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108-611: Boca Raton ( / ˌ b oʊ k ə r ə ˈ t oʊ n / BOH -kə rə- TOHN ; Spanish: Boca Ratón [ˈboka raˈton] ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida , United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. However, many people with a Boca Raton postal address live outside of municipal boundaries, such as in West Boca Raton . As

216-492: A lifestyle center called The Collection at Boca Town Center which will provide shopping, dining, and entertainment. Crocker Partners will build a Restaurant Row near the mall. Boca Raton's eastern coast has two miles of beaches, notably Red Reef Park and South Inlet Park. Red Reef Park has the Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex , an environmental education center. Founded in 1984, Gumbo Limbo

324-477: A business center, the city also experiences significant daytime population increases. Boca Raton is 45 miles (72 km) north of Miami and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area , which had a population of 6,138,333 at the 2020 United States Census . It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924 as "Bocaratone", and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" on May 26, 1925. While the area had been inhabited by

432-596: A category-2 hurricane. With wind gusts in Palm Beach County peaking at 91 mph (146 km/h), the storm inflicted structural damage on about 15,000 houses and 2,400 businesses. Six deaths occurred in the county. Jeanne struck near the same location as a category-3 hurricane on September 26, 2004. The storm also brought strong winds, with an official wind gust of 94 mph (151 km/h). About 4,160 homes were damaged and 60 were destroyed. Jeanne left about $ 260 million in damage in

540-468: A deliberate grounding so as to obtain an insurance payout has been proposed. The coconuts were salvaged, too many to be eaten, and thousands were planted. A lush grove of palm trees soon grew on what was later named Palm Beach. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 2,383 square miles (6,170 km ), of which 1,970 square miles (5,100 km ) are land and 413 square miles (1,070 km ) (17.3%) are covered by water. It

648-577: A pre- Great Depression peak of $ 89 million in 1929. The city's population quadrupled between 1920 and 1927. Early on September 17, 1928, the Okeechobee hurricane made landfall near West Palm Beach as a category-4 storm and crossed Lake Okeechobee shortly thereafter. While the hurricane caused catastrophic impact in eastern portions of the county, the Lake Okeechobee region suffered a much heavier loss of life. Wind-driven storm surge in

756-459: A secret blast shelter was built on Peanut Island during his presidency because escalating Cold War tensions. Hurricane David struck near West Palm Beach late on September 3, 1979, with sustained winds of 100 mph (155 km/h). The storm's winds shattered windows in stores near the coast and caused property damage. A few roofs were torn off, and numerous buildings were flooded from over 6 in (150 mm) of rainfall. Damage in

864-680: A significant number of aerospace facilities in the county, operated by United Technologies , Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne , Sikorsky Aircraft , General Dynamics , Lockheed Martin , and B/E Aerospace . Many of these companies rank among the top 100 employers for the county. The largest employer in Palm Beach County is the School District of Palm Beach County , with 27,168 employees, including more than 12,800 teachers. Previously W. R. Grace and Company had its headquarters in unincorporated Palm Beach County, near Boca Raton , employing about 130 staff. On January 27, 2011, it announced it

972-619: Is a lifestyle center in downtown Boca Raton. The area contains several stores and fashion boutiques, restaurants, an iPic movie theater, and housing. The Center for the Arts at Mizner Park is on the development's north end, which includes the Boca Raton Museum of Art and the Count de Hoernele Amphitheater. Royal Palm Place is adjacent to Mizner Park, and it contains upscale shopping, restaurants, and apartments. Town Center at Boca Raton

1080-501: Is a cooperative project of the City of Boca Raton, Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, Florida Atlantic University, and Friends of Gumbo Limbo. In addition to the sea tanks, butterfly garden and boardwalk trail through the hammocks complete with an observation tower, Gumbo Limbo also houses a research facility run by FAU where students study coral reefs, sea turtles, sharks, sea grass and other marine-related subjects. Sugar Sand Park

1188-985: Is a municipal park in Boca Raton. It contains the Children's Science Explorium. Another park is the Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park in West Boca Raton. The park contains several amenities, including the Osprey Point Golf Course, a dog park , the Sunset Cove Amphitheater, the Coconut Cove Waterpark, and the Daggerwing Nature Center. Spanish River Park is a family-friendly city park along

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1296-542: Is a neighborhood in Boca Raton, immediately north of downtown and within city limits. The neighborhood was originally platted on May 30, 1915 for the blue-collar African Americans employed at the Boca Raton Resort and similar establishments, on area farms, in construction, and various other jobs. Boca Raton has a tropical rainforest climate ( Köppen climate classification Af ), as its driest month (December) averages 62.5mm of precipitation, narrowly meeting

1404-635: Is also home to the main campus of Florida Atlantic University and the Evert Tennis Academy , owned by former professional tennis player Chris Evert . The city has a strict development code for the size and types of commercial buildings, building signs, and advertisements that may be erected within the city limit, which has led to major thoroughfares without billboards and large advertisements, as well as increased green spaces on roads. Boca Ratón translates to "Mouse Mouth" in English. Its name

