Boca City Council to decide if Giles House is historic

January 27, 2010   ·   2 Comments

By Dale M. King

BOCA RATON – With the Planning and Zoning Board and Boca Raton Historical Preservation Board at odds over whether to declare the Giles House on East Palmetto Park Road historic, the Boca Raton City Council has stepped in to make the final decision.

And that may be a while in coming, City Manager Leif Ahnell told the City Council at its meeting Tuesday that the staff has had little, if any involvement with the issue of making the former residence a historic location. He said it may take “months” for city staff to work with the boards involved to see how they arrived at their decisions.

The possible historic nature of the home came to light last year when a synagogue wanted to acquire the building, raze it and build a new temple.  That plan has never come to pass.

The Historic Preservation Board petitioned the City Council to make a decision on whether the Giles House can be declared historic.  That board favors it, but the Planning and Zoning Board has recommended against it.

According to city records, the Giles House was built as a home for Thomas Giles and his family in 1927.  It was divided into four apartments in 1953, the Historic Preservation Board’s petition says. And then, in 1975, it became La Vieille Maison French restaurant.

Additions were built on the west and north sides to create rest rooms and a courtyard off the parking lot when the restaurant opened.

The popular south end eating spot closed in 2006 when the owner, Leonce Picot, decided to retire.  The building was sold a couple of years later to property developer Gregory Talbott.  The petition continues to list him as the owner or owner-agent.  It was reported that another person has purchased the building to prevent it from falling into foreclosure.

The petition notes that Thomas Giles was an engineer for famed Boca architect Addison Mizner, who designed and built the Cloister Inn (now the Boca Raton Resort & Club) and developed Boca’s distinctive Mediterranean architectural style.

He later served as a Boca Raton City Council member in the 1930s and 1940s. He also purchased the land north of Pearl City and platted it for an extension of the African-American community. That area today is known as Lincoln Court.

Since the building closed, it has fallen into disrepair.  Vandals have spray-painted graffiti on the interior and much of the structure is weather-worn and decrepit.

By Online Editor