June 25, 2025 • 24 mins
Rob Steele of the Historical Society of Martin County joins us to tell us about what is new and happening at the Elliott Museum and the Gilbert's Bar House of Refuge. Find details at hsmc-fl.com
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Arts Past on the air. It's a podcast,
a radio show, and an Alexis Skill presented by Ballet
Vero Beach and Riverside Theater Arts supporting the arts in Florida.
I'm Willie Miller and every week I get to talk
to people in the arts about the arts on the
Treasure Coast and beyond. Well, it's going to be a
(00:24):
busy summer for Ballet Vero Beach as usual. Get ready
for the Riverside Dance Festival with the La Contemporary Dance
Company August first and second at Riverside Theater. Subscriptions for
next season are available now, with single tickets on sale
in November. And are you up for a very special treat?
(00:44):
The dancers are back at the Vero Beach Museum of
Art for another grand performance November fifteenth. Learn all about
it online at Ballet Vero Beach dot org. My guests
today are Rob Steele and and Soldus and I'm going
to talk to Rob first. You're down at the You're
(01:05):
down in Stuart. You're at the Elliott Museum, Gilbert spar
House of Refuge Museum. It's been a long time since
we've talked Rob, and you have so much to catch
us up with.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Well, sure, I'll be happy to do that this morning.
There's a as ever, we pride ourselves on being a
very dynamic, think outside the box kind of organization, with
something new around each corner.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
For all of our guests, I think they're probably there
are probably a lot of treasure coast and beyond people
who remember the old old Elliott Museum. Were you around
at that time? I know you haven't been working there
at least I don't think you have. No.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
I was not around at that time. My ten year
has been coming up on seven years here, so I've
always worked in the new Elliott Museum. And of course
the House of Refuge is the oldest building in Martin County,
and we have exciting news on that front. The Gilbert
spar House of Refuge Museum is undergoing a almost one
(02:14):
point eight million dollar renovation. The work's being done by
the Tradesman Group, who works on historic buildings, and they
just finished a very successful project at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
So we're thrilled to have a quality firm doing the work.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
They know what they're doing.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
How about them, We absolutely know what they're doing.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
How about some history on the House of Refuge.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Well, it's coming up next year. It will be the
one hundred and fiftieth anniversary. The first years of the
House of Refuge, it served as just exactly that, a
house of refuge. It was one of ten on the
east coast of Florida set up to rescue shipwrecked sailors
who in that time, in that year from eighteen seventy six,
(03:02):
you know through into the next century, if you were
shipwrecked off the eastern coast of Florida, there's a good
chance you're going to die because there were only about
four hundred people living from Miami to all the way
up to Saint Augustine, and people just couldn't get there
and rescue it. They'd be they wouldn't have water, or
they'd get eaten up by the mosquito. So it those
(03:24):
were dangerous times.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
The House was a rescue station for many of those years.
In nineteen thirty it became a US Coastguard station when
they merged the rescue service with the Coast Guard, and
then in nineteen forty two it became a US Naval station,
and that's when they built the tower to spot German
u boats off the coast, and then it was sold
(03:49):
in nineteen fifty five to Martin County for less than
two hundred dollars about one hundred and fifty dollars for
fourteen acres there. And then the raven Bold women of
the Seroptimist Club took on the task of forming the
Historical Society of Martin County and running the House of
REFUGEESM Museum.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Wow, and you know, I had forgot I've known that history,
but I had forgotten about it. And you bring it
home with how you know, the fifties nineteen fifties are
not that far away, so it's not ancient history.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
This is well it's actually eighteen seventy six. It's one
hundred and fifty years. It's a long time ago. But
the World War Two, you know, people don't realize what
a touch and go situation that was. We were losing
a lot of shipping. That's why they built the intra
coastal to try and keep shipping safe. You know, they
couldn't be torpedoed if they had land in between them
(04:49):
and the ocean. But interesting, interesting history and just a
remarkable place. We're just thrilled to have this renovation occurring.
At such a key time in the history, and we're
taking advantage of the time we're shut down to completely
reinvent all the exhibits at the House of Refuge Museum.
