By Ted Corcoran, President/CEO, Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce
The Place on Beal location is one of the most sacred in Fort Walton. The land, owned by the Brooks family, was home to Mrs. James Hartley Beal from the 1920’s until her passing in 1949. Her family is recognized in many ways around our city, including the named roadway—Beal Parkway—on which The Place on Beal now resides.
After Grandma Beal’s passing, Louise Brooks and her husband Thomas E. Brooks conveyed the current land location to two of the most prominent civic groups in our community: Gulf Area Garden Club–and the Fort Walton Beach Women’s Club. The Contract is dated: February 11, 1955. (Thanks to our local historian Tom Rice, owner Magnolia Grill on Brooks Street, for providing historical details.) However, it wasn’t until August 4, 1974, that the current structure was opened as the Fort Walton Beach Women’s Club & Gulf Area Garden Club.
The incredibly extravagant (at the time) $40,000 expenditure was underwritten by several of the club members. In honor of The Brooks and Beal families, the building was named: The Brooks Beal Center. For more than 45 years, the two groups utilized the building for their own civic activities as well as renting to our local community for all varieties of social and business uses.
The Gulf Area Garden Club—which leads many of our area’s grand beautification projects, such as the Camellia City moniker for Fort Walton Beach, ran out of steam in the late 1990’s and turned the building management over to the Women’s Club. The Fort Walton Women’s Club, which recently celebrated its 100th Anniversary, and the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce (celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2021), have always collaborated on making positive improvements for our community.
The relationship was enhanced dramatically after the passing of Col. Bud Day in 2013. Women’s Club representative Cissy Wyninegar approached the Chamber about collaboration on how our community could create a legacy for Bud and his wife, Doris-A Women’s Club member. In 2015, the Bud and Dorie Day Patriots Trail opened! The Fort Walton Beach Women’s Club received several awards for this amazing accomplishment.
In 2019, the Women’s Club approached the Chamber about taking over the management of the Brooks Beal Center as the costs and time to run the property became too much for their membership. With an expenditure of about four times the original cost to construct the Center in 1974, we totally renovated the building in 2020, changing its name to The Place on Beal. It’s so named, because everyone in town knows of the building, but many did not know its name—just ‘you know The Place on Beal’ at the intersection of Yacht Club Drive!
The Place on Beal is now one of our area’s perfect locations for social and business event rentals, Monday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. The newly renovated space can accommodate up to 120 guests seated comfortably in a banquet setting. And with a full audio-visual package, The Place can host any organization or business meeting as well. Tables and chairs are provided—all you need to bring is your own food and beverages!
For a tour, call (850) 659-3553. For more information, visit theplacefwb.com.
Located at 100 Beal Pkwy. NW, Fort Walton Beach, 32548.
