City to celebrate reopening of Centennial Building

In 1937, during the depths of the Depression and less than a year into the second term of re-elected President Franklin Roosevelt, Florida senators Senators Claude Pepper and Charles Andrews, and Congressman Millard Caldwell were instrumental in securing approval for a Works Progress Administration project in Port St. Joe.

By the end of 1938, a new civic center would be constructed and completed, in celebration of the centennial of the signing of Florida’s first constitution.

Built at a cost of about $73,000, with a matching grant for half that amount, the Centennial Building, designed by architect Hughell Crockett in a restrained Art Deco style, would become one of 707 auditorium/gymnasium projects built across the country by the WPA, which by the time it ended in 1943 had put 8.5 million Americans back to work and transformed the nation’s landscape of infrastructure, with everything from bridges, airports and schools, as well as parks and water lines. 

On Friday, Sept. 27, the city of Port St. Joe will celebrate the grand re-opening of the Centennial Building, with a “Classless Reunion III” from 7 p.m. to midnight.

The event, six months after the building was temporarily closed, will mark the completion by general contractor Monolith Construction of about a half-million dollars in repairs, funded through a $497,495 Hurricane Michael grant, with a 25 percent match, awarded in 2020 by the National Park Service.

The repairs include a new heating and cooling system, repair and refinishing of the flooring, the painting of the interior walls, and the repair and repainting of the ceiling. Repairs to the roof, which had been torn off by the storm, were covered by insurance monies awarded in the aftermath of the hurricane.

Now that the Centennial Building has reopened, the city commission is set to adopt a revised fee schedule. Bonnie in the city’s public works department is handling event scheduling, for everything from reunions and church events to weddings and other gatherings.

Highlighting the event will be a performance by The Villagers, a band that dates back to the mid-1960s when they first appeared at the Port St., Joe High School prom.

Also slated to play will be Buddy Hamm. Zach McFarland. The Currys, Eddie McFarland and Ken Kanline.

A limited supply of tickets for the re-opening, which costs $25, will be available at the door. I(n addition, table sponsorship, ranging from $1,000 to $2,500, are available. Both may be purchased in person at City Hall, or by card at (850) 229-8261, option 1.