So it'll be an exciting time in twenty twenty six
(05:11):
for all of our visitors. And it's interesting for me
to note if you haven't been there in a long time,
it was always difficult to park there. There were only
fifteen parking spaces. So about two years ago we bought
a twelve passenger van and dressed it up and we
shuttle people from the Elliott Museum to the House of
Refuge free of charge.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Oh what a great idea that was. Works well now
that we've got everybody's appetite sweated for the House of
Refuge Museum, can't wait to get there. Do you have
a date yet for a reopening?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
We don't. I have the first construction meeting tomorrow morning
at eight and the firm everything's ready. We've taken everything
out of the house. They're ready to go. We're shooting
for a five to six next month window, so I'm
going to estimate January February of twenty twenty six we'll
be back open and running.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
I'll wait to hear from you about that.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Yeah, it should be should be great.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Let me ask you, because now we're in a hurricane season,
what kind of precautions do you take preparations to preserve
a place that's basically on the water from hurricanes.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
It is the most vulnerable site you know, almost on
the Eastern Seaboard. It's the Hutchinson Islands, only seventy yards
wide at the point where the out of refuge sits.
So the county has traditionally come out in plywood, used
plywood to shore up all the windows indoors on the buildings.
After this renovation, we hope to use you know, the
(06:49):
flexible hurricane netting or hurricane shutters on the building to
protect it. But it has survived thus fire twenty two
direct hit hurricanes one hundred and fifty years, so it
just doesn't want to go down.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I guess they did it right the first time.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
I think they did. And how I was secured to
the rock?
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Okay, I was just going to ask you, how was
it built to be able to withstand all this?
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Yeah, a good construction design, good materials. And then in
nineteen thirty it was moved back about thirty feet from
the Atlantic Ocean and secured to the rock there. So
that's really I think why it's still here, still with us.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Okay, I'm looking forward to seeing it at the beginning
sort of, we hope in the beginning of the new year.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Yep, we're looking forward to showing it to you.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Let's go back to the Elliott Museum again. Maybe just
a little bit of history Stirling Elliott and his interests.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, it was. It opened in nineteen sixty one. Harmon
Elliott built the museum as a tribute to his father.
They're sterling. They were both inventors and very successful businessmen.
The address agraph is how they made a good deal
of their money. But between father and son they had
over two hundred patents, over one hundred patents each, so
(08:13):
they were very bright. And after it opened, Harmon Elliott
asked again the Historical Society to oversee the museum, which
they signed on to do in nineteen sixty one, and
it was the pink brick building that you reference. And
then in nineteen thirteen the new Elliott Museum, fifty thousand
(08:36):
square feet modern building opened and it's been it's been
finding its feet and finding its personality, and I think
we've arrived now. We've turned into a very dynamic, ever changing,
full of surprises building, and that seems to be the
(08:57):
right formula moving forward.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
It's so much more than a building pro you have.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
I like to call it, yeah, I'm sorry, Willie. I
like to call it the barn. This community dances in.
We have an outdoor tiki now that went from thirty
by thirty to thirty by forty and now it's thirty
by seventy. Live entertainment right now in the summer, four
or five nights a week, drawing big crowds all the time.
(09:28):
We have sound meditations upstairs in a studio through sound
Vibration dot Net that draws people. Actually, we get so
many people from Vero Beach for the sound vibrations. It's amazing.
You people in Vero Beach are mobile. You're not afraid
to travel and get in the car and go somewhere
to have some fun. Very very impressive.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I'm good for everybody.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Absolutely. This summer, we're still running our UFO exhibit that
opened on December first, so that's been great for families
and other people to come and see. And then September nineteenth,
we'll open to the public with a one two punch
I'd like to call it will have wonderful things, the
(10:17):
return of King Tut, and then we're pairing that with
another wonderful world premiere exhibit upstairs on the Faberge eggs.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Wow are they? Is there a Florida relationship there? Well,
maybe not with King Tut, but Faberget perhaps there is not.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Actually, the Gentleman is a playwright from New York City
that put together this exhibit. He worked on it for
about ten years and curated fifty eggs made by craftsmen
and artisans from around the world. It's just going to
be a remarkable exhibit. We're so excited to be hosting
(11:01):
the world premiere of that exhibit. So exciting times. We
of course won't have any original faberg eggs because the
least expensive one is about thirty seven million dollars.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Okay, all right, hey, rob do you have time to
stick around for a second segment? There was so much
more that I wanted to talk to you about, but
we have to take a break. Now. Are you available
for another fifteen minutes or so?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
I can try to be Okay, they don't have a
meeting until noon.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
So yep, okay, hold on. Then we're going to take
a break. And first of all, I'll talk about Riverside Theater.
And before I even start talking about them, I'll tell
you that they're closed the fourth of July weekend. Now
you can check into Riverside Theater's website to learn about
the coming season plus everything happening this summer. It's all
(11:52):
about Riverside Theater for kids. See Legally Blonde the musical,
drill the performances in the Alumni Showcase, and get out
your Advisor Garter in shades for Riverside Theaters, Vegas nights
July seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth. This popular event puts the
fund and a fundraiser benefiting Riverside's Youth Tuition Assistance Program.
