean and former Twin Lakes student Angela Anyzeski noted, the campus has changed considerably since 1986. The school once had a large football field and buildings that have since been demolished; however, it lacked a media center and music building.

“There used to be a metal fire escape from the top of Building 2 where we could walk. They literally let us walk on the fire escape,” Mrs. Anyzeski said.

Visual sophomore Anna Miller now attends the same school her grandmother went to when it was Palm Beach High School.

“I just like that I can walk around outside and see all these different buildings,” Miller said. “(Unlike other) high schools, it's not all just cut and pasted.”

Twin Lakes closed in 1988, just two years after Mrs. Anyzeski graduated, and the campus stood abandoned for nine years. According to the School of the Arts Foundation, the Palm Beach Historical Society had plans for the vacant campus and with the help of the school district, they renovated it so that Dreyfoos School of the Arts (DSOA) could move in. The Palm Beach Post noted that the renovation totaled $29.5 million.

Social studies teacher Sarah Ray was in her sophomore year at DSOA when the school relocated to downtown West Palm Beach. While she was a student, the cafeteria was a blue tent, which did little to protect against South Florida rainstorms. When Ms. Ray returned to teach here in 2014, she said the campus “​​felt like home, like I never left.”

“There's new teachers, new faces, but the spirit of the students hasn't changed,” Ms. Ray said. “(The students) are just as driven and compassionate and open and diverse and all those great things as when I went here.”

Wrinkles and Gray Hairs

Aging is not always graceful, and in Building 1’s case, it comes with leaky roofs, clogged pipes, and a faulty elevator.

In 2016, a pipe burst in the teachers lounge on the third floor, resulting in a flood that seniors discovered after they returned from Grad Bash at 5 a.m.

“We had to basically shut the building down. So we had the classes outside by the cafeteria and Meyer Hall. We were all a hot mess,” Mrs. Anyzeski said.

The ceiling in English teacher Peggy Mellon’s classroom in Building 1 shows water marks from past leaks. Ms. Mellon has also had a complicated relationship with the elevator ever since she got stuck in it on a ride up to her classroom.

“I was probably only in there for three minutes, but it felt longer,” Ms. Mellon said. “Nothing you do will make the door open and you're trying to make it move to other floors and it won't move, and it's just sitting there. That's pretty scary.”

A Place in the History Books

Ms. Bennett is on a mission to legitimize the school’s history by establishing it as a historic site. While the process is still in its early stages, Buildings 1, 2, 3, and 9 are eligible for a historical designation, which will come with funding to maintain the campus's historic character.

“I truly believe that this is just the most beautiful piece of land in downtown West Palm Beach,” Ms. Bennett said. “We have a beautiful hill, that beautiful banyan tree, these beautiful buildings, and this beautiful campus. I think that it should be preserved and should have that designation.”

Ms. Bennett believes a historical designation would ensure the campus not only persists as an educational institution but as an integral part of the community.

“I think it mirrors the tradition of Dreyfoos School of the Arts to have this beautiful campus that goes along with our beautiful students and the beautiful programming,” Ms. Bennett said.

If the buildings become historically designated sites, then any exterior changes will have to be approved by the Historic Board to ensure it matches Building 9’s art deco or Buildings 1, 2, and 3’s Mediterranean Revival style. Friederike Mittner, a West Palm Beach Historic Preservation Planner, and her team administer historical designations and have to approve any exterior changes to ensure architectural compatibility.

“It’s a nice honor,” Mittner said. “People love to preserve their history so that it can tell the story for future generations. I’m excited that these beautiful buildings will be designated.”

History Lives On

Building 1 has new remedies in store as it moves beyond its centennial birthday — over winter break, Building 1 was tented to remove a termite infestation. As for the rest of campus, Ms. Bennett plans to beautify some of the more “unsightly” areas, just as she recently did with the Building 9 fountain.

The campus continues to carry remnants of its past: the old archway on Sapodilla, the class of ‘97s time capsule buried under the flagpole, the mosaics on the cafeteria wall, and the old wooden staircase in Building 2.

“There's so much beauty you don't see at a lot of school campuses, especially here in South Florida,” Ms. Bennett said. “It has such a rich history.”