After months of construction, CityPlace transforms into Rosemary Square as the holiday season begins with a month-long snowfall event.
Every evening this month at 6 p.m., the plaza area is sprinkled with “snow,” which is really shampoo, to cultivate the holiday mood for visitors. A new artificial decoration for the Square, called the Wishing Tree, lights up in-sync with the first piles of falling snow and changes color throughout the evening.
Mayor Keith James opened the festivities on the first night of the snowfall event and the Wishing Tree’s lighting.
Visitors from all over the country come to witness the seasonal event. Some of the out-of-town visitors hailed from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Novi, Michigan.
Their Florida visit is a bit warmer than they expected given the time of year, and they were quite aware that what was falling out of the sky wasn’t snow.
“I think the weather is just right, I think it’s perfect,” Gil said, who owns a home in West Palm Beach. “This snowfall event, it’s my first time, it’s pretty cool!”
Megan, who didn’t want to disclose her last name, represents Rosemary Square’s Press and Marketing Relations. She planned the location’s change of name and scenery.
“Rosemary Square not only pays tribute to the area’s main thoroughfare, but it speaks to our vision of becoming a vibrant neighborhood destination,” Megan said. “As the ‘main street’ of the neighborhood, Rosemary Square connects the neighborhood to the Kravis Center and Convention Center to the south and Clematis Street and Downtown to the north.”
Megan explained how the name’s evolution ties into the redesign of the locale. These include the wider, pedestrian-safe roads, the plaza’s change into a “public gathering place with green spaces and shade, additional trees and lush landscaping.”
She makes special note of three new installations of art: “Water Pavilion West Palm” by Jeppe Hein, the aforementioned “Wishing Tree” by Symmetry Labs and “(MEIYW) My East is your West” by Shilpa Gupta.
"Next year, Rosemary Square will continue to evolve,” according to Megan and the marketing department for the shopping center. Notable projects include “360 Rosemary,” a 300,000 square-foot office building, as well as 575 Rosemary, a 21-story tower for mixed use of “state of the art luxury residences and commercial space.”
By Benjamin Wainer