(12:14):
Learn about everything Riverside at Riversidetheater dot com.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Ballet Vero Beach is leaping into its thirteenth season and
you're invited to experience every breathtaking moment, from timeless classics
to bold new works. The company's upcoming season promises unforgettable
performances for the whole family, featuring performances at Riverside Theater,
VBHS Performing Arts Center and the Vero Beach Museum of Art.
There's something for everyone in the company's extraordinary lineup. Subscribe
(12:42):
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Vererobeach dot org to reserve your subscription today.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
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(13:13):
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Speaker 1 (13:41):
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Speaker 5 (13:50):
Welcome to Riverside Theater's Comedy Zone, where the comedy is wild, untamed,
and downright hilarious. Hit the Zone this Friday and Saturday
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Coast best live stand up comedy show featuring nationally recognized
comedians with cabaret style seating and food and drink table service.
(14:12):
Buy tickets at Riversidetheater dot com and get ready for
a night of non stop laughs.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
And we are back with Artsplast on the Air. I'm
Willie Miller of Rob Steele, who is the President and
CEO of the Historical Society of Martin County, and we're
talking about what's going on at the Gilbert spar House
of Refuge Museum and the Elliott Museum and Rob Steele.
We have so much more to talk about. You talked
(14:43):
about UFOs, You talked about King tut Faberge. Tell me
about Derek Jeter. Why is Derek Jeter part of the
exhibits at the Eliot.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Well, that was just a fortune smiling upon us. I
was out for dinner and was introduced to a gentleman
that lives in Sewell's Point and he and his son,
their name is Armstrong, had been collecting Derek Jeter memorabilia
for a long time throughout Derek Jeter's career. They have
(15:18):
an extensive, amazing collection and it's hanging in our baseball
gallery now outstanding collectible items, and of course we've done
a great job of telling the Derek Jeter story. If
you're a baseball fan, even if you're not a Yankees fan,
everybody universal respect for Derek Jeter because he was just
(15:41):
one of those classic baseball players in an era when
you know there are so many people that were not
classic baseball players. Right. He's a real strong depiction of
the qualities of the game itself, and it's really well done.
It's been very, very popular, and we'll keep it rolling
(16:02):
as long as we possibly can. Again, it's an eclectic
mix here at the Elliott. You don't come in and
just see one thing everything. I made a commitment when
I arrived that we would have thirty percent of our
space dedicated to art, and we continue to do that.
We have wonderful James Timartis exhibit in the forum and
upstairs we have Ralph Pappa, and then the hallways are
(16:24):
continually changing. That's where we tend to feature local artists
from throughout the Treasure Coast and give them a spot
to show their work.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
You have many a far Highwaymen display. I understand we.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Have a permanent display and thank you for asking. We've
been working closely with Roger Lytel and we've been involved
for the last couple of years with the producers of
a documentary and a feature length film on the Highwaymen
that are in production, and one of them is set
to be released later this year, so we'll create a
(17:04):
new Highwaymen exhibit for that world premiere, and then we'll
both participate in the grand opening, the first showing of
the movie in a local theater here in cell tickets
to the public and probably have a couple of showings
when that happened. So that's that's an exciting time.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Yeah. I remember talking to him to Roger several years
and ago now, and he is such a Highwayman supporter.
It's a good thing that you all got together.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
It's amazing. Roger's just a beautiful person and He is
motivated by one thing and one thing only in this
whole process, and that is to do a great job
of sharing the Highwayman's story, which is epic with not
just Florida or the United States, but with the world.
And the new movies and documentaries will will help accomplish that,
(18:00):
and I think our local story here on the Treasure
Coast is about to receive the international accolades that it's
so richly deserved. It's just a wonderful story.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Thank you so much to Roger, and to you as well.
I'm using your words that there is an arts and
entertainment campus philosophy at the Elott Museum at the Historical
Society of Martin County. Where does that come from and
(18:33):
how does it manifested?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
I guess that it comes from me. Wherever I've been,
I always look at my surroundings and try and determine
what's the best way to increase the value to the
local community and supporters. So both of our campuses we
try and use not just museum hours from ten to five,
(18:57):
but we're busy into the night, almost seven nights a
week on this campus. On the House of Refuge is
little different. It's quiet out there at night, but we
have lectures and music and everything under the sun. You
could imagine on any given night. I was here Saturday
(19:19):
night at a sound meditation. There are twenty one people there.
