City of West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida, USA

The area that was to become West Palm Beach was settled in the late 1870s and 1880s by a few hundred settlers who called the vicinity "Lake Worth Country." These settlers were a diverse community from different parts of the United States and the world. They included founding families such at the Potters and the Lainharts, who would go on to become leading members of the business community in the fledgling city. The first white settlers in Palm Beach County lived around Lake Worth, then an enclosed freshwater lake, named for Colonel William Jenkins Worth, who had fought in the Second Seminole War in Florida in 1842. Most settlers engaged in the growing of tropical fruits and vegetables for shipment the north via Lake Worth and the Indian River. By 1890, the U.S. Census counted over 200 people settled along Lake Worth in the vicinity of what would become West Palm Beach. The area at this time also boasted a hotel, the "Cocoanut House", a church, and a post office. The city was platted by Henry Flagler as a community to house the servants working in the two grand hotels on the neighboring island of Palm Beach, across Lake Worth in 1893, coinciding with the arrival of the Florida East Coast railroad. Flagler paid two area settlers, Captain Porter and Louie Hillhouse, a combined sum of $45,000 for the original town site, stretching from Clear Lake to Lake Worth.

On November 5, 1894, 78 people met at the "Calaboose" (the first jail and police station located at Clematis St. and Poinsettia, now Dixie Hwy.) and passed the motion to incorporate the Town of West Palm Beach in what was then Dade County (now Miami-Dade County). This made West Palm Beach the first incorporated municipality in Dade County and in South Florida. The town council quickly addressed the building codes and the tents and shanties were replaced by brick, brick veneer, and stone buildings. The city grew steadily during the 1890s and the first two decades of the 20th century, most residents were engaged in the tourist industry and related services or winter vegetable market and tropical fruit trade. In 1909, Palm Beach County was formed by the Florida State Legislature and West Palm Beach became the county seat. In 1916, a new neo-classical courthouse was opened, which has been painstakingly restored back to its original condition, and is now used as the local history museum.

The city grew rapidly in the 1920s as part of the Florida land boom. The population of West Palm Beach quadrupled from 1920 to 1927, and all kinds of businesses and public services grew along with it. Many of the city's landmark structures and preserved neighborhoods were constructed during this period. Originally, Flagler intended for his Florida East Coast Railway to have its terminus in West Palm, but after the area experienced a deep freeze, he chose to extend the railroad to Miami instead.

The land boom was already faltering when city was devastated by the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. The Depression years of the 1930s were a quiet time for the area, which saw slight population growth and property values lower than during the 1920s. The city only recovered with the onset of World War II, which saw the construction of Palm Beach Air Force Base, which brought thousands of military personnel to the city. The base was vital to the allied war effort, as it provided an excellent training facility and had unparalleled access to North Africa for a North American city. Also during World War II, German U-Boats sank dozens of merchant ships and oil tankers just off the coast of West Palm Beach. Nearby Palm Beach was under black out conditions to minimize night visibility to German U-boats.

The 1950s saw another boom in population, partly due to the return of many soldiers and airmen who had served in the vicinity during the war. Also, the advent of air conditioning encouraged growth, as year-round living in a tropical climate became more acceptable to northerners. West Palm Beach became the one of the nation's fastest growing metropolitan areas during the 1950s; the city's borders spread west of Military Trail and south to Lake Clarke Shores. However, many of the city's residents still lived within a narrow six-block wide strip from the south to north end. The neighborhoods were strictly segregated between White and African-American populations, a legacy that the city still struggles with today. The primary shopping district remained downtown, centered around Clematis Street.

In the 1960s, Palm Beach County's first enclosed shopping mall, the Palm Beach Mall, and an indoor arena were completed. These projects led to a brief revival for the city, but in the 1970s and 1980s crime continued to be a serious issue and suburban sprawl continued to drain resources and business away from the old downtown area. By the early 1990s there were very high vacancy rates downtown, and serious levels of urban blight.

Since the 1990s, developments such as CityPlace and the preservation and renovation of 1920s architecture in the nightlife hub of Clematis Street have seen a downtown resurgence in the entertainment and shopping district. The city has also placed emphasis on neighborhood development and revitalization, in historic districts such as Northwood, Flamingo Park, and El Cid. Some neighborhoods still struggle with blight and crime, as well as lowered property values caused by the Great Recession, which hit the region particularly hard. Since the recovery, multiple new developments have been completed. The Palm Beach Mall, located at the Interstate 95/Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard interchange became abandoned as downtown revitalized - the very mall that initiated the original abandonment of the downtown. The mall was then redeveloped into the Palm Beach Fashion Outlets in February 2014. A station for All Aboard Florida, a high-speed passenger rail service serving Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando, is under construction as of July 2015.

