History of the Sandoway House Nature Center

142 South Ocean Boulevard, Delray Beach, FL

Architectural Significance

The Sandoway House was constructed in 1936 and is credited to local architect, Samuel Ogren, the first architect to practice in Delray Beach.  Ogren’s prolific works shaped both the public and private character of the City of Delray Beach, including the National Register listed High School and Gymnasium (now known as Old School Square).

The Sandoway House was constructed in the then-emerging Colonial Revival Resort (or Resort Colonial) style, which was popular in Delray Beach during the years of the Great Depression.  It is one of only a handful of houses in this style of architecture remaining on the City’s beachfront.

 Overview of the Resort Colonial Revival Style (1930-1939)

Despite the Great Depression there was still a great deal of residential construction in Delray Beach, much of it built by wealthy winter residents along the beachfront.  In response to the economic difficulties of the nation, a more restrained form of architecture became popular: Resort Colonial Revival.  This relatively modest style was in deliberate contrast to the more flamboyant and exuberant Mediterranean Revival style which was in vogue only a decade before, during the Florida boom of the 1920s.  A subtype of the Colonial Revival style, the Resort Colonial genre combined the best features of colonial and vernacular design with interesting resort details such as open-air balconies.

Typically, Resort Colonial Revival is a two-story with either a rectangular or square plan.  Roofs are hipped or side-gabled with boxed eaves and little overhang, occasionally decorated with dentils or simple cornices.  Both symmetrical and asymmetrical facades are common.  The main entrance tends to be simple in ornament, but remains a focal point of the façade.  Windows are usually double-hung, with six, eight, or nine panes.  Bay, paired and triple windows can also be found.  Wood clapboard is most common in Florida, but masonry examples can be found.  The interiors of these houses were often filled with beautifully crafted architectural elements.

The City’s inventory of these types of remaining structures includes but a handful remaining along the waterfront.

Sandoway House

The Sandoway House is typical of the Resort Colonial revival in its use of New England clapboard construction combined with an airy porch to capitalize on the sea breezes.

The two-story wood-framed house is rectangular in form with the open porch on the second floor looking over the ocean.  Originally the house featured a corresponding porch directly below on the first floor which has been replaced by a wrap-around screened porch, added in 1980.  The hipped roof is covered with asphalt shingles and features a central chimney.  The second story is framed in vertical batten and boards and the first floor is sheathed in horizontal clapboard.  Most of the 8/8 pane wood double hung windows are original as are the operable shutters.  An example of the deliberate lack of outward ostentation can be seen in the elegant arched window which is located on the south façade of the Sandoway house and is not visible to passersby on the street.

Interior details in Sandoway House include a graceful winding staircase, solid Dade County pine floors, cypress ceilings, crown moldings and double-hung wood windows throughout the house. 

Historical Significance

Sandoway House was built for retired produce broker J.B. Evans from Deerfield Beach in 1936.  It is believed that Mr. Evans commissioned local Architect Samuel Ogren to design the house as a retirement home.  Mr. Evans was appointed as Lieutenant-Colonel and Personal Aide to Florida Governor Fred P. Cone in 1937.  The position was honorary and consisted of accompanying the Governor on state and ceremonial occasions.  Sandoway House is listed in the master site file Inventory of Historic Structures by the Florida Department of State and is also listed in the City of Delray Beach’s Local Register of Historic Places.

It is eligible for listing in the National register of Historic Places, since all of the restoration work done by the Friends of Sandoway House in 1997-98 met the standards prescribed for the rehabilitation of an historic structure as called for by the United States Secretary of the Interior.

Sandoway House provides cultural significance as it exemplifies the historical, political, economic, and social trends reflected in Delray Beach during the Great Depression.  Designed in a unique style adapted to both the local climate and socio-economic conditions of the nation, the house provides significant clues about the values, lifestyle and social consciousness of the upper-class citizens moving to Delray Beach during the 1930s.

In 1995, The Friends of Sandoway House Nature Center, Inc. was formed with the express purpose of restoring the beachfront property for use as a nature museum highlighting marine and coastal life and natural local vegetation.  The County of Palm Beach owns the property and leases it to the City of Delray Beach, who, in turn, sublet it to the Friends of Sandoway House.  The building and property were opened to the public in May 1998. They started conducting programs for school children during the summer, as well as guiding many families of children and adults through the exhibits and other nature programs offered by the museum.

** Reference **

    Sandoway Designation Report, City of Delray Beach Historic Preservation Board, 1996