There were sixty people in the Langford Space for a
common club and two hundred people outside for a band.
And that's after museum hours. So it really when you're
in Florida and you have a big, air conditioned space,
I feel like you need to wear out the carpet
(19:40):
and use it as much as you possibly can. And
our community has responded very favorably to that philosophy. So
that's what it's all about.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Okay, we have to talk about cars before you go.
I remember when they put in the new I'm not
going to call it a garage. What do you call it?
It's multi level display.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
It's called a car racking system. We call it the boomerang.
That was the name. It was the signed you know,
so you can and I call it a jukebox for
cars or a car roach history. It has lots of
different names, but it's a it's a real attraction, and
it's been a bugaboo too because from the time it
(20:27):
was installed, it was problematic, and then the company that
built it went bankrupt about a year and a half
after it opened. So there were long periods of time
when it didn't work at all, but we've been able
to keep it running, you know, ninety five percent of
the time now just buy the good work of volunteers
in our facilities.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Director Jim Butterworth, So, I'm so happy to hear that.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Yep, No, it's a it's a real attraction. But eventually
we will have to fundraise and replace the whole thing.
We have plans and where we go from fifty four
cars to seventy seven cars in the Boomerang, and we
need that space because we have one hundred cars in
our collection and we're at we're above capacity at that point.
(21:12):
But people virtually almost on a weekly basis want to
donate classic cars to us, So we just need a
little more room.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
I can't help you with that except help you maybe
with some fundraising. We'll see how that goes. Yeah, can
we talk about the guided chores? You have four languages now?
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Oh, thank thank you for bringing that up, Willie. I'm
so proud of that and the great work that you know.
Some of our new young staff members are doing on
all fronts. You know that they're challenged to be innovative
all the time. And I wanted to get the Spanish
language piece done a long time ago when I first arrived,
and it took longer than I imagine to get it
(21:54):
all done. But we have this guide ID system that
you can just pick up at the front counter and
it's free and as a little strapped your wear it
around your neck and when you get to different points,
you just press a button and it'll play, you know,
information about whatever you're looking at in four different languages
and English, French, Spanish, and German and we're now working
(22:18):
on Russian.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
So wow.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
And our community has has a significant Latin speaking uh
population and we want to make sure that everyone can
enjoy the museums.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Okay, to that, to that effect, let us go to
the website, which I have to say is a little difficult.
It's h s mc h f L dot com. Is
that correct?
Speaker 2 (22:47):
That's correct?
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Okay, So if you listeners, if you're just thinking Historical
Society of Martin County, Florida, you got it h s
mcash f L dot com. And believe me, when you
get there, you will be glad you found it. It's
worth worth the effort to get to the website and
certainly to the Elliott Museum and the Gilbertspar House of
(23:12):
Refuge Museum. That's such a good time talking with you, Rob.
When are we going to do this again?
Speaker 2 (23:19):
You let me know, Willie. It's always a pleasure and
I'll try not to disappoint you. We're working hard to
make sure there's always something exciting around around the next corner,
and I'm anxious to see you in person. Come down
and I'll walk you around and show you all the
great stuff that's going on.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Is the airplane still hanging in the in the from
the ceiling?
Speaker 2 (23:40):
It is? Indeed the Willoughby flyer is still up there.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Okay, and.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
That's a thrill too. We have the actual correspondence between you,
Willoughby and Orvil right when he was designing there.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Boy, Okay, we've run out of time. Rob. It's so
good to talk to you. We will see you at
the Historical Society of Martin County in at the Elliott
Museum gilbert Spar House of Refuge Museum. So great to
talk to you.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Thank you, Willie. Thanks for everything you do in the
arts community.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Thank you very much, Bye bye bye bye, and thanks
to Rob Steele, and thanks as always to you for
joining us again this week for Arts Blast on the
Air podcast radio show Alexis Skill, presented by a Riverside
Theater and Ballet Vero Beach, covering the arts online and
in Arts Blast Free emailed weekly Florida Arts News magazine.
(24:35):
Join us again next week for another edition of Arts
Blast on the Air. I'm Willie Miller. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Arts Past on the air. It's a podcast,
a radio show, and an Alexis Skill presented by Ballet
Vero Beach and Riverside Theater Arts supporting the arts in Florida.
I'm Willie Miller and every week I get to talk
to people in the arts about the arts on the
Treasure Coast and beyond. Well, it's going to be a
(00:24):
busy summer for Ballet Vero Beach as usual. Get ready
for the Riverside Dance Festival with the La Contemporary Dance
Company August first and second at Riverside Theater. Subscriptions for
next season are available now, with single tickets on sale
in November. And are you up for a very special treat?
