The historic Perrine House, newly remodeled and renamed the Perrine Community Center, hosted the first of a planned series of local artist events presented by Art South and the Village of Palmetto Bay on Saturday, June 15.
The event, well attended by residents, village officials and others, marked the debut of an exhibit of the art of Jacquelyn Prussing, a village resident since 2003. Her paintings and a few photos were displayed on the walls in the main room and in a smaller auxiliary room.
The building had once briefly served as the municipal headquarters for the Village of Palmetto Bay, operating out of one small office in the structure, and had been used frequently by meetings of Chamber South and other organizations, as well as the village’s Committee of the Whole Meetings for a number of years.
During the recent remodeling project, the walls were repainted, new flooring installed and a partition removed to create more open space. Special chandelier lighting was added to help beautify the interior, and the hanging fixtures’ slight movement casts moving patterns of light and shadow on the walls for added interest.
Village Mayor Karyn Cunningham presided at the event, welcoming everyone and explaining some of the building’s history.
“Built in 1935, it sits in the center of what will be Downtown Palmetto Bay,” Mayor Cunningham said. “The small but austere little house was a Public Works project that was a part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.
“For those who don’t recall this chapter in history, the New Deal was a series of programs and projects designed to stabilize our economy and restore prosperity, employment, and dignity to Americans after the Great Depression,” the mayor continued. “Under the program 40,000 new buildings were built and 85,000 existing buildings were improved. These included schools, hospitals, fairgrounds, recreational facilities, gyms, libraries, armories and…our little Perrine Community House.”
Mayor Cunningham introduced Prussing and presented her with a village proclamation commemorating the event. Prussing spoke briefly, as did Village Councilmember Marsha Matson and Art South Board secretary Beatriz Herman. Art South will be presenting exhibitions of local artists at Perrine Community Center each month and hosting art classes and a summer camp there as well.
The Perrine Community Center is located at 900 Perrine Ave. in Palmetto Bay. Information about Art South can be found at www.artsouthmiami.org, or by calling 305-662-1423 or sending an email to info@artsouthmiami.org.
