Flickriver

Veterans Park Waterfalls, 1036 Royal Palm Beach Blvd, Royal Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Royal Palm Beach is a village in southeast Florida, located within Palm Beach County. The population was measured at 34,140 in the 2010 census. Despite its name, the village is located approximately fifteen miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean.

Royal Palm Beach is known for its many parks and general mission to protect green space, as evidenced by the recent acquisition of 190 acres (0.77 km2) to create a master central park and the development of 25 acres (100,000 m2) preserved into a passive bird watching and nature park. The village offers a variety of activities for the outdoor and sports enthusiast including soccer, basketball, tennis, Pop Warner youth football and cheerleading, senior activities, and year-round golf programs. The public schools within the Village consist of "A"-rated elementary and middle schools and there are numerous private schools offering classes from pre-kindergarten through high school.

Incorporated on June 18, 1959, Royal Palm Beach has grown from a primarily uninhabited swamp and natural preserve and former Seminole hunting ground into a thriving village of nearly 25,000 residents.

It was not until the 1950s, when Philadelphia supermarket magnates Sam and Hattie Friedland purchased 65,000 acres (260 km2) for approximately $1.25 million in what is now the Royal Palm Beach village and Acreage areas, that the natural wilderness landed on national fastest growing community lists (in its size category) in the 1980s. The Friedlands subsequently sold their land to Miami developer Arthur Desser, founder of Lefcourt Realty Group. About 4,200 acres (17 km2) were earmarked for Desser's Royal Palm Beach development.

It was Desser's vision that spurred the initial development of the Village of Royal Palm Beach. A massive drainage project ensued and in 1959, the state legislature granted a charter which named the development Royal Palm Beach.

According to a former Lefcourt engineer now living in Wellington, Desser wanted the name "Palm Beach" to be included in the new community's name, so it was decided that since Desser also liked the stately royal palms of Palm Beach, he would dub his development "Royal Palm Beach."

On June 30, 1959, with Seminole tribe officials on hand for the festivities (and to renounce all former claims to the land), a groundbreaking ceremony was held. Engineering began for the village's myriad waterways and a basic system of roads. A sales/recreational center was built with a motel facility in the area now occupied by the Royal Inn and two bedroom, one-bath model homes were erected starting at $8,250.

Village government — initially in the form of a developer-appointed council — later became popularly elected in 1964. Not until 1977 did the Village Council find a permanent home in the present Village Hall complex. To date, there have been 15 mayors who have served the village — some as single-term and part-term mayors — others, like Sam Lamstein (1982–1990), formal County Commissioner Tony Masilotti (1992–1998), and current Mayor David Lodwick (since 1998) have won voter approval for multi-terms.

Arthur Desser's dream of a "nouveau" Palm Beach were short-lived, however, with the bankruptcy of Lefcourt in 1961. His interest was bought out by Friedland who then established Royal Palm Beach Colony Inc. to continue village development. A grocery store magnate with no experience in the housing market, Friedland nonetheless was a savvy businessman who put together a team of professionals who set up a comprehensive land sales/development/building enterprise. With the late Herbert Kaplan as RPB Colony CEO, the company and the town grew slowly from 1960-67 — first in the original "Colony" section of floral-named streets east and west of the southern end of Royal Palm Beach Blvd., and then expanded with vigor into the Willows and LaMancha subdivisions (east of RPB Blvd.).

A marketing push began in 1979 to offer to builders tracts of land. With this growth phase the Village ballooned over the next 15 years. In 1983, Crestwood Middle School opened as the first community school followed in 1985 and 1989, respectively, by H.L. Johnson and Cypress Trails Elementary schools. Royal Palm Beach High School opened its doors to 1,100 students in 1997. Schools in the western communities continue to open in rapid succession — often with student bodies at or near capacity the first year. The 2002-2003 school year included the opening of the village's third elementary school on Okeechobee Blvd., just west of the Madison Green residential development.

In 1986, both Palms West Hospital and Wellington Regional Medical Center opened with 117 and 120 beds, respectively, and both are continuing with major expansion projects to meet the health care needs of local residents. With the hospitals came a building boom of medical office complexes on the campuses of both hospitals, as well as a Royal Palm Beach health center built by West Palm Beach's Good Samaritan Medical Center.

Since 1990, Royal Palm Beach has been named as a Tree City USA. Its entire area is designated as a bird sanctuary.

Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Palm_Beach,_Florida

Taken in: United States / Florida / Golden Lakes (show map)

Taken on: February 10, 2021

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Veterans Park

waterfalls

Royal Palm Beach

Florida

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rocks

recreation

Palm Beach County

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Village of Royal Palm Beach

southeast Florida

village of nearly 25

000 residents

Arthur Desser

Lefcourt Realty Group

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