Expert Local Information for Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and Delray Beach, Florida Provided by Christine Adler

Boca Raton

An elegant art deco city with palm trees, fine architecture, white sand beaches, beautiful parks and world-class arts and culture, Boca Raton is large enough to support major businesses, good schools, and sophisticated entertainment venues while remaining small enough to maintain its distinctive character and charm.

The city has over 40 parks and nature preserves and over 30 golf courses, many of them championship level. Its beaches are clean and well kept, and Boca Raton's balmy subtropical climate means that residents get to spend a great deal of time enjoying the outdoors. With top soccer, good recreational facilities, and a full range of watersports year round, there is plenty to do in the Baca Raton area.

Careful redevelopment has maintained the elegant character of Boca Raton's downtown. The original Town Hall and Railway Station have been restored and opened to the public. Many fine deco homes can be found in older parts of the city, and newer developments tend to be visually sensitive to this distinctive architectural heritage.

Facilities like the Boca Raton Museum of Art, the excellent Children's Museum and the spectacular Morikami Museum and Gardens enrich the cultural life of the city's residents. There is always plenty to see - whether a performance at the Boca Raton Ballet, a Broadway hit at the Caldwell Theatre Company or a pops concert by the Greater Palm Beach Symphony. Youths try out for Palm Beach County's Youth Symphony Orchestra based in Boca Raton, and there is a superb Science Exploritorium where children discover the mysteries of science.

There are plenty of good places to shop in Boca Raton, from classy downtown stores to well known chains and malls further inland. Downtown's Mizner Park pays tribute to the town's original architect with top restaurants and one-of-a-kind boutiques housed in a square around the pretty park. Art and performance events are often held in the gazebo here, and the refreshing ocean breeze makes it a lovely spot to enjoy the sunshine with a gelato in hand. Restaurants are diverse enough to satisfy any desire, from casual beachfront dining to elegant silver service; spicy Cajun to family run Italian.

All in all, Boca Raton is a great place to live, work, and play.

LOCATION

Beautiful Boca Raton is on the Atlantic seacoast in Southern Florida's Palm Beach County, about 50 miles north of Miami.

Highway 1 passes through Boca Raton on its way up and down the coast through all the pretty seafront towns, and I-95 runs parallel, about 3 miles inland from downtown. Both run south to Fort Lauderdale, Miami and beyond and north to West Palm Beach, Melbourne and beyond.

Route 869 runs north/south about 7 miles west of Boca Raton, journeying northwest to Orlando and south to Miami. Highway 441 (about 10 miles west of downtown Boca Raton) journeys north to Greenacres before turning inland and traveling west to the shores of Lake Okeechobee (about 60 miles from Boca Raton). Highway 441 south leads to Fort Lauderdale. I-75 west from Fort Lauderdale journeys across the state to Florida's Pacific seacoast at Naples.

Delray Beach is about 8 miles from Boca Raton and Boynton Beach is about 14; both towns are north of the city on Highway 1. Fort Lauderdale is 20 miles south and Miami a further 30 miles beyond.

TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS

Residents of Boca Raton have easy access to three airports: the Boca Raton Regional Airport, Palm Beach International Airport, and Fort Lauderdale International. Conde Naste Traveler Magazine voted Palm Beach the third best airport in the nation in 2003 and it is known for the helpful services it provides, like "ambassadors" in stylish teal jackets who are there to assist travelers. Airlines fly to cities across the nation and to key centers in South America, Europe, the British Isles, and Japan.

Fort Lauderdale International is another excellent facility with international flights to Canada, South America, and the Caribbean. This airport offers flights to a far greater range of South American cities than Palm Beach International.

South Florida's Tri Rail commuter rail system connects Miami with Boca Raton, Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach County runs an excellent bus service in the region, with routes within Boca Raton as well as routes that connect it to Palm Beach and the surrounding area.

BRIEF HISTORY

Home to the Calusa Indian people for centuries, the Boca Raton area was claimed for Spain by Ponce de Leon in the early seventeen-hundreds. The Calusas defended their homelands fiercely and effectively, but most eventually succumbed to European diseases, and the last known members of the tribe had died by the late seventeen-hundreds.

The land passed from Spain to England but remained largely free of European interference until the eighteen-nineties, when it was settled by outsiders for the first time. Until then, Seminole Indian bands occupied the coast and Boca Raton area (which was mapped and named in the eighteen-thirties). The first outsider to settle Boca Raton was Thomas Moore Rickards, a civil engineer, who cleared land and built a house in 1895.

