How long will South Dixie Highway between El Cid's two art institutions stay under construction this season? Longer than the season itself. Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens on Barcelona Road opened its first new exhibition on October 21. The Norton Museum of Art at 1450 S. Dixie Highway opens two shows on October 31. The Florida Department of Transportation now lists early 2027 to finish the South Dixie rebuild between Belvedere Road and Okeechobee Boulevard. Every major date on both calendars from now through mid-December falls inside that work window.
Barcelona Road Opened First
The Sculpture Gardens started the season on October 21. In Full Bloom: Flowers in the Garden opened in the Norton House Gallery at 253 Barcelona Road. It shows pressed-flower collage portraits by Bruce Helander, the Gardens' 2026/27 Artist in Residence, and the museum lists it through January 10, 2027.
The Gardens' events calendar also lists a recurring program. Master Gardener in Residence tours start at 11 a.m. on the second Friday of the month, which falls on November 13 and December 11 this year. A Master Gardener tour isn't something you can preview from the street, and it gives the garden side of the property its own date on the calendar, apart from the gallery openings.
The Dixie End Changes Over on Halloween
Two days after this post goes up, the Norton opens two exhibitions on October 31: Blazing Light: Photographs by Mimi Plumb and Gertrude Abercrombie: The Whole World Is a Mystery. Both are listed through March 14, 2027.
The same weekend, one show leaves. Cursed Images: Pictures Out of Context runs through November 1. Several longer exhibitions stay into winter, according to the museum's current exhibitions page:
- Art & Independence: America at 250, through December 6
- Ralph Coburn: Land, Sea, Sky, through January 3, 2027
- Chang Dai-chien: A Master of Modern Chinese Painting, through January 30, 2027
The Norton's weekly anchor is Art After Dark, every Friday from 5 to 10 p.m. The October 23 edition had a "Tsukimi" theme with docent tours, open studio workshops and live performances. Admission was listed at $10 for adults and seniors, $5 for students, and free for members. Those Friday evenings fall inside the construction window too.
The Road Between Them Now Runs Into 2027
The project is FDOT's S.R. 5/U.S. 1 resurfacing, restoration and rehabilitation work. It covers 1.044 miles of South Dixie Highway from Belvedere Road to just south of Okeechobee Boulevard. In March, the City of West Palm Beach's road and dock closures bulletin said work was scheduled to start in April 2026 and run "through Late 2026." FDOT's Palm Beach County traffic report for October 16 to 23 gives a start date of May 4, 2026 and now lists completion as "Early 2027."
That slip from late 2026 to early 2027 is the reason the two calendars now overlap. With the original end date, the work would have wrapped up around the time the holiday programs started. With the revised date, it covers all of them.
The October report lists these items in the corridor:
- Daytime lane closures. For the week of October 19, one northbound or southbound lane could close intermittently from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. between Belvedere and Okeechobee for concrete and electrical work.
- Overnight paving. A single lane in each direction was scheduled to close overnight for milling and paving.
- A longer closure. The northbound outside lane from Barcelona Road to Acacia Road is listed closed through fall 2026 for drainage and concrete work.
The third item is the one with staying power, and it starts at Barcelona Road, the same street as the Sculpture Gardens. FDOT issues these reports weekly, so the daytime and overnight closures change from week to week. Check the latest report before a Friday evening at the Norton.
The finished project should change how the corridor works on foot. The project description includes a new signalized mid-block crosswalk north of Vallette Way, along with upgraded pedestrian signals at Belvedere Road, at Flamingo Drive and at the crosswalk north of Cranesnest Way. It also adds rebuilt ADA curb ramps, replacement sidewalk sections, LED lighting and a new light at Flamingo Drive. The October report still lists the Vallette Way crosswalk in the project scope. It does not say whether the crosswalk is open yet.
The Season and the Work Zone on One Calendar
| Date | Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens | Norton Museum of Art | US 1, Belvedere to Okeechobee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 21 | In Full Bloom opens | Fridays: Art After Dark, 5 to 10 p.m. | Work underway since May 4 |
| Oct 31 to Nov 1 | Plumb and Abercrombie shows open; Cursed Images closes | Northbound outside lane closed, Barcelona to Acacia, through fall | |
| Nov 13 | Parked for the Season opens; Master Gardener tour, 11 a.m. | Weekly closures per FDOT | |
| Nov 14 | Sculpture in Motion, 10th anniversary | Weekly closures per FDOT | |
| Dec 2 | Fragile Giants opens | Weekly closures per FDOT | |
| Dec 5 to 6 | ArtBeat 2026; Prix Pictet Storm opens; Art & Independence closes | Weekly closures per FDOT | |
| Dec 11 to 13 | Master Gardener tour; Allyson Briggs quartet | Completion listed for early 2027 |
November 14 Is Planned Around Flagler Drive
The biggest single day of the season belongs to the Sculpture Gardens, and its logistics run along the waterfront side of the neighborhood. The 10th Anniversary Sculpture in Motion is on Saturday, November 14. The schedule:
- Community exhibition, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- America's 250 tribute, 3 p.m.
- Grand Tour Parade of Cars, 4:15 p.m.
The Gardens list parking at Palm Beach Day Academy, 1901 S. Flagler Drive, and at Family Church, 1101 S. Flagler Drive, from noon to 4 p.m., with shuttle service to the Gardens. Both lots are on Flagler. The parade crosses the bridge, tours Palm Beach and ends at the Flagler Museum. Owners who want to drive in the parade can register by email through the event page, which also links a map of the 2026 route.
The cars arrive a day early in a different form. Nick Mele Photography: Parked for the Season is a photo series of vintage cars with Palm Beach themes, and it opens at the Gardens on November 13. It runs through January 10, 2027, so the parade weekend gets a gallery show to go with it.
December Puts Both Ends Back on the Same Weekend
The two calendars line up again in early December. The Sculpture Gardens open Michel Bassompierre: Fragile Giants on December 2, listed through June 30, 2027. Three days later, the Norton holds ArtBeat 2026 on December 5 from 7 to 10 p.m., with contemporary art, music, food and cocktails and tickets from $150. Prix Pictet Storm opens the same day and runs through April 18, 2027. Art & Independence: America at 250 closes the next day, December 6.
The Gardens finish the month with a December 11 Master Gardener tour and a performance by the Allyson Briggs quartet on Sunday, December 13, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Flagler Drive has its own construction through the same weeks. The City's October 15 road and dock bulletin lists the South Flagler House project through December 2026. The southbound lane along the project frontage is closed, the frontage sidewalk is closed, and Currie Crescent is closed east of South Olive Avenue. The bulletin gives no more specific end date than December.
That leaves the December weekends with work on both Dixie and Flagler. A two-museum Saturday pairing Fragile Giants on Barcelona Road with Prix Pictet Storm on Dixie runs through both. FDOT's weekly Palm Beach County traffic report and the City's weekly road and dock bulletin are where those closures get updated.
If you're planning a winter of openings at both Nortons and also thinking about how the finished Dixie corridor, with its new crosswalk and lighting, will change daily life on your block, we're happy to talk it through. Jefferson Kiely follows El Cid's streets and calendars closely. Let's Connect.