1512-587: Is an upscale super-regional shopping center in Boca Raton that is the largest enclosed and conventional shopping mall within Palm Beach County, and the third largest by square feet in South Florida , behind Sawgrass Mills and Aventura Mall . In 1999, the Simon Property Group bought Town Center at Boca Raton and began building a new wing on its southeastern side, and completed renovations in 2018. Seritage Growth Properties plans to build

1620-452: Is another of his many inventions of foreign "facts". Mizner, who never went to Brazil nor knew Brazilians, simply made it up because the name "Botafogo" ("fire thrower") sounded impressive, as was the concept of imitating Rio de Janeiro . (The only street in Rio de Janeiro anything like the supposed picture, actually an artist's conception, of "Botafogo" that Mizner included in his first catalogue,

1728-547: Is composed of roughly 4,200 employees, including approximately 1,600 sworn law enforcement personnel, 700 sworn corrections personnel, 1,900 civilian personnel and 1,800 volunteers. The annual operating budget for the PBSO is more than $ 800 million, as of 2023. Ric Bradshaw has been sheriff for Palm Beach County since 2005. There are two jail facilities operated by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. One

1836-502: Is constructed underneath the homes and streets, in addition to electrical systems in some areas. There are several high points in the city, such as 4th Avenue which is aptly named "High Street". The highest point in this area is the guard shack at Camino Gardens, which is 24 ft (7.3 m) above sea level. The Boca Raton Hotel's Beach Club rests at 23 ft (7.0 m) above sea level. Several small tunnels run under roads in Boca, but

1944-616: Is in Belle Glade, called the West Detention Center, which houses all custody levels from minimum to maximum security. At any one time it can contain up to 991 inmates (total bed capacity), with a staff of 188. The facility has a video visitation program which allows families to communicate with inmates remotely. The largest jail is the Main Detention Center. Three towers - South, East, and West, make up

2052-501: Is land and 1.9 sq mi (5.0 km) of it (6.63%) is water. Boca Raton is a " principal city " (as defined by the Census Bureau) of the Miami metropolitan area . Approximately 1 square mile is on the barrier island Deerfield Beach Island ( DBI ), also colloquially known as Deerfield Cay . Like other South Florida cities, Boca Raton has a water table that does not permit building basements, however plumbing and sewage

2160-522: Is located to the southwest of the amphitheater within the Mizner Park property. The National Cartoon Museum was built on the southwest edge of Mizner Park in 1996. Open for six years, the museum relocated to its original home in New York City in 2002. As development continued to focus to the west of the city in the 1980s and 1990s, the mall area known as Town Center at Boca Raton became

2268-598: Is not native to Florida (nor anywhere else in the United States). Its presence in what is today Palm Beach County is due to the shipwreck of the Spanish ship Providencia in 1878, near today's Mar-a-Lago . It was traveling from Havana to Cádiz, Spain with a cargo of coconuts. The shipwreck was within walking distance of the shore—the Florida State Archives conserves a picture of a painting —and

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2376-698: Is now located was originally occupied by the Glades culture , a Native American tribe of hunter-gatherers who relocated seasonally and between shellfish sources, distinct from the Tequesta to the south and the Jaega to the north. What Spanish voyagers called "Boca de Ratones" was originally to the south, in present-day Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County . The area of Boca Raton was labeled "Rio Seco", meaning "Dry River", during this time. By mistake during

2484-700: Is one of the three counties that make up the Miami metropolitan area , which was home to 6.14 million people in 2020. The area has been increasing in population since the late 19th century, with the incorporation of West Palm Beach in 1894 and after Henry Flagler extended the Florida East Coast Railway and built the Royal Poinciana Hotel , The Breakers , and Whitehall . In 1928, the Okeechobee hurricane struck Palm Beach County and caused thousands of deaths. More recently,

2592-476: Is significant tropical agricultural production, especially nurseries , truck crops (vegetables), and sugar cane . Palm Beach County has been called the "Winter Vegetable Capital" of the nation. Around 12,000 years ago, Native Americans began migrating into Florida. An estimated 20,000 Native Americans lived in South Florida when the Spanish arrived. Their population diminished significantly by

2700-551: Is the pt:Canal do Mangue , which runs down the middle of two streets, but is nowhere near Botafogo, a more elegant name than Mangue " mangrove ".) Only 0.5 miles (0.80 km) of the road was built (although the street has subsequently been extended to the west at normal scale). According to drawings, the centerpiece of the street was to be a canal for pleasure boats; it was never built. All streets were to be at least 60 feet (18 m) wide. His first buildings in Boca Raton were his Administrative Buildings, on El Camino Real (in 2018

2808-470: Is the second-largest county in Florida by land area and third-largest by total area. Much of the water is the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Okeechobee . The county has an estimated 526,000 acres (213,000 ha) of farmland. The eastern third of Palm Beach County is highly urbanized, while the central and western portions of the county are suburban or rural. Palm Beach County is one of three counties in

2916-470: The 21st district , Lois Frankel of the 22nd district , and Jared Moskowitz of the 23rd district . Nine districts of the Florida House of Representatives represent parts of Palm Beach County, with the seats held by Kelly Skidmore (D) of 81st district, John Snyder (R) of the 82nd district, Rick Roth (R) of the 85th district, Matt Willhite (D) of the 86th district, David Silvers (D) of

