Woodlawn Cemetery may soon transform into a world-class cultural park
- Jake Nicholas
- 5 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Woodlawn Cemetery, the 17-acre landmark founded by Henry Flagler in 1904, has a bold new proposal that would transform the grounds into a world-class cultural park, while also preserving the legacy of the pioneers buried there. Located along South Dixie Highway beside the Norton Museum, the site could soon evolve from a traditional cemetery into a landscaped public space designed for reflection, art, and community programming.
The initiative is being led by the nonprofit Friends of Woodlawn, which has commissioned a master plan in collaboration with globally renowned architecture firm Foster + Partners, the studio behind projects like Apple Park, the HSBC Main Building in Hong Kong, and the revolutionary Gherkin in London.
By partnering with Foster + Partners, Woodlawn would join a lineage of cutting-edge projects currently shaping the globe, including the newly completed, all-electric JPMorgan Chase Headquarters in New York and the recently opened Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi. The firm’s forward-looking portfolio also features high-profile developments such as Two World Trade Center, which is set to resume construction this spring, and The Ellinikon in Greece, Europe’s largest urban regeneration project.
Their proposal envisions Woodlawn as a “living park,” restoring the site’s original garden-like character while opening portions of the landscape for public use.
At the center of the plan is a sweeping architectural trellis designed to host intimate cultural gatherings, including classical music performances, poetry readings, and community events. The structure would sit within newly landscaped gardens and restored tree canopies.
The broader plan includes improved pathways throughout the grounds, expanded gardens, and thoughtful landscape restoration intended to preserve the site’s historic character while allowing visitors to experience it as a quiet urban green space. The vision is to honor those buried at Woodlawn while reconnecting the cemetery to the surrounding cultural district anchored by the Norton Museum of Art.
The proposal arrives as West Palm Beach continues to experience a surge of investment reshaping the city’s cultural and residential landscape. Larger district projects like CityPlace, The Nora District, and Flamingo Park, alongside the revitalization of the Currie Park waterfront, are redefining how public space, design, and development intersect across the city.
If realized, the reimagining of Woodlawn would introduce a new kind of destination for West Palm Beach — a Central Park New York type of feel, where history, landscape, and culture intersect in the center of one of America's fastest-evolving cities.
