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The Boca Raton Historical Society has announced the generous donation of artifacts from the Frederick Herpel Collection by Frederick Herpel, third-generation leader of Herpel, Inc. The donation includes rare architectural elements, pottery, and artisan tilework from “Mizner Industries,” famed architect Addison Mizner’s series of workshops providing furnishings and architectural elements for designers working in the popular “Mediterranean Revival” style in the 1920s and 1930s. Mizner’s “Boca Raton” development project put the little farm town on the national map in 1925 and “Mizner Industries” artifacts were employed in his local landmarks such as The Addison, The Boca Raton resort, and houses in Old Floresta. Because of this, “Mizner Industries” artifacts are amongst the Boca Raton Historical Society’s most treasured collections. “We are incredibly grateful to Frederick Herpel and the Herpel family for this remarkable and generous donation,” said Mary Csar, Executive Director of the Boca Raton Historical Society. “The Frederick Herpel Collection offers an extraordinary glimpse into the craftsmanship and materials that shaped Addison Mizner’s architectural vision. It was a highlight of our most recent major Centennial exhibition, and we’re proud to preserve and share this important part of our region’s cultural heritage.” The Frederick Herpel Collection was established by Frederick H. Herpel, president of Herpel Inc., a cast stone & column company based in West Palm Beach and founded by Herpel’s father Henry Ketchin Herpel (1922-2012) during the late 1940s at its present Georgia Avenue site. Herpel’s access to original Mizner products, tile, pottery, and cast stone began during the 1970s from having professional relationships with property owners, architects, and builders of significant Mizner-designed mansions and buildings, built predominately on Palm Beach during the 1920s & 1930s. By the late 1920s, West Palm Beach was known for its “Artcraft” industry. Herpel’s collection represents a significant chapter of that era’s industrial production. The Herpel Tile Collection contains approx. 2,275 historical and vintage tiles of various sizes. The 19-piece Pottery Collection ranges from a pair of Mizner-blue Ali Baba jars to unglazed historical fragments of Mizner-produced clay fern bowls. The Cast Stone Collection offers 275 artifacts, representing a full range of Mizner structural and decorative architectural building artifacts. Mr. Herpel has generously donated 114 of these items including 42 examples of cast stone architectural elements and 72 Las Manos Pottery pieces and decorative tiles, recently featured in the Historical Society’s “1925-2025, Addison Mizner’s Legacy” exhibition. These items will serve as a study collection for researchers of Mizner architecture and style and will be incorporated into many future exhibitions of the Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum. About the Boca Raton Historical Society / The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum Founded in 1972, the Boca Raton Historical Society is dedicated to preserving and sharing the rich history of Boca Raton. Through exhibitions, educational programming, and preservation efforts, the Society fosters a deeper understanding of the people, architecture, and cultural moments that helped shape the city.
The Boca Raton Historical Society has announced the generous donation of artifacts from the Frederick Herpel Collection by Frederick Herpel, third-generation leader of Herpel, Inc.
The donation includes rare architectural elements, pottery, and artisan tilework from “Mizner Industries,” famed architect Addison Mizner’s series of workshops providing furnishings and architectural elements for designers working in the popular “Mediterranean Revival” style in the 1920s and 1930s. Mizner’s “Boca Raton” development project put the little farm town on the national map in 1925 and “Mizner Industries” artifacts were employed in his local landmarks such as The Addison, The Boca Raton resort, and houses in Old Floresta. Because of this, “Mizner Industries” artifacts are amongst the Boca Raton Historical Society’s most treasured collections.
“We are incredibly grateful to Frederick Herpel and the Herpel family for this remarkable and generous donation,” said Mary Csar, Executive Director of the Boca Raton Historical Society. “The Frederick Herpel Collection offers an extraordinary glimpse into the craftsmanship and materials that shaped Addison Mizner’s architectural vision. It was a highlight of our most recent major Centennial exhibition, and we’re proud to preserve and share this important part of our region’s cultural heritage.”
The Frederick Herpel Collection was established by Frederick H. Herpel, president of Herpel Inc., a cast stone & column company based in West Palm Beach and founded by Herpel’s father Henry Ketchin Herpel (1922-2012) during the late 1940s at its present Georgia Avenue site. Herpel’s access to original Mizner products, tile, pottery, and cast stone began during the 1970s from having professional relationships with property owners, architects, and builders of significant Mizner-designed mansions and buildings, built predominately on Palm Beach during the 1920s & 1930s. By the late 1920s, West Palm Beach was known for its “Artcraft” industry. Herpel’s collection represents a significant chapter of that era’s industrial production.
The Herpel Tile Collection contains approx. 2,275 historical and vintage tiles of various sizes. The 19-piece Pottery Collection ranges from a pair of Mizner-blue Ali Baba jars to unglazed historical fragments of Mizner-produced clay fern bowls. The Cast Stone Collection offers 275 artifacts, representing a full range of Mizner structural and decorative architectural building artifacts. Mr. Herpel has generously donated 114 of these items including 42 examples of cast stone architectural elements and 72 Las Manos Pottery pieces and decorative tiles, recently featured in the Historical Society’s “1925-2025, Addison Mizner’s Legacy” exhibition. These items will serve as a study collection for researchers of Mizner architecture and style and will be incorporated into many future exhibitions of the Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum.
About the Boca Raton Historical Society / The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum Founded in 1972, the Boca Raton Historical Society is dedicated to preserving and sharing the rich history of Boca Raton. Through exhibitions, educational programming, and preservation efforts, the Society fosters a deeper understanding of the people, architecture, and cultural moments that helped shape the city.