3024-480: The 26th-most populous in the United States , with 1,492,191 residents as of the 2020 census . Its county seat and largest city is West Palm Beach , which had a population of 117,415 as of 2020. Named after one of its oldest settlements, Palm Beach , the county was established in 1909, after being split from Miami-Dade County. The county's modern-day boundaries were established in 1963. Palm Beach County

3132-681: The Addison Restaurant ), and a small hotel to house interested investors. Mizner designed Boca's first town hall/police station/fire station/library, although the design actually built is much smaller and less expensive than what Mizner planned. Today (2018) it is the Boca Raton History Museum , which houses Boca's Welcome Center and the Boca Raton Historical Society. The hotel was his Ritz-Carlton Cloister Inn, built in 1926, later renamed

3240-620: The Boca Raton Resort & Club , and is one of the only "5 star" hotels in Florida. The 1969 addition of its "pink tower" hotel building is visible from miles away as a towering monument on the Intracoastal Waterway . Because of the end of the Florida land boom of the 1920s and the 1926 Miami hurricane , the Mizner Development Corporation went into bankruptcy in 1927. Little of Mizner's Boca Raton

3348-613: The CSX rail line and northwest of Florida Atlantic University . Originally situated in unincorporated Palm Beach County, the site was annexed into Boca Raton almost a year following its dedication in 1970. Construction of IBM's main complex began in 1967, designed by Marcel Breuer , and the manufacturing and office complex was dedicated in March 1970. The campus was designed with self-sufficiency in mind and sported its own electrical substation , water pumping station, and rail spur. By 1984 IBM

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3456-578: The Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Palm Beach County 's annual financial report, Checks & Balances: Your Guide to County Finances. The County collected $ 1.1 billion in property tax revenue in FY 2018, an increase of 6 percent over the previous year. Sales tax collections rose to $ 175.8 million, marking the eighth consecutive year of growth. Revenue from Tourist Development Tax receipts

3564-640: The Florida land boom of the 1920s . Many local historic districts and landmarks listed in the National Register of Historic Places in Palm Beach County were designed and constructed during the 1920s, with the main contributors being architects Maurice Fatio , Addison Mizner , Marion Sims Wyeth , and the firm Harvey and Clarke , which included Gustav Maass . Total property value in West Palm Beach skyrocketed from $ 13.6 million in 1920 to $ 61 million in 1925, before briefly reaching

3672-400: The Glades culture , as well as Spanish and later British colonial empires prior to its annexation by the United States, the city's present form was developed predominantly by Addison Mizner starting in the 1920s. Mizner contributed to many buildings in the area having Mediterranean Revival or Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. Boca Raton also became a key city in the development of

3780-799: The Jupiter Hammerheads , an affiliate of the Miami Marlins, and the Palm Beach Cardinals , an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. Prior to the construction of Roger Dean Stadium, the Montreal Expos and Atlanta Braves held their spring training at Municipal Stadium in West Palm Beach. The West Palm Beach Expos , a Single-A affiliate of the Montreal Expos, also played their games there. The Ballpark of

3888-466: The Miami metropolitan area . However, the county's western communities along Lake Okeechobee, such as Belle Glade , South Bay , and Pahokee , have also been considered more part of the rural Florida Heartland . The Atlantic coastline of Palm Beach County is about 47 mi (76 km) in length. It consists mainly of barrier islands and peninsulas, including Jupiter Island , Singer Island , and Palm Beach Island . These islands are separated from

3996-475: The Microsoft MS-DOS operating system for its personal computer line. In 1991, the new downtown outdoor shopping and dining center, Mizner Park , was completed over the site of the old Boca Raton Mall. It has since become a cultural center for southern Palm Beach County. Featuring a landscaped central park between the two main roads (collectively called Plaza Real) with stores only on the outside of

4104-870: The Palm Beach Outlets , CityPlace , Boynton Beach Mall , The Gardens Mall , Town Center at Boca Raton , The Mall at Wellington Green and Mizner Park . Formerly, the Palm Beach and Cross County Malls operated in the county, though they closed in 1997 and 2010, respectively. The Florida Department of Corrections operates the Glades Correctional Institution in an unincorporated area in Palm Beach County near Belle Glade. Palm Beach County's revenue from property taxes, sales taxes and tourist development taxes reached record levels in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, according to

4212-775: The Seminoles , the former slaves or descendants of former slaves fought alongside them against white settlers and bounty hunters during the Seminole Wars . Portions of the Second Seminole War occurred in Palm Beach County, including the Battles of the Loxahatchee in 1838. The county's oldest surviving structure, the Jupiter Lighthouse , was built in 1860, after receiving authorization to

4320-473: The barrier island alongside SR A1A . There are several establishments in the area that bear the name of the once-flowing river, including a high school , a church, a library , and a road . 27°32′17″N 80°23′22″W  /  27.5381061°N 80.3894894°W  / 27.5381061; -80.3894894 This article about a location in Palm Beach County , Florida is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to

4428-598: The draining of the Everglades opened the Hillsboro Canal ; this, along the dredging of Boca Raton Inlet, led to saltwater intrusion, and consequently mangroves supplanted freshwater vegetation in the "river". By the 1940s mangrove swamps had replaced the onetime sawgrass marsh. People joke that "no one in town can find it" but in fact the stream bed is still visible in Spanish River Park, on

