By Timothy Hullihan
Built into the east face of an ancient sand dune, a likely remnant of the last ice age, and overlooking
the Lake Worth Lagoon’s north end, is a master work of Modernist architecture completed in 1962 in
the Village of North Palm Beach, Florida. The village was just 6-years young the year it opened, and
Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center was much more than a continuation of an ethos of excellence the
initial leaders of North Palm Beach believed to be key to establishing a community that was deserving
of “Palm Beach to the North”.
Its Village Hall was designed by legendary Palm Beach architect, John Volk, in 1956. Model homes
scattered among vacant lots and sales brochures were design by noted architects from around the
country in the late-50s and early-60s. But, Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center has a story, history,
architect and design that quietly tops them all. It is a place worthy of recognition.
In 1962, the year it opened, the Spiritual Center was recognized as one of America’s top 10 most
significant works of architecture by the American Institute of Architects. It was designed by the only
architect in the 166-year history of the AIA who was both a religious figure and a member of the AIA’s
exclusive College of Fellows. His name was Cajetan Baumann.
Baumann was born in Germany in 1900 and a veteran of World War One. He became a candidate for
the brotherhood of the Franciscan Order, and his eventual immigration to the United States was due to
a 10-year assignment to St. Bonaventure Friary to serve the community of Patterson, New Jersey. His
path to becoming a licensed architect in the State of New York would begin at St. Bonaventure
University.
Earning a Bachelor Degree there would lead to a Masters of Science from Columbia and an
apprenticeship in a New York City architectural firm. Once licensed, he established his own practice
that specialized in religious facilities – eventually designing over 70 across the United States.
Yet awards, accolades and recognition as one of the leading Modernist of his day were not what drove
Baumann. He remained committed to the life of a Franciscan Brother despite fame as an architect.
He continued to live at a monastery – walking to and from work each day and sleeping each night in a
10 x 12 cell without running water.
His close friend Maria Shrady, wife of the painter, sculptor Frederick Charles Shrady, said Baumann
lived a life that remained focused on the “joys of eternity”. Mrs. Shrady was so moved by a death bed
conversation she had with Baumann in 1969 that she committed her impressions to writing. She
remembered Baumann as being “incredibly responsive to beauty” and that their conversation included
a discussion of the “Uncreated Beauty to which we are all drawn.”
Uncreated Beauty is a reference to God and the unimaginable beauty that must exist in the
transcendent realm. It is a form of beauty that, like God, is so many dimensions beyond this life that it
defies comprehension. Yet, it is timeless and omnipresent – within us all if we are willing to seek it.
Unquestionably, Baumann’s humility formed his ability to create great works of architecture –
something especially rare in the Modernist Style. Merely following the rules of a certain genre as an
end to itself is where uninspiring, even unattrative, Modernist works of architecture come from. Yet, a
humble servant living a life that focused on something greater, more universal, more beautiful would
understand that beautiful architecture must capture the very essence of beauty and seek its highest
level.
Baumann was especially moved by the beauty of the great Gothic Cathedrals of Europe. For Our Lady
of Florida’s chapel he sought to capture the essence of those cathedrals’ beauty and represent it in a
contemporary architectural language. It is a stunning work of architecture that is both an
unmistakable work of 1960s Modernism, and a place that speaks universally to a form of beauty that is
beyond place and time.
The entire 50,000 square foot campus of Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center is a wonder to behold.
It has rested humbly in the lap of an ancient sand dune overlooking the water to its east since 1962. It
awaits our discovery.
Timothy Hullihan is an architect in North Palm Beach, and the president of the Kevin Clark Hullihan
Foundation.
Original source:
https://timhullihan.wordpress.com/2023/11/08/a-great-modernist-discovered-in-north-palmbeach/
Used with permission
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