Palm Beach finally has the jewel-box theater it deserves, and its name is Glazer Hall. For anyone still calling the island a cultural desert, I have news: those days are over, and the snowbirds are starting to ask themselves a dangerous question — why fly back north at all.
Glazer Hall: Palm Beach’s New Living Room
Glazer Hall, a reimagining of the historic Royal Poinciana Playhouse, is now open for the season as Palm Beach’s premier nonprofit waterfront performing arts venue. The 400-seat theater, in a venue with stunning intracoastal views, brings state-of-the-art sound and lighting, along with a 24,000-square-foot cultural playground, right into the heart of town.
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The project is the brainchild and passion project of Palm Beach residents Jill and Avie Glazer, whose more than $15 million in philanthropic support and creation of the Palm Beach Cultural Innovation Center (doing business as Glazer Hall) have turned a long-dormant site into a living, breathing arts hub. Their mission is simple and audacious: to “inspire audiences of all ages and deepen human connection through the arts” — in other words, to make sure you never again have to cross the bridge to feel civilized.
From Gilded-Age Playground To Empty Shell
Long before anyone heard the name Glazer Hall, this same site was the epicenter of Palm Beach glamour. Henry Flagler’s Royal Poinciana Hotel once stood here, anchoring the island’s Gilded Age social life before giving way to the Royal Poinciana Plaza and, in the mid-1900s, architect John L. Volk’s Royal Poinciana Playhouse.
The playhouse quickly became the place to see and be seen, attracting A‑list performers like Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Burt Reynolds, and Jackie Gleason, along with social and political royalty — including the Kennedys and the Duke of Windsor — who treated Palm Beach as their winter salon. But competition from the Kravis Center in the 1990s and changing economics caught up with the theater, and the final curtain fell in 2004 when its last tenant walked away.
What followed was two decades of limbo: lawsuits over redevelopment, failed schemes, and a landmarked shell that sat dark and empty while everyone argued about what Palm Beach “deserved” on this prime piece of waterfront. These things are never simple. A similar battle has been waged in Boca Raton for the yet-to-be-built Center for the Arts, but Palm Beach made it happen.
The Glazers Pick Up The Baton
Enter Jill and Avie Glazer, who refused to let the island’s most iconic theater rot into a cautionary tale. Their philanthropy and persistence fueled a near-total reconstruction into a flexible, modern venue that still honors its historic design while finally dragging the building into the twenty-first century.
Today, Glazer Hall is open with a phased rollout of programming and a year-round vision for Palm Beach — not just “season.” The calendar features everything from music, jazz, cabaret, opera, and comedy to Broadway-style performances, magic, film events, family programming, and high-wattage speakers and conversations about food, culture, and design. One night it might be the Gipsy Kings or the fabulous performance I was just at, The Marshall Tucker Band. See amazing speakers such as world-famous biographer Walter Isaacson, discussing his latest work, or Palm Beach favorite, James Patterson, discussing his latest thriller. Another night, comedic firebrand Fran Leibowitz, and music legends The Beach Boys. The best part: you can enjoy a cocktail while admiring the glittering Intracoastal before the performance.
Palm Beach: Why Go Back North?
For years, Palm Beach residents hopped planes to New York or drove to Miami to feel culturally alive; now the island has its own intimate, waterfront hall drawing world-class talent and thought leaders to its doorstep. Pair Glazer Hall’s performances with festivals like Palm Beach Design Days — with talks, panels, book signings, and parties spilling across Palm Beach and West Palm Beach — and you can feel the center of gravity shifting.
With Glazer Hall finally lit, the message to seasonal residents is clear: Palm Beach is a bona fide cultural destination. And as the curtain keeps rising on this new chapter, more than a few snowbirds will look at their return tickets and think, “Remind me again why I’m going back?”
For more information on events, tickets, and the full story behind this remarkable transformation, visit Glazer Hall at: glazerhall.org
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