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4536-694: The $ 1.288 million plus range. Since the mid-2010s, there has been a developing boom such as the building of the Mandarin Oriental's Residences, remodeling of Downtown Boca Raton's Mizner Park, and development around Florida Atlantic University and Lynn University. On November 2, 2004, the voters of the Via Verde Association, Waterside, Deerhurst Association (Boca South), Marina Del Mar Association, Rio Del Mar Association (both originally Boca Del Mar communities), and Heatherwood of Boca Raton Condominium Association approved annexation into

4644-500: The 18th century, due to warfare, enslavement, and diseases from Europe. In 1513, Juan Ponce de León became the first European in modern-day Palm Beach County when he landed at the Jupiter Inlet. Among the first non-Native American residents were African Americans , many of whom were former slaves or immediate descendants of former slaves, arriving in what was then Spanish Florida in the late 17th century. Finding refuge among

4752-442: The 19th century, mapmakers moved this location to the north and began referring to the city's lake, today known as Lake Boca Raton, as "Boca Ratone Lagoon" and later "Boca Ratone Sounde". An inland stream near the lake was later renamed Spanish River , and eventually became part of the Intracoastal Waterway . When Spain surrendered Florida to Britain in 1763, the remaining Tequestas, along with other Indians who had taken refuge in

4860-493: The 2013–14 season. USL Palm Beach is an upcoming American professional soccer team based in Palm Beach County. Founded in 2023, the team plans to make its debut in the USL Championship . The Palm Beach Imperials are an American Basketball Association 2006 expansion franchise. Tourists can visit these attractions and annual events: A number of shopping malls exist throughout Palm Beach County, including

4968-463: The 25 electoral votes to Bush, as Harris's tally prior to the state-ordered recounts placed him ahead of Gore by 537 popular votes. In turn, this gave Bush victory in the national election. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, a Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation revealed that 12 of the 19 hijackers trained or resided in Palm Beach County during the months prior to

5076-417: The 31st district. As of 2023, the county has a slight Democratic plurality, with large Republican and independent minorities, respectively. In gubernatorial races, the county had been a stronghold for Democrats, a trend that began in 1990 and continued up until 2022 , when incumbent Republican governor Ron DeSantis won a majority of the vote in the county. Spanish River (Florida) Before then,

5184-517: The 75–83 degrees range, while summer high temperatures are about 87–92 degrees. Boca Raton and other parts of Palm Beach County have a significant Jewish population. Certain areas of outside of Boca Raton city limits, such as the Sandalfoot Cove community, have significant populations of Brazilian and other Latino immigrants. Boca Raton is known for its affluent and educated social community. According to Forbes , Boca Raton has three of

5292-485: The 87th district, Omari Hardy (D) of the 88th district, Mike Caruso (R) of the 89th district, Joseph Casello (D) of the 90th district, and Emily Slosberg (D) of the 91st district. Additionally, the county has four seats in the Florida Senate , which are represented by Gayle Harrell (R) of the 25th district, Tina Polsky (D) of the 29th district, Bobby Powell (D) of the 30th district, and Lori Berman of

5400-480: The Boca Raton city limits , increasing the city land area to 29.6 square miles (77 km). A new gated community called Royal Palm Polo was annexed to the City of Boca Raton, which is the only jurisdiction north of Clint Moore Road. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has an area of 29.1 sq mi (75.4 km), of which 27.2 sq mi (70.4 km) of this

5508-548: The Florida Keys, were evacuated to Cuba . In the 1770s, Bernard Romans reported seeing abandoned villages in the area, but no inhabitants. The area remained largely uninhabited for long afterwards, during the early years of Florida's incorporation in the United States. The first significant European settler to this area was Captain Thomas Moore Rickards in 1895, who resided in a house made of driftwood on

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5616-533: The Florida Legislature reduced Palm Beach County's share of Lake Okeechobee from about 80 percent to less than 40 percent and divided the lake more equitably among Glades , Hendry , Martin, and Okeechobee counties. A final change to the county's boundaries occurred in 2009, when a small portion of land was given to Broward County. The 1910s and much of the 1920s brought prosperity and rapid population growth to South Florida, coinciding with

5724-417: The Florida judicial district include the state attorney and public defender . All positions are 4-year terms, requiring direct election by voters in presidential election years. Five former county commissioners have been accused or found guilty of corruption from 2006 to 2009. A grand jury recommended a strong inspector general . This position was approved by county voters in 2010. A county judge found that

5832-593: The IBM PC division to Research Triangle Park in Raleigh, North Carolina , and converted the manufacturing facilities into offices and laboratories, later producing products such as the OS/2 operating system and VoiceType Dictation, later known as ViaVoice voice-recognition software . IBM maintained its facilities in the South Florida area until 1996, when the facility was closed and sold to Blue Lake Real Estate. The site

5940-505: The Intracoastal Waterway for picnicking, swimming & bird-watching. Old Floresta Historic District has several historic houses listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Palm Beach County, Florida Palm Beach County is a county in the southeastern part of Florida , located in the Miami metropolitan area . It is Florida's third-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and Broward County and

