Historic Building Preservation
Women’s Club of Vero Beach
Restoration Project
1534 21st Street: An Historic Preservation Project
Known as the home of the Women’s Club of Vero Beach, Vero Beach’s original library, or the “cute little brown building across from the courthouse,” the historic building at 1534 21st Street has a rich 100-plus-year history of serving our community. Today, we find ourselves at a critical inflection point in this building’s history.
The building is in a state of disrepair, with safety concerns that jeopardize its future. We, the Board of Directors of the Women’s Club of Vero Beach and its members, are charged with the responsibility of preserving one of the oldest standing buildings in Vero Beach.
This is a responsibility we take seriously, so much so that we aren’t just looking for patches or quick fixes. With the generous support of a historic preservation specialist and renowned local female architect, who both stand behind our mission, we have developed an exciting vision and plan to bring the building back to its former glory – a special, beautiful and affordable space that can be enjoyed by our community in the heart of our convenient and thriving historic downtown district.
The Women’s Club of Vero Beach: Our Dual Mission
The Women’s Club of Vero Beach is a 501(c)(3) organization with a dual mission: to engage, empower and improve the lives of women in our community and to preserve and restore one of Vero’s most historically significant buildings for future generations.
As a newly revitalized social and volunteer club, we welcome a diverse community of women who enjoy working together to improve the lives of women in our community and have fun while doing so!
In the building at 1534 21st Street, we host volunteer projects to benefit local nonprofits that serve women; fundraising events for the community, including our annual Mad Hatter’s Tea Party benefiting our scholarship fund for college-bound young women; financially accessible events for the whole community to enjoy, such as our annual Breakfast with Santa, a free event for children; and social events to raise funds for the future of our important, historic building.
The building also provides affordable, community rental space in the historic downtown district that is utilized for celebrations, religious services, and to other local organizations to host fundraisers or craft plans to advance their work in our community.
Honoring Our 100-Plus-Year History
In 1915, 27 women met in Vero Beach to organize a club for the betterment of their community – known then as the Vero Woman’s Club. The Club members immediately took on an exciting, major project to establish a library for Vero Beach. As early as April of 1915, club members began to plan ways to raise money and started asking for book donations. Thanks to their efforts, Vero’s first library officially opened in May 1916, with a healthy collection of 500 books. This site would be the library’s home until 1962.
With the library off the ground, members turned their focus to other civic projects, including the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Red Cross, among others. The Club was able to utilize the new library as a meeting space for its members and a place to plan many civic projects that improved Vero and the lives of its citizens. In 1926, a second meeting room with a stage and kitchen was constructed to further advance their community-building efforts.
Today, the historic structure still stands and is owned by the Women’s Club of Vero Beach, tasked with an important responsibility – the preservation of the historic building, one of the first buildings in Vero Beach and one with a 100-plus-year history of community service and female leadership.
Our Exciting Plans
With the expert guidance of Amy Van de Riet, a Professor of Architecture who specializes in historic preservation, and local Architect Chris Baker of Moor Baker and Associates, we have devised an exciting plan to ensure the future of the building.
First and foremost, we must address important structural and safety concerns that will ensure the future of the club and provide us with a solid and safe foundation upon which we can improve. These urgent items include:
The aging roof needs replacement.
The electrical system needs to be rewired with current, safe wiring material.
The cast iron piping in the plumbing system needs to be replaced and rerouted.
Once these items have been addressed and the building is secure, our plans include the following renovations and restoration projects to breathe vibrant life back into the building:
Refinish the original and timeless wood flooring throughout.
Restore the beautiful (and many original) windows to ensure they are operable and protected from storms.
Renovate the kitchen, preserving any charming, original flair wherever possible.
Renovate and possibly relocate the bathrooms for the safety of the building and convenience.
Reimagine the outdoor space – while honoring the building’s history – to provide more versatile and attractive open-air areas.
Refresh the building with a new crisp coat of paint, inside and out.
Ensure the building is ADA-compliant for everyone to enjoy.
Install a state-of-the-art security system to protect the building.
With your help – we can bring this vision to reality!
Now Here Is Where You Come In!
Without significant support, this building may be lost during our lifetime. But beyond that, we will miss a critical opportunity to honor the hard work of dedicated women from Vero Beach’s past and to reinvigorate a special and historic space for all.
We hope that you will strongly consider investing in its future with us to serve our community today and for generations to come.
