Despite its colorful history, Palm Beach's Green's Pharmacy is not a landmark, board says

One of the town's most beloved and enduring businesses will not be designated as a landmark, following a vote Wednesday by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

On a 5-2 vote at their monthly meeting at Town Hall, commissioners recommended against designating Green's Pharmacy and Luncheonette as a landmark, determining that the building it occupies does not meet the town's landmark criteria.

The nephew of the building's longtime owner, Allen Rutman, had opposed the designation, which was sought by the town.

In a presentation to commissioners, Janet Murphy, a preservation consultant for the town, said Green's Pharmacy and Luncheonette, at 151 N. County Road, meets the first of four criteria listed in the Landmark Preservation Ordinance.

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In order to be considered for the landmark designation, properties must meet at least one of the criteria.

Green's Pharmacy "exemplifies or reflects the broad cultural, political, economic or social history of the nation, state, county or town,” Murphy told commission members.

That assessment was met with some skepticism from commission members.

Though Green's Pharmacy does have a lengthy social and cultural history with the town, the building it occupies does not, commissioner Alexander Ives said.

"We can landmark things for the reason of social history and the businesses that were there," he said. "But we aren't landmarking the business. It doesn't mean that we're going to keep Green's existing for infinity. We're just landmarking the building. This has interesting bits of history, but I don't feel that it exemplifies (it) in a way that meets landmark criteria."

Green's Pharmacy is one of the longest-enduring legacy businesses in Palm Beach, Murphy said during her presentation, and it serves as a popular meeting place and nostalgic comfort spot for Palm Beach residents and tourists to fill prescriptions, shop and eat at the luncheonette.

Brothers Morris “Murray” and Robert “Bob” Green opened Green’s Pharmacy at 126 N. County Road in late 1937, with a formal opening held in January 1938. It moved into its current location nearly three decades later.

The building at 126 N. County Road was constructed for longtime Palm Beach developer J.T. Havens, and was initially leased to Green’s Pharmacy, whose owners were operating pharmacies in Long Island, New York.

Over the next 48 years, the Green brothers built their business into what remains one of Palm Beach’s most recognized legacy businesses, Murphy said. By the 1960s, the Green brothers had outgrown their leased space, Murphy added. In 1965, they purchased property on the northeast corner of North County Road and Sunrise Avenue, and built the current structure.

Designed by David S. Shriver, the Commercial-style building is a rectangular masonry structure with eight bays running laterally along North County Road and four bays running east along Sunrise Avenue.

Minor modifications to the building were made prior to 1988, when the Lawrence Group was hired to do alterations, which included replacing the commercial entry doors at both entrances, stuccoing the bulkheads, cutting through the concrete canopy to create full height pilasters, adding awnings, and replacing the narrow horizontal windows in two northern bays on the west façade with larger storefront picture windows.

In 1989, Green’s Pharmacy expanded into the adjacent office space, with the store’s interior space increasing from 3,240 square feet to 4,490 square feet.

Green's Pharmacy was one of two structures that were considered for landmark designation Wednesday. The other structure, at 316 S. County Road, was recommended for landmark designation on a 6-1 vote.

If approved as a landmark by the Town Council at its May 10 development review meeting, the property will join more than 350 other landmarked properties, sites and vistas that are protected under the town's Historic Preservation Ordinance.

Four other structures were deferred until the November Landmarks Preservation Commission meeting.

They are: 1250 N. Ocean Blvd., 246 Atlantic Ave., 262 Sunset Ave., and 249 Peruvian Ave.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Town board: Palm Beach's popular Green's Pharmacy not a landmark