The arrival of the Florida East Coast Railway the following year bought neighbors for Rickards, recruited by Flagler, the railway owner, to clear the land and plant orange, pineapple, and vegetable crops. Flager planned to use his trains to transport crops north to the cities, and manufactured goods south for the pioneers to buy.

Most of the early pioneers came from North and South Carolina and nearby states. They hunted for local deer, rabbit, and fish, and ate the fruits of the native palmetto, guava, cocoplum and sea grape trees. They traded with the Seminole for additional foods and worked hard on the land.

Slowly the settlement of Boca Raton grew. Rickards opened a general story and another settler opened a grocery in nearby Delray Beach. Flager attracted pioneers from Japan through businessman Joseph Sakai and Rickards trained them in growing pineapple. A blight destroyed their early crop, and freezes and infestations foiled the efforts of the other farmers. Eventually Rickards and his family gave up and returned to North Carolina, and many Japanese went elsewhere. One Japanese truck driver, George Morikami, bought up a lot of land from departing families and donated it to the city before his death. Today this is the site of the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens at Delray Beach.

By the early nineteen-twenties, Boca Raton was a small and sleepy farming center. Incorporation came in 1925, at the height of the Florida land boom. Zoning allowed for development and a group of investors bought up a great deal of oceanfront property with this aim in mind. Society architect Addison Mizner was to design homes and an elegant hotel for holiday makers.

Mizner set out to transform Boca Raton into a playground for the rich and famous, many of whom were his friends. He built twenty-nine beautiful homes in Floresta, now an historic area next to the Boca Raton Museum of Art; and about twelve smaller ones in Spanish Village, north of Singing Pines and the Children's Museum. The elegant Mediterranean Revival Cloister Inn opened its doors in early 1926; today it is the superbly maintained Boca Raton Resort & Club.

Mizner and company went bankrupt and the Great Depression put an end to any further development until World War II, when fear of the German submarine threat lead to 20,000 army personnel being posted in Boca Raton; they were housed in what was to become the Florida Atlantic University. Locals continued to live off agricultural production, selling green beans and other winter crops to northern cities.

The post-war years have seen a tremendous upsurge in interest in Boca Raton. Young families were attracted to the gorgeous subtropical climate and surroundings and businesses began to relocate here in the mid-sixties, led by IBM and the Florida Atlantic University.

ABOUT EDUCATION

The School District of Palm Beach County administers Boca Raton's seven elementary, four middle, and three high, public schools. This top district was rated third best in the United States in comparison to others with over 100,000 students, by the national business journal Expansion Management.

There are several good private schools in Boca Raton as well, including a Montessori school, a Jewish school, several Christian schools, and a preparatory academy.

Boca Raton has several good universities and colleges, including Barry University, Lynn University, Florida Atlantic University, and the renowned Harid Conservatory dance school.

Boynton Beach

Boynton Beach is one of the fastest growing places in Palm Beach County, which is itself experiencing unprecedented growth. Gorgeous white sand beaches, lovely tropical weather, and affordable and attractive real estate developments are drawing families and retirees alike to Boynton Beach. From sunning on the beach to sport fishing the Gulfstream, there is plenty to do out-of-doors. Golfing is first rate and the Congress Avenue Tennis Center is state-of-the-art.

Thanks to its central location between West Palm Beach and Boca Raton, Boynton Beach is close to the superb cultural life in the wider region, including opera, symphony and philharmonic orchestras, and dance companies. Within the city itself there are several good cultural facilities, including the Schoolhouse Children's museum, which has well designed exhibits on local history. Street festivals, open air concerts and other cultural events keep people enjoying their community.

Shopping is diverse in Boynton Beach, which has a mall anchored by Dillard's, Macy's, Burdines, Sears and JC Penney, and several lovely shopping areas with specialty stores, cafes, and galleries. Restaurants usually have outdoor seating and there is a cuisine and dining experience to suit every taste and pocketbook. As would be expected, seafood is, of course, a specialty.

Healthcare is excellent in Palm Beach County, which has a large over-55 population, and one of its two trauma centers is located at the Delray Medical Center, which is renowned for the excellence of its treatment.

If you're looking for an active outdoor lifestyle in a friendly community oriented town, we know you'll love Boynton Beach.

LOCATION

Boynton Beach is on the Atlantic seacoast in Southern Florida's Palm Beach County, about 60 miles north of Miami and 14 miles north of Boca Raton.

Several key highways and interstates pass through Boynton Beach, making it highly accessible to surrounding towns and most of Florida's major cities. Highway 1 travels through on its way along the Atlantic Coast, going south to Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami, and north to Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, and beyond. I-95 runs parallel to Highway 1, but slightly inland and also journeys south to Miami.

