Mizner Park is a high-end shopping, residential, and entertainment district located in the affluent downtown neighborhood of

Boca Raton, FL Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

. The district consists of a collection of high-end shops and restaurants with luxury apartments built in a Mediterranean Revival architectural style. The Centre for the Arts at Mizner Park is located on the north end of the development, which includes an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

and the

Boca Raton Museum of Art Founded by artists, the Boca Raton Museum of Art was established in 1950 as the Art Guild of Boca Raton. The organization has grown to encompass an Art School, Guild, Store, and Museum with permanent collections of contemporary art, photography, ...

. In the fall of 2011,

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...

announced a store to open at the center. The store opened in the summer of 2013.

Cooper Carry Cooper Carry is a U.S.-based design firm providing architecture, planning, landscape architecture, interior design and environmental graphic design. The company is based in Atlanta with offices in Alexandria, Virginia; New York City; and ( Newport ...

designed Mizner as a classical

Mediterranean revival Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references from Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonia ...

town center. It is named for architect

Addison Mizner Addison Cairns Mizner (December 12, 1872 – February 5, 1933) was an American architect whose Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style interpretations left an indelible stamp on South Florida, where it continues to inspire archi ...

, founder of Boca Raton.

History

The site of Mizner Park was previously a conventional enclosed shopping center called Boca Mall, which opened in 1974. Boca Mall was originally anchored by Britt's and

Jefferson Ward Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

. The former closed in 1982 and was temporarily occupied by IBM offices until 1985, when it was converted to

Levitz Furniture Levitz Furniture was a nationwide chain of American furniture stores that helped create the "furniture warehouse" genre of retail furniture sales. It was in business for nearly 100 years before liquidating in bankruptcy in early 2008. History ...

. In 1989, Levitz relocated and Jefferson Ward closed. The colloquial term "

dive bar A dive bar is typically a small, unglamorous, eclectic, old-style drinking establishment with inexpensive drinks; it may feature dim lighting, shabby or dated decor, neon beer signs, packaged beer sales, cash-only service, and a local clientele ...

" may have entered widespread use as a result of a bar located in the mall in its final days. The closure of these anchors led to the mall's demolition and redevelopment. Mizner Park opened in 1989, expanding in 1996 with a

Jacobson's Jacobson's was an American regional department store chain. Based in Jackson, Michigan, the chain operated primarily in Michigan and Florida, but also had stores in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Kansas. Jacobson's focused on apparel, fine jewelry ...

department store. Jacobson's closed in July 2002 after the chain declared bankruptcy, and its location became Robb & Stucky Interiors in 2003. After Robb & Stucky also declared bankruptcy, its store was closed as well. The building was converted to

in 2013. It was home to the National Cartoon Museum from 1992 to 2002. In 2017, Ouzo Bay opened at Mizner Park. In 2018, Junior's Restaurant & Cheesecake closed its location in the center. On August 27, 2020, Lord & Taylor announced it would shutter it's brick-and-mortar fleet after modernizing into a digital collective department store.

Amphitheater

The Mizner Park Amphitheater (originally known as the Count de Hoernle Amphitheater) is an outdoor amphitheater located in Boca Raton, Florida. It can be found in the northeast corner of Mizner Park, an outdoor shopping center in

Pearl City Pearl City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in the Ewa District and City & County of Honolulu on the Island of Oahu. As of the 2010 Census, the CDP had a total population of 47,698. Pearl City is located ...

. It was named after the

Count and Countess de Hoernle The Count and Countess de Hoernle were a philanthropic couple who made many major donations to arts, educational, and social agencies, primarily in the Boca Raton, Florida, area. Their names are seen on more than 50 buildings in the area. Their ...

. The mid-sized venue cost $6.2 million to construct. It consists of a stage surrounded by a

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...

with a statue and fountain at the entrance of the lawn area. The venue seats 3,520, which can be expanded to 4,200 in a general admission setting. The venue opened in November 2002 with an inauguration ceremony by Henrietta Rach de Hoernle, followed a concert by Florida Symphony Orchestra. The city took ownership of the amphitheatre in September 2010, changing the venue's name as well. It is the summer home to the Boca Raton Symphonia.

Gallery

Image:MiznerBoca2Mch06.jpg, The street median functions as a promenade Image:MiznerBocaPelican.jpg, Sculpture of an anthropomorphic pelican

External links

Mizner Park Cultural CenterArchived site for the amphitheatreArchived site for the Centre for the Arts

References

{{authority control Brookfield Properties Shopping malls in Palm Beach County, Florida Shopping malls established in 1991 Pedestrian malls in the United States Buildings and structures in Boca Raton, Florida Planned communities in Florida 1991 establishments in Florida