6048-862: The Palm Beaches , opened in February 2017 in West Palm Beach, accommodates both the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros for spring training. Also popular are the Florida Atlantic Owls , an NCAA Division I school that participates in American Athletic Conference . The FAU football team plays at FAU Stadium , and averaged 17,941 fans during the 2017 season. The FAU basketball team plays at FAU Arena , and averaged 1,346 fans during

6156-407: The aforementioned "butterfly ballot" and the closeness of the statewide results between Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush , the Florida Supreme Court mandated manual recounts in all counties with disputed results. However, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the decision in Bush v. Gore on December 12, allowing Florida Secretary of the State Katherine Harris to award

6264-405: The area for work, vacation, or retirement. The base was closed and became a commercial airport again in 1962. Migration to the county by workers, tourists, and retirees continued into the 21st century. On August 28, 1949, a category-4 hurricane struck Lake Worth Beach with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 km/h), causing considerable damage. Throughout Palm Beach County,

6372-491: The attacks. Later that month, during the anthrax attacks , a letter containing spores of this substance was mailed to the American Media, Inc. building in Boca Raton. Three people were exposed to the anthrax, including Robert Stevens , a photo editor who later died after an infection induced by exposure. Three hurricanes severely impacted Palm Beach County in 2004 and 2005: Frances , Jeanne , and Wilma . On September 5, 2004, Frances made landfall in Martin County as

6480-458: The bottom of some ports and coastal outlets, where the cables rub against". Thus, one possible translation of Boca Raton is "Rugged Inlet". Others claim that ratones referred to pirates who hid out in the area, and thus the name could translate to "Pirates' Inlet". City residents pronounce Raton as / r ə ˈ t oʊ n / . People not from the region often mispronounce this as / r ə ˈ t ɒ n / instead. The area where Boca Raton

6588-473: The cause of the Confederacy. After the Civil War ended, the Jupiter Lighthouse was relit in 1866. In October 1873, a hurricane caused a shipwreck between Biscayne Bay and the New River . The crew survived the wreck but nearly died due to starvation because of the desolation of the area. In response, five Houses of Refuge were built along the east coast of Florida from the Fort Pierce Inlet southward to Biscayne Bay. Orange Grove House of Refuge No. 3

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6696-471: The center. The largest is the South Tower, constructed in 1993 from concrete and steel at a cost of $ 52 million. The East and West Towers were built in 1983; they now flank the South Tower, completing the Main Detention Center. The Main Detention Center's primary function is to hold high risk inmates, federal inmates, and those inmates who are in need of special medical attention or are otherwise unable to operate at other facilities. The total number of beds at

6804-479: The commissioners is elected County Mayor and one of them is elected Vice Mayor. Commissioners serve staggered terms, and commissioners from Districts 1, 3, 5, and 7 are elected during presidential election years, while the commissioners from Districts 2, 4, and 6 are elected in gubernatorial election years. Elected county officers include a clerk of courts and comptroller, sheriff , property appraiser, tax collector , and supervisor of elections. State officers serving

6912-433: The county acquired national attention during the 2000 presidential election , when a controversial recount occurred . In 2004, Palm Beach County was Florida's wealthiest county, with a per capita personal income of $ 44,518. It leads the state in agricultural productivity; agriculture is Palm Beach County's second-largest industry, after real estate development. In undeveloped (central and western) Palm Beach County there

7020-410: The county reached $ 30 million, most of which was incurred to agriculture. The county became the center of controversy during the 2000 presidential election . Allegedly, the "butterfly ballot" , designed by Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Theresa LePore , led to an unexpectedly large number of votes for Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan , rather than for Democrat Al Gore . Due to

7128-409: The county was $ 33,610. About 8.6% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line , including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those aged 65 or over. The St. Louis Cardinals and the Miami Marlins conduct their spring training at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter . Two teams in the Class A-Advanced Florida State League also play their home games at Roger Dean Stadium:

7236-595: The county. On October 24, 2005, Hurricane Wilma struck Collier County as a category-3 hurricane. The storm moved northeastward, directly crossing Palm Beach County. Several locations reported hurricane-force winds, including a wind gust of 117 mph (188 km/h) in Belle Glade. Over 90% of Florida Power & Light customers lost electricity. Two deaths occurred in Palm Beach County. The storm inflicted some degree of impact to more than 55,000 homes and 3,600 businesses. Palm Beach County suffered about $ 2.9 billion in damages. In August 2012,

7344-415: The decade also brought an airport to the county. Morrison Field, later renamed the Palm Beach International Airport , opened in 1936. After the U.S. entered World War II , it was converted to an Air Force Base in 1942. During the war, thousands of servicemen arrived in Palm Beach County for training and supporting the war effort. Following the conclusion of World War II, a number of veterans returned to

7452-399: The early computer industry. The city is the birthplace of IBM 's first personal computer and various other technologies created by the company. Still centered around luxury beach culture, the city today is dotted by many malls and shopping centers, including the Town Center at Boca Raton . The ODP Corporation , which operates Office Depot and OfficeMax , is headquartered here. Boca Raton