(00:44):
The dancers are back at the Vero Beach Museum of
Art for another grand performance November fifteenth. Learn all about
it online at Ballet Vero Beach dot org. My guests
today are Rob Steele and and Soldus and I'm going
to talk to Rob first. You're down at the You're
(01:05):
down in Stuart. You're at the Elliott Museum, Gilbert spar
House of Refuge Museum. It's been a long time since
we've talked Rob, and you have so much to catch
us up with.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Well, sure, I'll be happy to do that this morning.
There's a as ever, we pride ourselves on being a
very dynamic, think outside the box kind of organization, with
something new around each corner.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
For all of our guests, I think they're probably there
are probably a lot of treasure coast and beyond people
who remember the old old Elliott Museum. Were you around
at that time? I know you haven't been working there
at least I don't think you have. No.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
I was not around at that time. My ten year
has been coming up on seven years here, so I've
always worked in the new Elliott Museum. And of course
the House of Refuge is the oldest building in Martin County,
and we have exciting news on that front. The Gilbert
spar House of Refuge Museum is undergoing a almost one
(02:14):
point eight million dollar renovation. The work's being done by
the Tradesman Group, who works on historic buildings, and they
just finished a very successful project at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
So we're thrilled to have a quality firm doing the work.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
They know what they're doing.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
How about them, We absolutely know what they're doing.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
How about some history on the House of Refuge.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Well, it's coming up next year. It will be the
one hundred and fiftieth anniversary. The first years of the
House of Refuge, it served as just exactly that, a
house of refuge. It was one of ten on the
east coast of Florida set up to rescue shipwrecked sailors
who in that time, in that year from eighteen seventy six,
(03:02):
you know through into the next century, if you were
shipwrecked off the eastern coast of Florida, there's a good
chance you're going to die because there were only about
four hundred people living from Miami to all the way
up to Saint Augustine, and people just couldn't get there
and rescue it. They'd be they wouldn't have water, or
they'd get eaten up by the mosquito. So it those
(03:24):
were dangerous times.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
The House was a rescue station for many of those years.
In nineteen thirty it became a US Coastguard station when
they merged the rescue service with the Coast Guard, and
then in nineteen forty two it became a US Naval station,
and that's when they built the tower to spot German
u boats off the coast, and then it was sold
(03:49):
in nineteen fifty five to Martin County for less than
two hundred dollars about one hundred and fifty dollars for
fourteen acres there. And then the raven Bold women of
the Seroptimist Club took on the task of forming the
Historical Society of Martin County and running the House of
REFUGEESM Museum.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Wow, and you know, I had forgot I've known that history,
but I had forgotten about it. And you bring it
home with how you know, the fifties nineteen fifties are
not that far away, so it's not ancient history.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
This is well it's actually eighteen seventy six. It's one
hundred and fifty years. It's a long time ago. But
the World War Two, you know, people don't realize what
a touch and go situation that was. We were losing
a lot of shipping. That's why they built the intra
coastal to try and keep shipping safe. You know, they
couldn't be torpedoed if they had land in between them
(04:49):
and the ocean. But interesting, interesting history and just a
remarkable place. We're just thrilled to have this renovation occurring.
At such a key time in the history, and we're
taking advantage of the time we're shut down to completely
reinvent all the exhibits at the House of Refuge Museum.
So it'll be an exciting time in twenty twenty six
(05:11):
for all of our visitors. And it's interesting for me
to note if you haven't been there in a long time,
it was always difficult to park there. There were only
fifteen parking spaces. So about two years ago we bought
a twelve passenger van and dressed it up and we
shuttle people from the Elliott Museum to the House of
Refuge free of charge.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Oh what a great idea that was. Works well now
that we've got everybody's appetite sweated for the House of
Refuge Museum, can't wait to get there. Do you have
a date yet for a reopening?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
We don't. I have the first construction meeting tomorrow morning
at eight and the firm everything's ready. We've taken everything
out of the house. They're ready to go. We're shooting
for a five to six next month window, so I'm
going to estimate January February of twenty twenty six we'll
be back open and running.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
I'll wait to hear from you about that.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Yeah, it should be should be great.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Let me ask you, because now we're in a hurricane season,
what kind of precautions do you take preparations to preserve
a place that's basically on the water from hurricanes.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
It is the most vulnerable site you know, almost on
the Eastern Seaboard. It's the Hutchinson Islands, only seventy yards
wide at the point where the out of refuge sits.