The Florida Turnpike (Route 869) runs north/south about 7 miles west of downtown Boynton Beach, journeying northwest to Orlando and south to Miami. Highway 441 meets Highway 98 just north of Boynton Beach at Greenacres; Highway 98 journeys west to the shores of Lake Okeechobee (about 50 miles from Boynton Beach). Highway 441 south leads to Fort Lauderdale. I-75 west from Fort Lauderdale journeys across the state to Florida's Pacific seacoast at Naples.

Delray Beach is about 6 miles south of Boynton Beach on Highway 1, and Boca Raton is a further 8. Fort Lauderdale is about 40 miles south.

TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS

Palm Beach International Airport is about 10 miles north of Boynton Beach in West Palm Beach, and the Fort Lauderdale International Airport is about 35 miles south. Palm Beach International has a full schedule of flights to cities across the United States as well as flights to Brazil, Europe, the British Isles, and Japan. Fort Lauderdale International offers flights to Canada, South America, and the Caribbean, as well as to national centers.

The City of Boynton Beach runs $1 round-trip transport to and from the senior center, the schools and the after school program facilities, and around the city's primary shopping areas. Palm Beach County runs a bus service in the region. South Florida's Tri Rail commuter rail system connects Palm Beach with Miami, passing through Boynton Beach, Boca Raton, and Fort Lauderdale along the way.

BRIEF HISTORY

Boynton Beach was established in 1894 by Major Nathan S. Boynton, who settled land and began farming it. Two years later Flager's Florida East Railroad came through on its way from Boca Raton to West Palm Beach, and more settlers began to arrive to farm the rich subtropical soil. Pineapples, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables were shipped north and manufactured goods returned south to the waiting pioneering farmers.

The early entrepreneurs hoped that holidaymakers would come to the pretty oceanfront settlement, and construction of the Boynton Beach Hotel was begun in 1895. The first boatload of holidaymakers arrived the following year; from then on they would mostly come by train.

By the turn of the century Boynton was a small agricultural center with a school, and was known across the country as a primary supplier of tomatoes and pineapples. Electricity and water treatment came in the early nineteen-twenties and the telephone came at the close of the decade.

By 1950 Boynton Beach had a population of 2,500; this remained fairly steady until the nineteen-seventies when the interstate was widened to pass through the settlement, which opened it up to commuters. In 1979, Motorola lead the way for future business development by establishing its pager division headquarters on Congress Avenue, and by the year 2000 the population had swelled to about 55,500.

ABOUT EDUCATION

Boynton Beach schools are administered by the School District of Palm Beach County which was rated third in the United States for its size group.

The Saint Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary is in Boynton Beach, and there are a wide range of universities and colleges nearby, thanks to the town's central location. The Palm Beach Community College is about 7 miles away in Lake Worth, and Palm Beach Atlantic College-West Palm Beach is about 10 miles away in West Palm Beach. Boca Raton has Florida Atlantic University, Barry University, Lynn University and the well known Harid Conservatory dance school.

Delray Beach

Over two miles of clean, warm, white sand beach stands between Delray Beach and the sparkling blue Atlantic Ocean, which is one of reasons that this resort town is one of the nicest in the country. The only city in Florida to receive the prestigious All-America City designation by the National Civic League twice, Delray Beach has superb recreational facilities, world-class shopping, lovely deco architecture, and top cultural and entertainment attractions.

Life is to be lived, and in Delray Beach, that is just what people do. A subtropical climate means that residents and visitors alike can make maximal advantage of the beach, sunbathing, swimming, playing volleyball, and generally getting their priorities right. Parks are well planned; Pompey Park has a million dollar pool complex, and Miller Park has baseball diamonds and soccer and other sports fields. Bicycles may be rented downtown.

The Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is located just off Highway 441 between Delray and Boynton, and can be toured by airboat.

Museums include the Cornell Museum at the historic Old School Square and the superb Morikami Park and Museum, which pays homage to the region's early settlers from Japan. The yearly Roots Cultural Festival celebrates the town's wider cultural heritage.

The restored Crest Theatre is a state-of-the-art performing arts venue, and it plays host to a wide range of theatre, music, and dance performances, both local and national. The Delray Beach Playhouse and the Pottery Playhouse are two community theaters that continue to amuse, challenge, and entertain audiences.

