West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The population was 117,415 at the 2020 census. West Palm Beach is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6,138,333 people in 2020. It is the oldest incorporated municipality in the South Florida area, incorporated as a city two years before Miami in November 1894. West Palm Beach is located approximately 68 miles (109 km) north of Downtown Miami.
| Name: | West Palm Beach city |
|---|---|
| LSAD Code: | 25 |
| LSAD Description: | city (suffix) |
| State: | Florida |
| County: | Palm Beach County |
| Elevation: | 13 ft (4 m) |
| Land Area: | 53.82 sq mi (139.39 km²) |
| Water Area: | 4.17 sq mi (10.79 km²) |
| Population Density: | 2,181.66/sq mi (842.35/km²) |
| ZIP code: | 33401–33422 |
| Area code: | 561 |
| FIPS code: | 1276600 |
| GNISfeature ID: | 0293097 |
| Website: | http://wpb.org |
Online Interactive Map
West Palm Beach location map. Where is West Palm Beach city?
History
The beginning of the historic period in south Florida is marked by Juan Ponce de León’s first contact with native people in 1513. Europeans found a thriving native population, which they categorized into separate tribes: the Mayaimi in the Lake Okeechobee Basin and the Jaega and Ais people in the East Okeechobee area and on the east coast north of the Tequesta. When the Spanish arrived, there were perhaps about 20,000 Native Americans in south Florida. By 1763, when the English gained control of Florida, the native peoples had all but been wiped out through war, enslavement, or European diseases.
Other native peoples from Alabama and Georgia moved into Florida in the early 18th century. They were of varied ancestry, but Europeans called them all “Creeks.” In Florida, they were known as the Seminole and Miccosukee Indians. The Seminoles clashed with American settlers over land and over escaped slaves who found refuge among them. They resisted the government’s efforts to move them to the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. Between 1818 and 1858, three wars were fought between Seminoles and the United States government. By 1858, there were very few Seminoles remaining in Florida.
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 as 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, which at the time was an enclosed freshwater lake, named after 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 to 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’s 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 blackout 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 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. The West Palm Beach station for Brightline, a high speed passenger rail service serving Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, was opened in 2018.
Timeline
- 1893
- “Town platted on Lake Worth.”
- Florida East Coast Railway begins operating.
- 1894
- West Palm Beach incorporated.
- John S. Earman becomes mayor.
- 1896 – Fire.
- 1900 – Population: 564.
- 1903 – “City of West Palm Beach” established.
- 1905 – Population: 1,280.
- 1907 – Flagler Park established.
- 1908 – Palm Beach Post newspaper begins publication.
- 1909 – West Palm Beach designated seat of newly created Palm Beach County.
- 1912 – Palm Beach County Fair begins.
- 1916 – County courthouse constructed.
- 1917 – Beaux Arts Theatre in business.
- 1919
- Office of city manager created.
- City Hall built.
- 1923 – Kettler Theatre in business.
- 1924 – Public Library building opens.
- 1925 – Seaboard Air Line Railway begins operating; West Palm Beach station opens.
- 1926
- West Palm Beach Canal (to Lake Okeechobee) constructed.
- September: 1926 Miami hurricane occurs.
- 1928 – September: 1928 Okeechobee hurricane occurs.
- 1930 – Population: 26,610.
- 1933 – Palm Beach Junior College opens.
- 1936
- Morrison Field (airport) begins operating.
- WJNO radio begins broadcasting.
- 1937 – Historical Society of Palm Beach County founded.
- 1941 – Norton Museum of Art established.
- 1942
- April 17: City gets “8.35 inches of rain in just two hours.”
- U.S. military Palm Beach Air Force Base begins operating near West Palm Beach.
- 1947 – WIRK radio begins broadcasting.
- 1948
- Palm Beach International Airport active.
- WEAT radio begins broadcasting.
- 1951 – Beach Drive-In cinema in business.
- 1954 – WPTV (television) begins broadcasting.
- 1955 – WEAT-TV (television) begins broadcasting.
- 1961 – Cardinal Newman High School established.
- 1962 – West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium opens.
- 1964 – Palm Beach County Genealogical Society formed.
- 1967 – Palm Beach County Library System established.
- 1967 – Palm Beach Mall opens.
- 1967 – West Palm Beach Auditorium opens (capacity: 5,000). It would later be sold in 1998 to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Inc (Jehovah’s Witnesses) It was renovated and renamed the West Palm Beach Christian Convention Center.
- 1968 – Palm Beach Atlantic College established.
- 1977 – Snow is reported on January 19 at Palm Beach International Airport from 6:10 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
- 1979 – Cross County Mall in business.
- 1980 – Population: 63,305.
- 1985 – Plaza hi-rise built.
- 1991
- Yesteryear Village (museum) opens.
- March 12: Strong mayor referendum succeeds.
- November 19: Nancy M. Graham elected first strong mayor of West Palm Beach.
- 1994 – “County Judicial Complex” built.
- 1997 – West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium closes.
- 1999 – Trump International Golf Club in business.
- 2000
- May: Lake Worth Middle School shooting occurs.
- October 27: CityPlace opens
- December 4: Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board lawsuit decided during the 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida.
- City website online (approximate date).
- 2010 – Population: 99,919.
- 2011 – Jeri Muoio becomes mayor.
- 2014 – Palm Beach Outlets opens on the former site of the Palm Beach Mall which closed in 2010.
- 2017 – Ballpark of the Palm Beaches opens (renamed FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in 2018)
- 2017 – Lois Frankel becomes U.S. representative for Florida’s 21st congressional district.
West Palm Beach Road Map
West Palm Beach city Satellite Map
See also
Map of Florida State and its subdivision:- Alachua
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