So the county has traditionally come out in plywood, used
plywood to shore up all the windows indoors on the buildings.
After this renovation, we hope to use you know, the
(06:49):
flexible hurricane netting or hurricane shutters on the building to
protect it. But it has survived thus fire twenty two
direct hit hurricanes one hundred and fifty years, so it
just doesn't want to go down.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I guess they did it right the first time.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
I think they did. And how I was secured to
the rock?
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Okay, I was just going to ask you, how was
it built to be able to withstand all this?
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Yeah, a good construction design, good materials. And then in
nineteen thirty it was moved back about thirty feet from
the Atlantic Ocean and secured to the rock there. So
that's really I think why it's still here, still with us.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Okay, I'm looking forward to seeing it at the beginning
sort of, we hope in the beginning of the new year.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Yep, we're looking forward to showing it to you.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Let's go back to the Elliott Museum again. Maybe just
a little bit of history Stirling Elliott and his interests.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, it was. It opened in nineteen sixty one. Harmon
Elliott built the museum as a tribute to his father.
They're sterling. They were both inventors and very successful businessmen.
The address agraph is how they made a good deal
of their money. But between father and son they had
over two hundred patents, over one hundred patents each, so
(08:13):
they were very bright. And after it opened, Harmon Elliott
asked again the Historical Society to oversee the museum, which
they signed on to do in nineteen sixty one, and
it was the pink brick building that you reference. And
then in nineteen thirteen the new Elliott Museum, fifty thousand
(08:36):
square feet modern building opened and it's been it's been
finding its feet and finding its personality, and I think
we've arrived now. We've turned into a very dynamic, ever changing,
full of surprises building, and that seems to be the
(08:57):
right formula moving forward.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
It's so much more than a building pro you have.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
I like to call it, yeah, I'm sorry, Willie. I
like to call it the barn. This community dances in.
We have an outdoor tiki now that went from thirty
by thirty to thirty by forty and now it's thirty
by seventy. Live entertainment right now in the summer, four
or five nights a week, drawing big crowds all the time.
(09:28):
We have sound meditations upstairs in a studio through sound
Vibration dot Net that draws people. Actually, we get so
many people from Vero Beach for the sound vibrations. It's amazing.
You people in Vero Beach are mobile. You're not afraid
to travel and get in the car and go somewhere
to have some fun. Very very impressive.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I'm good for everybody.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Absolutely. This summer, we're still running our UFO exhibit that
opened on December first, so that's been great for families
and other people to come and see. And then September nineteenth,
we'll open to the public with a one two punch
I'd like to call it will have wonderful things, the
(10:17):
return of King Tut, and then we're pairing that with
another wonderful world premiere exhibit upstairs on the Faberge eggs.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Wow are they? Is there a Florida relationship there? Well,
maybe not with King Tut, but Faberget perhaps there is not.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Actually, the Gentleman is a playwright from New York City
that put together this exhibit. He worked on it for
about ten years and curated fifty eggs made by craftsmen
and artisans from around the world. It's just going to
be a remarkable exhibit. We're so excited to be hosting
(11:01):
the world premiere of that exhibit. So exciting times. We
of course won't have any original faberg eggs because the
least expensive one is about thirty seven million dollars.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Okay, all right, hey, rob do you have time to
stick around for a second segment? There was so much
more that I wanted to talk to you about, but
we have to take a break. Now. Are you available
for another fifteen minutes or so?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
I can try to be Okay, they don't have a
meeting until noon.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
So yep, okay, hold on. Then we're going to take
a break. And first of all, I'll talk about Riverside Theater.
And before I even start talking about them, I'll tell
you that they're closed the fourth of July weekend. Now
you can check into Riverside Theater's website to learn about
the coming season plus everything happening this summer. It's all
(11:52):
about Riverside Theater for kids. See Legally Blonde the musical,
drill the performances in the Alumni Showcase, and get out
your Advisor Garter in shades for Riverside Theaters, Vegas nights
July seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth. This popular event puts the
fund and a fundraiser benefiting Riverside's Youth Tuition Assistance Program.
(12:14):
Learn about everything Riverside at Riversidetheater dot com.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Ballet Vero Beach is leaping into its thirteenth season and
you're invited to experience every breathtaking moment, from timeless classics
to bold new works. The company's upcoming season promises unforgettable
performances for the whole family, featuring performances at Riverside Theater,
VBHS Performing Arts Center and the Vero Beach Museum of Art.