7560-448: The east side of the East Coast Canal, south of what is now the Palmetto Park Road bridge. He surveyed and sold land from the canal to beyond the railroad north of what is now Palmetto Park Road. Early settlement in the area increased shortly after Henry Flagler 's expansion of the Florida East Coast Railway , connecting West Palm Beach to Miami. Boca Raton as a city was the creation of architect Addison Mizner . Prior to him, Boca Raton

7668-422: The establishment of many new businesses. The Royal Poinciana Hotel , constructed by Flagler and his constructed crews to accommodate wealthy tourists, opened for business in February 1894. About a month later, the Florida East Coast Railway , owned by Flagler, reached West Palm Beach. On November 5, 1894, Palm Beach County's oldest city, West Palm Beach, was incorporated. In 1896, another hotel built by Flagler

7776-604: The facility is 2,166. The South Tower can hold 1,285 inmates, the East Tower has 418 beds, and the West Tower has 404 beds. Since the founding of Palm Beach County in 1909, 16 people have served as county sheriff. In the United States House of Representatives , Palm Beach County is represented by three Democrats and one Republican: Sheila Cherfillus-McCormick of the 20th district , Brian Mast of

7884-616: The family vacationed in Palm Beach in December ;1960. On December 11, Pavlick forwent his attempt because Kennedy was with his wife, Jacqueline , and their two children. Four days later, Pavlick's car, which had sticks of dynamite inside, was surrounded by police and he was arrested. Charges against Pavolick were dropped on December 2, 1963, 10 days after Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas . Additionally,

7992-597: The former dug in the 1890s and the latter created between 1926 and 1927. Several other islands exist within the Intracoastal Waterway, including Hypoluxo Island, Munyon Island , and Peanut Island . In addition, the county has an abundance of coral reef patches along its coastline and has made efforts to preserve them. Companies headquartered in Palm Beach County include Office Depot , The ADT Corporation , TBC Corporation , G4S Secure Solutions , NextEra Energy , The GEO Group , American Sugar Refining , Carrier , Globalsat Group , and Bluegreen Vacations . There are

8100-491: The geographic center of what is referred to as West Boca Raton, though this mall was not annexed into the city until 2004. Forbes ranked Boca's Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club the third most exclusive gated community in the US in 2017. Many mansions and estates have been built and reflect the high real estate values. 18.1% of homes for sale are within the $ 655,000–$ 966,000 range, 8.5% in the $ 966,000–$ 1.288 million range, and 11.9% in

8208-476: The hurricane destroyed 65 homes and damaged 13,283 others. The area's first television station, WIRK -TV Channel 21, began broadcasting on September 13, 1953. It went off the air less than three years later. However, NBC affiliate WPTV-TV and CBS affiliate WPEC first aired in 1954 and 1955, respectively – both of which are still in existence today. Richard Paul Pavlick nearly attempted to assassinate then President-elect John F. Kennedy while

8316-599: The lake inundated hundreds of square miles, including the nearby communities of Belle Glade , Pahokee , and South Bay . At least 2,500 deaths occurred, many of whom were black migrant farmers. An assessment of impact throughout the county reported 552 businesses destroyed, 1,447 businesses damaged, 3,584 homes destroyed, and 11,409 homes damaged, leaving 4,008 families homeless. However, several cities were excluded, such as Boca Raton, Greenacres , Lantana , and South Palm Beach . Damage in South Florida totaled roughly $ 25 million. In response to

8424-615: The land from President Franklin Pierce in 1854. During the American Civil War , Florida was a member of the Confederate States of America . Two Confederate adherents removed the lighting mechanism from the lighthouse. One of the men who removed the light, Augustus O. Lang, was also the first white settler in Palm Beach County. He built a palmetto shack along the eastern shore of Lake Worth in 1863 after abandoning

8532-615: The list of investors, but he had little to invest. Instead of the existing Palmetto Park Road, the main street in Mizner's Boca was to be El Camino Real, 20 lanes wide, which Mizner fancifully translated as "The Royal Highway", referring to Spain's road network and to the road to Santa Fe and to the Spanish missions in California . (Spanish kings rarely or never travelled on these roads; "The Government Road" would be just as accurate.) It

8640-885: The mainland by the Intracoastal Waterway , with much of the waterway locally known as the Lake Worth Lagoon . The main barrier landmasses are split by four inlets: the Jupiter Inlet , the Lake Worth Inlet , the South Lake Worth Inlet , and the Boca Raton Inlet. Two of the four inlets are natural, but significantly altered – the Jupiter and Boca Raton inlets – while the Lake Worth and South Lake Worth inlets are man-made, with

8748-417: The mandate covered municipal government in 2015. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office ( PBSO ) provides police services to the county's unincorporated areas and the 13 municipalities covered by PBSO. PBSO also oversees the county jail system, provides security at all four of the county courthouses, and is the primary law enforcement agency covering Palm Beach International Airport . The Sheriff's Office

8856-495: The minimum standard of 60mm in the driest month to qualify for that designation. In general the climate is warm and sunny much of the year, although daily thundershowers occur in the hot season from June through September. Boca Raton is frost free. The warm tropical climate in South Florida supports the growth of tropical trees and plants such as the coconut palm that was introduced hundreds of years ago to Florida in nearby West Palm Beach . Winter high temperatures are typically in