The arts play a vital part in the life of Delray Beach. The Old School Square Cultural Arts Center in the old Delray Beach High School is a multi-million dollar facility on beautifully landscaped grounds, featuring a museum, a theater, and an outdoor entertainment pavilion. On the National Register of Historic Places, the center is a gathering place for the entire community. Right next to the arts center, an artist's colony is emerging, dubbed "Pineapple Grove" by residents and full of local sculpture. Art galleries and artists studios abound, and bring life to the heart of downtown Delray. The Women in the Visual Arts Gallery supports local women artists and runs classes and workshops, and the innovative Palm Beach Photographic Centre is well known for its superb workshops in photography and digital imaging, which are attended by photographers, graphic designers, photojournalists, filmmakers, desktop publishers, architects, and advertising professionals from across America.

There are plenty of places to eat and to shop in Delray Beach. Most restaurants have outdoor tables and dining tends to be informal in this holiday town; all cuisines imaginable are represented. Shopping is varied; from the charming downtown to the ABC Carpet and Home outlets, there is something for every need. The Ocean City Lumber Company in the historic Pineapple Grove district of downtown Delray Beach has art galleries, designer clothing stores, and hip cafes, and Blood's Hammock Groves is still thriving since its inception in the nineteen-forties as a great place to buy citrus, flowers and plants, fresh herbs, and beautiful handmade plant pots.

The city has designated several neighborhoods as historic districts and residents are encouraged to preserve their historic homes. Over ninety percent of local businesses are small and people cooperate to keep the economic climate supportive, making Delray Beach a friendly place to live and work.

LOCATION

Delray Beach nestles the Atlantic shore about 8 miles north of Boca Raton in Southern Florida's balmy Palm Beach County.

Three primary routes pass through Delray Beach, connecting it to surrounding towns and most of Florida's major cities. Highway 1 hugs the coast and journeys south to Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami, and north to Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, and beyond. I-95 runs parallel to Highway 1 on the inland side, and also travels south to Miami and north to West Palm Beach and Melbourne.

About 8 miles inland from downtown Delray Beach, the Florida Turnpike (Route 869) makes its way northwest to Orlando and south to Miami. Highway 441 meets Highway 98 just north of Boynton Beach at Greenacres; Highway 98 journeys west to the shores of Lake Okeechobee (about 56 miles from Delray Beach). Highway 441 south travels to Fort Lauderdale.

Florida's Pacific seacoast is readily accessible; I-75 west from Fort Lauderdale journeys across the state to Naples.

Delray Beach is about 6 miles south of Boynton Beach on Highway 1, and about 30 miles north of Fort Lauderdale. The bright lights of Miami Beach are about 58 miles away.

TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS

Delray Beach is about 15 miles south of Palm Beach International Airport and about 28 miles north of Fort Lauderdale International. Direct flights from Palm Beach International reach cities across the nation, as well as centers in Brazil, Europe, the British Isles, and Japan. Fort Lauderdale International has flights to Canada, South America, and the Caribbean, as well as to cities across America.

Palm Beach County runs a bus service in the area and South Florida's Tri Rail commuter rail system connects Palm Beach with Miami, passing through Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, and Fort Lauderdale along the way.

BRIEF HISTORY

Originally a tropical wilderness on the shores Atlantic and home to the Calusa Indians for centuries, the settlement of Delray Beach was formed in 1894 by a small group of adventurers from Michigan, led by William Linton and David Swinton. These hardworking pioneers tilled the land and grew crops year round, supplementing their diet with fish and seafood.

In 1896 the Florida East Coast Railway came through, giving the farmers an easy means to ship their produce north to the cities. Locals began exporting pineapples, tomatoes, peppers, beans and other fruits and vegetables to the ready markets in the north.

Flager, the railway magnate, attracted pioneers from Japan through businessman Joseph Sakai and by the turn of century a number of Japanese had arrived to grow pineapples. Together they formed the Yamato Colony; visitors can learn about them at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, which was built on lands donated by settler George Morikami.

The small agricultural town was named Delray in 1901, which is Spanish for "of the king", and it continued to grow on a firm agricultural base. Before the Great Depression Delray was a sought after holiday spot; this trend continued after the Second World War. Today Delray Beach has a healthy local economy, based on agriculture and boosted by tourism and the arts.

ABOUT EDUCATION
Delray Beach's public schools are cared for by the School District of Palm Beach County, which was rated third in the United States in comparison to other districts of a similar size by the national business journal Expansion Management.

There are several private schools in Delray Beach and for the most part these are run by Christian denominations.

There are a wide range of good colleges and universities nearby Delray Beach, including Palm Beach Community College, Barry University, Lynn University, Florida Atlantic University, and the renowned Harid Conservatory dance school at Boca Raton (all under 8 miles away). Other options are the Palm Beach Community College (about 12 miles away in Lake Worth), and Palm Beach Atlantic College-West Palm Beach (about 15 miles away in West Palm Beach).

About the Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and Delray Beach, Florida Area

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