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

Taken in: United States / Florida / West Palm Beach (show map)

Taken on: March 3, 2024

Tags:

One West Palm

Flagler Memorial Bridge

West Palm Beach

Palm Beach County

city

cityscape

urban

downtown

skyline

South Florida

central business district

skyscraper

building

architecture

commercial property

cosmopolitan

metro

metropolitan

metropolis

Sunshine State

real estate

high-rise

City of West Palm Beach

street photography

urban zone

blue hour « less

Sets appears in: • Urban Florida VI • City of West Palm Beach & Town of Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Groups appears in: • * CityScapes & City Life • Florida more » • South Florida • Southern Exposure • Downtown • Your Favorite Photos - Unlimited! • The Blue Hour (please read rules) • On the waterfront • Photography Corner • Southern Living • Flickr USA • West Palm Beach Photography • ! * Urban LIFE in Metropolis //// • The Urban Waterfront • Your photo goes here! no 30/60 • Southern Culture • Florida, USA • my city • South Florida Photographers • Arquitectura Urbana • .Southern Photographers - Southern Images • City Pulse • Southern Views • Dramatic URBAN Vistas! (Urban Landscape Photography) • MY FLORIDA • Florida Vaction • Southern Life • I bring my camera everywhere (no 30/60 limit) • South Florida Photography • North America, North to South, East to West • *Blue Metropolis* [Urban Photography] • Florida Locals • [Noctography] • Historic Florida • " MASTER CLASS PHOTOGRAPHY " • The Florida Photographer • Structures of the South • "Unlimited Photos: No Rules" • Photography in Florida • I am flickr! - No 30/60 Limit • City Urban Style • Cityscape and urban scenery • Downtown Living • The Southeast • Florida - HDR • ***City Night Lights*** - - Luces de la ciudad nocturna - - • Florida Explorers • Strictly GeoTagged (no 30/60 limit) • Turismo por todo el mundo • PLANET EARTH ARCHITECTURE • The Blue Hour • Southern Photographers • South Florida Night • Waterfront for All • Architektur und außergewöhnliche Dinge . Artes + Architecture • archiCentral - Architecture & Urban Design • Florida Bridges • Architecture & Urban • South Florida Foto Friends! • Geotagged: Florida • Geo-Tagging the Planet one Photo at a Time • Fotografia Urbana // Urban Photography ... tu gente tu ciudad !! • Blue Hour Group • Florida Travels • West Palm Beach Waterfront • Palm Beach County: East to West • *****WORLDARCHITECTURE!***** • Light Creations • Urban Color • Urban Views • Blue Hour Photography • Real Estate In Florida • FloridaPast • Florida Photo Adventures • Florida - The Sunshine State • FLORIDA • My Florida Page • Florida Landscapes • *Latidos de Ciudad * City Beats * • My time behind the lens No 30/60 limits • TOURISM magazine • Photo's passion of the world • Florida Architecture • Dusk / Blue hour • Today's Flickr • Colours of Flickr • Florida Days & Nights • Architecture of Beautiful Towns and Cities • World Street Photography! Full Color and Monochrome. • Group for all users of FLICKR - No 30/60 Groups Limit • Florida's Cityscapes & Rural Areas • Boats, Yachts And Ships (No 30/60 Groups Rule) • Downtown in Towns of all Sizes • The Sunshine State • Skylines and Downtowns • City, Urban & Engineering Images • City of West Palm Beach & Town of Palm Beach, Florida, USA • !*All Around The World*! • All great photos - No 30/60 • Free our Flickr - No 30/60 • !* THE NEW SOUTH ✧ Please, ONLY QUALITY IMAGES!✧ • USA - United States (No 30/60 limit) • FLICKR INTERNATIONAL - No 30/60 Groups Limit • USA - Pictures (No 30/60 limit) • Beautiful Day or Night No 30/60 - No SL • ~Attention Worthy - No 30/60 Limit • No limit - No 30/60 • Buildings are beautiful - no 30/60 limit • TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY (no 30/60 rule) • Architecture and Morality • Flickr (No 30/60 Group Limit) • Urban blue hour & golden hour • No 30/60 Flickr - no SL • Todos los momentos no 30/60 • NO 30/60 Family safe only • Urban travellers • Flickr Addicts Two • Nice Places to Visit - No 30/60 Limit - Photos & Videos Welcome. • Post Anything You Like. No 30/60 • Pon color a tu vida (no blanco y negro) • Noche en la ciudad • The Map Group • All Your Photos and Mine (No 30/60 limit - Photos from anywhere) • BUILDINGS AND BRIDGES AROUND THE WORLD • Fotografías nocturnas (no ocasos) • ! ΙΙ TOURISM magazine ! • Fans of Flickr • all photos of whatever no 30/60 « less

Stats: 2,304 views / 4 comments