Picasso on Sample Road: Making an Evening of Coral Springs' New Downtown Museum Before the Prints Leave

The door faces Sample Road. It sits on the ground floor of the Modera apartment building at 3380 N. University Drive, on the corner where Sample meets University. Behind it, 57 original prints by Pablo Picasso hang on movable gallery walls. They date from 1923 to 1972 and include etchings, lithographs and linocuts, plus a cancelled copper printing plate. Admission is free. On your way out, the front desk will validate your parking ticket.

That validation is the reason the Coral Springs Museum of Art's move downtown changes more than the museum's address. The gallery now shares a block with Mitch's Downtown, Tacocraft, How Ya Doughn' and Let's Chill. That makes it a free first stop on a Friday night, and it fits the same parking rules as dinner. Picasso leaves on Saturday, Dec. 5, so the Saturdays left are Nov. 7, 14, 21 and 28, plus closing day itself.

What moved, and what is on the walls

The museum has been part of Coral Springs for nearly 30 years. In 2019 the City Commission took on the role of its board, and that change brought in free admission. The new downtown gallery has more than 5,000 square feet of exhibition space, a design that faces the street, walls that can be reconfigured for rotating shows, a retail store, a coffee station and a Creative Studio. Classes have not all moved downtown. The museum's Creative Studios remain on the second floor of the Coral Springs Center for the Arts at 2855 Coral Springs Drive.

The space opened to the public on Oct. 9 and 10. Coral Springs Talk reported that nearly 700 visitors came through over the opening days. The city's grand opening announcement included a statement from Commissioner Joshua Simmons, who chairs the museum board. He said the gallery "represents years of vision and investment in arts and culture," and he expects exhibitions like this one to draw more visitors to Downtown Coral Springs.

The Picasso prints are on loan from Timothy Collins of Los Angeles. In its opening-day feature, Gold Coast Wave described the show as a traveling exhibition curated by Eric Mourlot. The outlet also pointed to sequential proofs of Tête de Femme au Chapeau among the works. Sequential proofs show a single image at different stages of the printmaking process. With the cancelled plate on display, you can see some of how the prints were made as well as the finished work. Funding for the show came in part from the Broward County Cultural Division.

Local artist Janet Gold's Cages and Collage hangs in the same gallery. The pre-opening announcements listed it through Dec. 31, but the museum's current exhibition page has extended the run through Jan. 30, 2027. If you miss Picasso, you can still see the Gold show into the new year.

Gallery hours shape the evening

The gallery stays open later than most museums, and that is why it pairs so easily with dinner. Here is the weekly schedule from the museum's Plan Your Visit page:

Since the gallery is closed on Sundays, Saturday, Dec. 5 is your last chance to see Picasso. Visits are self-guided. The front desk staff can answer questions about the artists and the works on view. Docent tours are available for groups of 10 or more, Monday through Saturday by reservation. They cost $6 per person with a $60 minimum, and a themed art activity adds $3 per person. A book club or a group of visiting relatives that reaches 10 people qualifies.

The parking ticket is the plan

Parking at Cornerstone has come up often enough that the city has addressed it publicly. TAPinto Coral Springs reported on Oct. 21 that questions about parking had surfaced repeatedly on social media and at political events. The city responded with a social media post explaining the rules, and it said it is working with Mill Creek, which owns the property, to make parking easier.

The rules, as the city's Modera/Cornerstone page lists them:

• Parking in the Modera garages on Main Street is free for the first three hours with validation from any downtown business.
• A second validation from another business adds three more free hours. The city's example is dinner at one restaurant followed by dessert at another.
• Without validation, parking costs $2 per hour.
• The City Hall Garage is always free, but overnight parking is not allowed.

The museum also tells visitors to use the ground level of the Modera building lot, entering from Sample Road, and to bring the ticket to the front desk for validation. The museum counts as a downtown business, so its validation works like any other. An evening that starts at the gallery and ends at Let's Chill can use two validations, giving you six free hours. That is more time than most dinners need, so you can take your time with the prints.