8964-567: The outer bands of Hurricane Isaac dropped at least 15.86 in (403 mm) of rain near Lion Country Safari . The consequent flooding left neighborhoods in The Acreage , Loxahatchee , Loxahatchee Groves , Royal Palm Beach , and Wellington stranded for up to several days. As Hurricane Irma approached in September 2017, mandatory or voluntary evacuations were ordered for more than 290,000 residents of Palm Beach County. Although

9072-418: The roads are built up several feet at these locations, or are on dunes. Several of these tunnels are under State Road A1A at Spanish River Park, from the west side of the road where parking is available to beachgoers, to the east side of the road, which is where the beach is located. A1A is already higher than the surrounding land here due to sand dunes formed by erosion and other natural features. Pearl City

9180-456: The roads, Mizner Park resembles a Mediterranean suburban "town center" with a more contemporary look. It features many restaurants and is home to the Boca Raton Museum of Art , which moved to the new facility in 2001. In 2002, a new amphitheater was built, replacing a smaller one and providing a large-capacity outdoor venue where concerts and other performances are held. The Mizner Park Cultural Center, an indoor performing arts/comedy show theater

9288-651: The site's layout for its previous use as an airfield is plainly evident. Boca Raton Airport 's runway was once part of the original airbase, and is still active to this day, although the runway has been rebuilt. Army School Building #3 (T-604) of the Army Air Forces Base has survived as the office building for the Cynthia Gardens apartment complex on Northwest 4th Avenue. Boca Raton was the site of two now vanished amusement parks , Africa U.S.A. (1953–1961) and Ancient America (1953–1959). Africa U.S.A.

9396-550: The six-year agreement, which began with the 2014 season. The Bowl is held at FAU Stadium . St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church in Boca Raton hosts a popular Greek festival during the last weekend of January. An estimated 15,000 people attended the festival in 2018. Additionally, the city hosts the " Festival of the Arts BOCA " annually during the spring, and the Brazilian Beat Festival in the fall. Mizner Park

9504-438: The storm passed well west of the county, much of the area experienced hurricane-force wind gusts, with a peak gust of 91 mph (146 km/h) in West Palm Beach. Impact was generally limited to widespread power outages and damaged trees and vegetation, though isolated property damage was reported. The storm left about $ 300 million in damage in the county, as well as five fatalities. The coconut palm , Cocos nucifera ,

9612-723: The storm, the Herbert Hoover Dike was constructed to prevent a similar disaster. As a result of 1926 Miami hurricane and the 1928 storm, Palm Beach County, along with the rest of South Florida, began suffering economic turmoil and pushed the region into the Great Depression, even before the Wall Street Crash of 1929 . Housing prices dropped dramatically in the county, with the total real estate value in West Palm Beach falling to $ 41.6 million in 1930 and then to $ 18.2 million in 1935. However,

9720-477: The stream, which ran latitudinally between Lake Boca Raton and Lake Worth , consisted of sawgrass marsh. Below Lake Worth its first 6 mi (9.7 km) were nearly impassable, but the stream widened beyond Orange Grove Haulover . The stream ran past the Boca Raton Hammock through present-day Lake Wyman and Lake Rogers, emptying into Lake Boca Raton. During the Florida land boom of the 1920s ,

9828-598: The ten most expensive gated communities in the U.S. The Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club holds the #1 spot, The Sanctuary takes #6, and Le Lac takes the #8 spot. The Boca Raton Bowl is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that features the Mid-American Conference (MAC) facing off against an opponent from the American Athletic Conference (AAC) or Conference USA (C-USA) in alternating years. Each conference participates four times during

9936-543: Was $ 53.8 million, up from $ 48.5 million in FY 2017. Meanwhile, Local Option Gas Taxes paid by motorists for gasoline decreased for the first time in five years, partially due to higher gasoline prices, which reduced the number of miles driven, according to the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller's Checks & Balances report. The county is governed by a board of commissioners , consisting of seven commissioners, who are all elected from single-member districts. One of

10044-679: Was Palm Beach County's largest corporate employer, with 8,500 Boca Raton employees. Among other noteworthy IT accomplishments, such as the mass production of the System/360 and development of the Series/1 mainframe computers, IBM's main complex was the birthplace of the IBM PC , which later evolved into the IBM Personal System/2 , developed in nearby Delray Beach . Starting in 1987, IBM relocated its manufacturing for what became

10152-603: Was a wild animal park in which tourists rode a "Jeep Safari Train" through the park. There were no fences separating the animals from the tourists. It is now the Camino Gardens subdivision one mile west of the Boca Raton Hotel. A red wooden bridge and remnants from the Watusi Geyser and Zambezi Falls, a 30-foot waterfall, from Africa USA can still be seen at the entrance to Camino Gardens. Ancient America

10260-611: Was an unincorporated farming town with a population of 100 in 1920. In 1925, Mizner announced his plan for "the foremost resort city on the North American continent," "a new exclusive social capital in America." After spending several years in Palm Beach, where, in his own words, he "did more than any one man to make the city beautiful," and designed the Everglades Club among many other buildings, in Boca Raton his plan