There's something for everyone in the company's extraordinary lineup. Subscribe
(12:42):
now and enjoy exclusive perks all season long. Visit ballet
Vererobeach dot org to reserve your subscription today.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
At Sunshine Furniture, our thirty five thousand square foot showroom
is filled with the largest selection of instock coastal furniture
on the Treasure Coast, dining and bedroom sets, occasional tables, sofas,
sleeper sofas, love heats, and chairs in all the latest
styles and colors from Tommy Pama, Lexington, Hooker, Riverside, Universal,
Four Seasons, Braxton Color and Capri Where the outdoor furniture
(13:13):
experts and have hundreds of styles of any patio furniture
you need, including a gallery of Berlin Gardens and Bollywood.
We specialize in fire pits, outdoor rugs, umbrellas and replacement cushions.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Sunshine Furniture twelve ninety.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
Five US one in the public Splazavaro Beach, family owned
and operated since nineteen ninety one. Don't forget to visit
our outlet store directly across the street, filled with lots
of name brand closeouts and sale items. Visit our website
at Sunshine Furniturecasual dot com.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Sunshine Furniture the best way have Sunshine Day.
Speaker 5 (13:50):
Welcome to Riverside Theater's Comedy Zone, where the comedy is wild, untamed,
and downright hilarious. Hit the Zone this Friday and Saturday
night at six thirty and eight thirty for the Treasure
Coast best live stand up comedy show featuring nationally recognized
comedians with cabaret style seating and food and drink table service.
(14:12):
Buy tickets at Riversidetheater dot com and get ready for
a night of non stop laughs.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
And we are back with Artsplast on the Air. I'm
Willie Miller of Rob Steele, who is the President and
CEO of the Historical Society of Martin County, and we're
talking about what's going on at the Gilbert spar House
of Refuge Museum and the Elliott Museum and Rob Steele.
We have so much more to talk about. You talked
(14:43):
about UFOs, You talked about King tut Faberge. Tell me
about Derek Jeter. Why is Derek Jeter part of the
exhibits at the Eliot.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Well, that was just a fortune smiling upon us. I
was out for dinner and was introduced to a gentleman
that lives in Sewell's Point and he and his son,
their name is Armstrong, had been collecting Derek Jeter memorabilia
for a long time throughout Derek Jeter's career. They have
(15:18):
an extensive, amazing collection and it's hanging in our baseball
gallery now outstanding collectible items, and of course we've done
a great job of telling the Derek Jeter story. If
you're a baseball fan, even if you're not a Yankees fan,
everybody universal respect for Derek Jeter because he was just
(15:41):
one of those classic baseball players in an era when
you know there are so many people that were not
classic baseball players. Right. He's a real strong depiction of
the qualities of the game itself, and it's really well done.
It's been very, very popular, and we'll keep it rolling
(16:02):
as long as we possibly can. Again, it's an eclectic
mix here at the Elliott. You don't come in and
just see one thing everything. I made a commitment when
I arrived that we would have thirty percent of our
space dedicated to art, and we continue to do that.
We have wonderful James Timartis exhibit in the forum and
upstairs we have Ralph Pappa, and then the hallways are
(16:24):
continually changing. That's where we tend to feature local artists
from throughout the Treasure Coast and give them a spot
to show their work.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
You have many a far Highwaymen display. I understand we.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Have a permanent display and thank you for asking. We've
been working closely with Roger Lytel and we've been involved
for the last couple of years with the producers of
a documentary and a feature length film on the Highwaymen
that are in production, and one of them is set
to be released later this year, so we'll create a
(17:04):
new Highwaymen exhibit for that world premiere, and then we'll
both participate in the grand opening, the first showing of
the movie in a local theater here in cell tickets
to the public and probably have a couple of showings
when that happened. So that's that's an exciting time.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Yeah. I remember talking to him to Roger several years
and ago now, and he is such a Highwayman supporter.
It's a good thing that you all got together.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
It's amazing. Roger's just a beautiful person and He is
motivated by one thing and one thing only in this
whole process, and that is to do a great job
of sharing the Highwayman's story, which is epic with not
just Florida or the United States, but with the world.
And the new movies and documentaries will will help accomplish that,
(18:00):
and I think our local story here on the Treasure
Coast is about to receive the international accolades that it's
so richly deserved. It's just a wonderful story.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Thank you so much to Roger, and to you as well.