The City Hall Garage requires no tickets at all. The museum describes it as a short walk from the gallery entrance.

Where the evening goes after the gallery

The city lists these businesses as open at Cornerstone: Mitch's Downtown, How Ya Doughn', Tacocraft, Let's Chill Homemade Ice Cream, Gary Rack's Farmhouse Kitchen, Paris Baguette, Maha Juice Bar and Tremble Fitness.

Let's Chill has only just arrived on the block. Coral Springs News reported that owners Ricardo and Cristina Braga served their last customers at 9739 W. Sample Road on Aug. 30 and reopened at 3342 University Drive, inside the Cornerstone development. That makes the ice cream shop and the gallery neighbors, and it puts dessert one validation away from the Picasso prints.

Four more businesses are listed as coming soon: Big Whiskey's American Restaurant and Bar, Copenhagen Corner Wine Bar, Hausmash and Pilar Coffee. Coral Springs News described Hausmash as a retro smash-burger diner planned for the Cornerstone property, and no opening date had been announced in its September report. Check each business's own channels before planning around any of the four.

Free and low-cost dates through December

The gallery also has a program calendar, and several dates fall before Picasso leaves. All are from the museum's event listings:

• Saturday, Nov. 7, 2 to 3 p.m., Downtown Studio: ARTventures, a free family program that pairs a tour of the current exhibitions with an art activity. It repeats on Saturday, Dec. 12.
• Saturday, Nov. 7, 5 to 7 p.m., Creative Studios: Clay Dates, a beginner ceramics session, $40 general or $35 for members. It repeats on Dec. 5.
• Thursday, Nov. 12, 6 to 8:30 p.m., Downtown Studio: No Wrong Answers: Exercises in Creativity, a $65 workshop led by Janet Gold.
• Saturday, Nov. 14, 2 to 3 p.m., Downtown Studio: Art Spectrum, a free sensory-informed family program. RSVP is strongly encouraged. It repeats on Dec. 5.
• Wednesdays through Dec. 30, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., Creative Studios: Parent 'N Me Creative Labs for ages 1 to 4 with an adult, $15 general or $10 for members per pair.
• Nov. 23 to 25, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Creative Studios: One Day Camps for ages 6 to 10, $60 for nonmembers or $55 for members, with more sessions Dec. 21 to 23 and Dec. 28 to 30.

Parent 'N Me, Clay Dates and the camps meet at the Creative Studios on Coral Springs Drive. The others are downtown, so check the location on any event page before you park.

Closing day is Light Up the Lawn

Saturday, Dec. 5 is busy downtown. It is the last day for the Picasso prints. Gelli Printmaking runs at the Downtown Studio from noon to 2 p.m. for $45 for members or $50 for nonmembers. Art Spectrum follows from 2 to 3 p.m. That evening, the city holds Light Up the Lawn on the City Hall Lawn at 9500 W. Sample Road from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. The free event includes a tree lighting and a snow zone, and the train rides are limited to Coral Springs residents.

The museum is open until 8 that night, so you can see Picasso one last time and still walk over for the tree lighting. With a museum workshop, a family program and the city's tree lighting all downtown that day, an earlier weeknight visit leaves more room to take your time with the prints.

After Picasso leaves, the gallery has more evening events in December. Jazz in the Galleries is on Friday, Dec. 11, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., at $20 general or $15 for members. On Friday, Dec. 18, a free opening reception for artist Luke Jenkins runs from 6 to 9 p.m., with no registration required. Through Dec. 31, the city's Downtown in December keeps the City Hall Lawn tree lit every night at no cost.

The House & Key Collective is based in Coral Springs, and we love seeing downtown add places like this gallery. If you're hosting family this season and want suggestions for an evening downtown, or if you have questions about your own next chapter here, The House & Key Collective would be glad to help. Contact Us.