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61-581: The park and museum are named after George Morikami , a native of Miyazu , Japan, who donated his farm to Palm Beach County to be used as a park. George Morikami was the only member of the Yamato Colony, Florida to stay in Delray Beach after World War II. He originally proposed donating the land to the City of Delray Beach which declined. The Museum was opened in 1977, in a building that is now named

122-498: 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

183-421: 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 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

244-563: 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, is another of his many inventions of foreign "facts". Mizner, who never went to Brazil nor knew Brazilians, simply made it up because

305-655: A number of Japanese-influenced festivals each year, including Oshogatsu (New Year's) in January, Hatsume Fair Festival in April, and Lantern Festival, (based on the Japanese Obon festival) in October. These festivals draw visitors from around the state, and feature both food and art vendors. The Lantern Festival also features an annual drum performance and an interactive dance routine. Visitors release their lanterns into

366-584: 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

427-621: 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

488-451: 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

549-546: Is a monument to him in the Japanese gardens in the park. Delray Beach is a sister city to Miyazu in honor of George Morikami. Boca Raton, Florida 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

610-985: 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

671-543: 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

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732-460: Is also from the Muromachi period. This style of gardens was influenced by Chinese landscape art and the early concept of Zen. The Muromachi period Karesansui gardens are in true Zen style. These gardens were designed not to be walked through, but instead to be viewed from temples and reflected on. The "dry landscape" styles was almost empty of plants, instead having rocks and gravel. The Edo period

793-655: 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

854-503: 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

915-624: 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 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

976-557: Is inspired by the gardens of the Heian period of the 9th–12th centuries. During this time Japanese nobility used Chinese garden designs that featured lakes and islands; this style of garden was usually viewed by boat. The Paradise Garden comes from the Kamakura and Muromachi periods . The gardens were designed as temples to the Buddha and represented Buddhist Heaven. The Early Rock Garden

1037-554: 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

1098-522: 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

1159-515: 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 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

1220-675: 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

1281-615: 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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1342-466: 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 the list of investors, but he had little to invest. Instead of

1403-475: 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

1464-679: 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 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

1525-697: 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

1586-399: 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 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

1647-472: 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 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

1708-520: 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

1769-484: 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

1830-670: The Cornell Cafe. There are more than 7,000 artifacts that make up Morikami's collection. From May 2024 until August 2024 the museum will showcase Kip Fulbeck's The Hapa Project exhibit. The Roji-en Japanese Gardens were designed to complement the museum. The six gardens making up Roji-en are inspired by famous garden styles throughout Japan's history. They were designed by Hoichi Kurisu and completed in 2001. The six historical gardens are as follows: Shinden Garden , Paradise Garden , Early Rock Garden , Karesansui Garden , Hiraniwa Garden, and Modern Romantic Garden. The Shinden Garden

1891-656: 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

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1952-533: The United States as the U.S. entered World War II , when their land was taken to create an Army Air Corps training base (see also: Boca Raton Airport ). Near the end of the war, Morikami bought land in Delray Beach, Florida , and he would farm it for almost 30 years. He died at age 89 in 1976, a year after the groundbreaking for Morikami Park , a county park built on the land he donated to Palm Beach County. His ashes were eventually returned to Miyazu. There

2013-676: The Yamato-kan. The principal museum building opened in 1993. Construction of the Roji-en gardens began in 1993. The Morikami Park , which includes the museum, is 188.5 acres (76.3 ha). There is one picnic pavilion and six smaller picnic shelters and a playground. It is the location of the Challenger Astronaut Memorial and the Yamato Pioneer Memorial. The Morikami Museum and Gardens host

2074-818: 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 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

2135-431: 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 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

2196-518: The central lake after sunset. The original museum building, Yamato-kan, is designed as a Japanese villa. It features a dry landscape garden and a permanent exhibit on the history of the Yamato Colony in Boca Raton, and a hands-on exhibit, "Japan Through the Eyes of a Child". The main museum building houses three exhibits, a 225-seat theater, a tea house, classrooms, a research library, a store, and

2257-474: The city beautiful," and designed the Everglades Club among many other buildings, in Boca Raton his plan 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

2318-480: 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 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

2379-629: 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 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

2440-588: 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 was originally to be circular, with

2501-492: 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

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2562-454: The incorporation of Boca Raton in 1924; the city immediately appointed him Town Planner. The Mizner Development Company 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,

2623-504: 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 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

2684-495: 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

2745-505: 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, 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

2806-469: 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 the Addison Restaurant ), and

2867-419: 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

2928-458: 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

2989-651: 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.

3050-551: 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

3111-682: 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

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3172-680: 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

3233-484: Was a Japanese immigrant to the United States who farmed in Palm Beach County, Florida , for more than 65 years. He donated his 200 acres (80 hectares) of farm land to Palm Beach County in 1973. Morikami was born in Miyazu, Kyoto , Japan. He was 19 years old when he immigrated to the United States on May 3, 1906, to join the Yamato Colony , a Japanese farming community in what is now Boca Raton, Florida . He paid $ 150 and

3294-605: 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

3355-571: 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

3416-408: 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,

3477-479: 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

3538-405: 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

3599-491: Was indentured for three years in return for his passage to America and spending money. He was to receive $ 500 and some land at the end of the three years. He intended to take the money and return to Japan. However, Morikami's sponsor died in 1906, and he did not receive any cash or land, and was unable to return to Japan. Although the Yamato Colony ultimately failed, George Morikami stayed on and eventually prospered. He and other remaining Yamato colonists had their land seized by

3660-518: Was known for the Hiraniwa Flat Garden style. These gardens were hybrids of the late rock garden and tea garden. This garden style is known for its accents, such as pagodas, lanterns, and stepping stones. The last historical garden featured at Morikami is the Modern Romantic Garden. This garden originated during the Meiji period . Naturalism and Western influences were what spurred the creation of this garden style. George Morikami Sukeji " George " Morikami (November 4, 1886 – February 29, 1976)

3721-443: 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,

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