I'm using your words that there is an arts and
entertainment campus philosophy at the Elott Museum at the Historical
Society of Martin County. Where does that come from and
(18:33):
how does it manifested?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
I guess that it comes from me. Wherever I've been,
I always look at my surroundings and try and determine
what's the best way to increase the value to the
local community and supporters. So both of our campuses we
try and use not just museum hours from ten to five,
(18:57):
but we're busy into the night, almost seven nights a
week on this campus. On the House of Refuge is
little different. It's quiet out there at night, but we
have lectures and music and everything under the sun. You
could imagine on any given night. I was here Saturday
(19:19):
night at a sound meditation. There are twenty one people there.
There were sixty people in the Langford Space for a
common club and two hundred people outside for a band.
And that's after museum hours. So it really when you're
in Florida and you have a big, air conditioned space,
I feel like you need to wear out the carpet
(19:40):
and use it as much as you possibly can. And
our community has responded very favorably to that philosophy. So
that's what it's all about.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Okay, we have to talk about cars before you go.
I remember when they put in the new I'm not
going to call it a garage. What do you call it?
It's multi level display.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
It's called a car racking system. We call it the boomerang.
That was the name. It was the signed you know,
so you can and I call it a jukebox for
cars or a car roach history. It has lots of
different names, but it's a it's a real attraction, and
it's been a bugaboo too because from the time it
(20:27):
was installed, it was problematic, and then the company that
built it went bankrupt about a year and a half
after it opened. So there were long periods of time
when it didn't work at all, but we've been able
to keep it running, you know, ninety five percent of
the time now just buy the good work of volunteers
in our facilities.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Director Jim Butterworth, So, I'm so happy to hear that.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Yep, No, it's a it's a real attraction. But eventually
we will have to fundraise and replace the whole thing.
We have plans and where we go from fifty four
cars to seventy seven cars in the Boomerang, and we
need that space because we have one hundred cars in
our collection and we're at we're above capacity at that point.
(21:12):
But people virtually almost on a weekly basis want to
donate classic cars to us, So we just need a
little more room.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
I can't help you with that except help you maybe
with some fundraising. We'll see how that goes. Yeah, can
we talk about the guided chores? You have four languages now?
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Oh, thank thank you for bringing that up, Willie. I'm
so proud of that and the great work that you know.
Some of our new young staff members are doing on
all fronts. You know that they're challenged to be innovative
all the time. And I wanted to get the Spanish
language piece done a long time ago when I first arrived,
and it took longer than I imagine to get it
(21:54):
all done. But we have this guide ID system that
you can just pick up at the front counter and
it's free and as a little strapped your wear it
around your neck and when you get to different points,
you just press a button and it'll play, you know,
information about whatever you're looking at in four different languages
and English, French, Spanish, and German and we're now working
(22:18):
on Russian.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
So wow.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
And our community has has a significant Latin speaking uh
population and we want to make sure that everyone can
enjoy the museums.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Okay, to that, to that effect, let us go to
the website, which I have to say is a little difficult.
It's h s mc h f L dot com. Is
that correct?
Speaker 2 (22:47):
That's correct?
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Okay, So if you listeners, if you're just thinking Historical
Society of Martin County, Florida, you got it h s
mcash f L dot com. And believe me, when you
get there, you will be glad you found it. It's
worth worth the effort to get to the website and
certainly to the Elliott Museum and the Gilbertspar House of
(23:12):
Refuge Museum. That's such a good time talking with you, Rob.
When are we going to do this again?
Speaker 2 (23:19):
You let me know, Willie. It's always a pleasure and
I'll try not to disappoint you. We're working hard to
make sure there's always something exciting around around the next corner,
and I'm anxious to see you in person. Come down
and I'll walk you around and show you all the
great stuff that's going on.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Is the airplane still hanging in the in the from
the ceiling?
Speaker 2 (23:40):
It is? Indeed the Willoughby flyer is still up there.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Okay, and.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
That's a thrill too. We have the actual correspondence between you,
Willoughby and Orvil right when he was designing there.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Boy, Okay, we've run out of time. Rob. It's so
good to talk to you. We will see you at
the Historical Society of Martin County in at the Elliott
Museum gilbert Spar House of Refuge Museum. So great to
talk to you.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Thank you, Willie. Thanks for everything you do in the
arts community.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Thank you very much, Bye bye bye bye, and thanks
to Rob Steele, and thanks as always to you for
joining us again this week for Arts Blast on the
Air podcast radio show Alexis Skill, presented by a Riverside
Theater and Ballet Vero Beach, covering the arts online and
in Arts Blast Free emailed weekly Florida Arts News magazine.
(24:35):
Join us again next week for another edition of Arts
Blast on the Air. I'm Willie Miller. Thanks for listening.
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