10368-445: Was built near Delray Beach in 1876. Very few people lived in modern-day Palm Beach County prior to the arrival of Henry Flagler , who first visited in the early 1890s. A Standard Oil tycoon, Flagler was instrumental in the county's development around the turn of the century. First, he purchased land on both sides of Lake Worth . Other investors followed suit, causing a small boom and bringing in existing businesses and resulting in

10476-570: Was built surrounding a real Native American burial mound. Today, the mound is still visible within the Boca Marina & Yacht Club neighborhood on U.S. 1 near Yamato Road. In the late 1960s, IBM announced their intentions to open a manufacturing plant in the area. In 1965, well before the extension of I-95 into Southern Florida, IBM, working in secret with the Arvida corporation, quietly purchased several hundred acres of real estate west of

10584-504: Was closing the Boca headquarters and moving its administrative staff out of state along with some employees. Likewise, A360 Media, LLC , publisher of the National Enquirer , was headquartered in Boca Raton, but moved New York in 2014. For 2010, the median income for a household in the county was $ 53,242, and for a family was $ 64,445. Males had a median income of $ 44,324 versus $ 37,337 for females. The per capita income for

10692-569: Was confiscated and used as the site of the Boca Raton Army Air Force Base, a major training facility for B-29 bomber crews and the only facility in the U.S. training radar operators. Much of the Boca Raton Army Airfield was later donated to Palm Beach County and became the grounds of Florida Atlantic University . Many of FAU's parking lots are former runways of the airbase. When viewed from above,

10800-619: Was donated to the Palm Beach County School District and converted into Don Estridge High Tech Middle School . It is named after Don Estridge , whose team was responsible for developing the IBM PC . IBM returned in July 2001, opening the software development laboratory at Beacon Square off Congress Avenue. It is noteworthy that still left standing inside the old IBM complex is the office and conference table where Bill Gates signed his historic deal to supply IBM with

10908-728: Was ever built: his Administration Buildings , the Cloister Inn, 1/2 mile of El Camino Real, the small Dunagan Apartments (demolished), a few houses near the Cloister Inn (demolished), the Spanish Village neighborhood, and a few small houses in what is now the Old Floresta Historic District neighborhood. During World War II , some of the land used by the Japanese farmers of the Yamato Colony

11016-727: Was incorporated in 1925, and promptly issued $ 5 million of stock, which was fully subscribed in less than a week. $ 500,000 was reserved for the "average Floridian"; the remainder was purchased by, as Addison called them, "noted personages", all with a Palm Beach connection: Lytle Hall, Harold Vanderbilt , J. Leonard Repogle, the Duchess of Sutherland , Rodman Wanamaker , Paris Singer , Irving Berlin , Madame Frances Alda , W. C. Robinson , H. H. Rodgers, D. H. Conkling, A. T. Herd, Porte, William Kissam Vanderbilt II , Elizabeth Arden , Jesse Livermore , Clarence H. Geist , and T. Coleman du Pont as chairman. Addison's brother Wilson also appears on

11124-572: Was opened, the Palm Beach Inn, later renamed The Breakers . He also constructed his own winter home , which he and his wife moved into in 1902. The arrivals of Major Nathan Boynton , Congressman William S. Linton , and railroad surveyor Thomas Rickards in the 1890s also proved important because they developed communities that later became Boynton Beach , Delray Beach, and Boca Raton , respectively. The Florida Legislature voted to establish Palm Beach County in 1909, carving it out of what

11232-430: Was originally labeled in the early European maps of the area as Boca de Ratones (Spanish for 'Mouth of Mice'). Boca , meaning "mouth", was a common term to describe an inlet on maps by sailors (as in a river mouth ). The meaning of the word ratones for the area is less certain. Some claim that the word ratones appears in old Spanish maritime dictionaries referring to "rugged rocks or stony ground on

11340-460: Was originally to be circular, with a lagoon in the middle. Soon it became, in the plans, Boca Raton's main east–west street, to be 220 feet (67 m) wide and with a canal for pleasure boats in the center. (In the drawing of it on the cover of Mizner Development's first brochure is a Venetian gondola .) His statement that it was inspired by Botafogo , a neighborhood and beach in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil,

11448-765: Was sold to T-REX Management Consortium, then to the Blackstone Group in 2005, who renamed it the Boca Corporate Center and Campus. The site was later renamed the Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC). Crocker Partners, noted for its development of Mizner Park and Office Depot headquarters , purchased BRiC in April 2018. What used to be IBM's Building 051, an annex separated from the former main IBM campus by Spanish River Boulevard,

11556-472: Was then the northern portion of Dade County and initially including all of Lake Okeechobee . The southernmost part of Palm Beach County was separated to create the northern portion of Broward County in 1915, the northwestern portion became part of Okeechobee County in 1917, and southern Martin County was created from northernmost Palm Beach County in 1925. The boundaries remained the same until 1963, when

11664-420: Was to create from scratch "a resort as splendid in its entirety as Palm Beach is in spots." Activity in that area began at least a year, and probably more, before Mizner's announcement. Land acquisition, tens of thousands of acres, was the largest part. But it is hard not to see Mizner's hand in the incorporation of Boca Raton in 1924; the city immediately appointed him Town Planner. The Mizner Development Company

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