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The area that was to become West Palm Beach was settled in the late 1870s and 1880s by a few hundred settlers who called the vicinity "Lake Worth Country." These settlers were a diverse community from different parts of the United States and the world. They included founding families such at the Potters and the Lainharts, who would go on to become leading members of the business community in the fledgling city. The first white settlers in Palm Beach County lived around Lake Worth, then an enclosed freshwater lake, named for Colonel William Jenkins Worth, who had fought in the Second Seminole War in Florida in 1842. Most settlers engaged in the growing of tropical fruits and vegetables for shipment the north via Lake Worth and the Indian River. By 1890, the U.S. Census counted over 200 people settled along Lake Worth in the vicinity of what would become West Palm Beach. The area at this time also boasted a hotel, the "Cocoanut House", a church, and a post office. The city was platted by Henry Flagler as a community to house the servants working in the two grand hotels on the neighboring island of Palm Beach, across Lake Worth in 1893, coinciding with the arrival of the Florida East Coast railroad. Flagler paid two area settlers, Captain Porter and Louie Hillhouse, a combined sum of $45,000 for the original town site, stretching from Clear Lake to Lake Worth.
On November 5, 1894, 78 people met at the "Calaboose" (the first jail and police station located at Clematis St. and Poinsettia, now Dixie Hwy.) and passed the motion to incorporate the Town of West Palm Beach in what was then Dade County (now Miami-Dade County). This made West Palm Beach the first incorporated municipality in Dade County and in South Florida. The town council quickly addressed the building codes and the tents and shanties were replaced by brick, brick veneer, and stone buildings. The city grew steadily during the 1890s and the first two decades of the 20th century, most residents were engaged in the tourist industry and related services or winter vegetable market and tropical fruit trade. In 1909, Palm Beach County was formed by the Florida State Legislature and West Palm Beach became the county seat. In 1916, a new neo-classical courthouse was opened, which has been painstakingly restored back to its original condition, and is now used as the local history museum.
The city grew rapidly in the 1920s as part of the Florida land boom. The population of West Palm Beach quadrupled from 1920 to 1927, and all kinds of businesses and public services grew along with it. Many of the city's landmark structures and preserved neighborhoods were constructed during this period. Originally, Flagler intended for his Florida East Coast Railway to have its terminus in West Palm, but after the area experienced a deep freeze, he chose to extend the railroad to Miami instead.
The land boom was already faltering when city was devastated by the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. The Depression years of the 1930s were a quiet time for the area, which saw slight population growth and property values lower than during the 1920s. The city only recovered with the onset of World War II, which saw the construction of Palm Beach Air Force Base, which brought thousands of military personnel to the city. The base was vital to the allied war effort, as it provided an excellent training facility and had unparalleled access to North Africa for a North American city. Also during World War II, German U-Boats sank dozens of merchant ships and oil tankers just off the coast of West Palm Beach. Nearby Palm Beach was under black out conditions to minimize night visibility to German U-boats.
The 1950s saw another boom in population, partly due to the return of many soldiers and airmen who had served in the vicinity during the war. Also, the advent of air conditioning encouraged growth, as year-round living in a tropical climate became more acceptable to northerners. West Palm Beach became the one of the nation's fastest growing metropolitan areas during the 1950s; the city's borders spread west of Military Trail and south to Lake Clarke Shores. However, many of the city's residents still lived within a narrow six-block wide strip from the south to north end. The neighborhoods were strictly segregated between White and African-American populations, a legacy that the city still struggles with today. The primary shopping district remained downtown, centered around Clematis Street.
In the 1960s, Palm Beach County's first enclosed shopping mall, the Palm Beach Mall, and an indoor arena were completed. These projects led to a brief revival for the city, but in the 1970s and 1980s crime continued to be a serious issue and suburban sprawl continued to drain resources and business away from the old downtown area. By the early 1990s there were very high vacancy rates downtown, and serious levels of urban blight.
Since the 1990s, developments such as CityPlace and the preservation and renovation of 1920s architecture in the nightlife hub of Clematis Street have seen a downtown resurgence in the entertainment and shopping district. The city has also placed emphasis on neighborhood development and revitalization, in historic districts such as Northwood, Flamingo Park, and El Cid. Some neighborhoods still struggle with blight and crime, as well as lowered property values caused by the Great Recession, which hit the region particularly hard. Since the recovery, multiple new developments have been completed. The Palm Beach Mall, located at the Interstate 95/Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard interchange became abandoned as downtown revitalized - the very mall that initiated the original abandonment of the downtown. The mall was then redeveloped into the Palm Beach Fashion Outlets in February 2014. A station for All Aboard Florida, a high-speed passenger rail service serving Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando, is under construction as of July 2015.
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" Walking the path of life is to tread within woe, amongst the bane and blight, where the mind is thy foe. "
In the Permian Basin, southwest of Odessa, Texas
On my way to Big Bend National Park in 2018, I passed this massive graveyard of rusting equipment related to the oil industry--hundreds of acres of tanks, pipes, buildings, trucks, oil rigs and all manner of waste. I wonder how long it's been since the last lunch was served in this cafe?
In retrospect, I should have made this a Pano to show more of the extent of the decay.
Getting harder to avoid hilltop wind turbines in landscape pictures. in my area all good hilltop views now contain them, with more forecast for the future. Langholm, dumfriesshire, scotland.
Our morning in Stamford was blighted by rain, which has been a dominant feature of 2023. It was just starting when we thought we'd have a look at All Saints church, most of which dates from the 13th century. A funeral was taking place, so we we just did a quick circuit of the outside and took shelter in St John the Baptist, which was well worth the visit. All Saints is one of five surviving medieval churches in Stamford, and quite curious in its architectural style. This blind arcade on the exterior is particularly unusual.
blight noun. a plant disease, especially one caused by fungi such as mildews, rusts, and smuts.
this is from a long ass time ago and i never uploaded it because i don't really like it and i was planning on reshooting but i'm not sure if that's going to happen anymore so i figured that i'd just upload.
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One of the leaves on an agave in our garden is in the process of dying. The color transition is quite astounding to see.
Basically just trying out this combo for Terry, the rest of these I showed off a long, long time ago. I didn't spill their recipes though, so I figured I'd do that this time around.
Shriek: Stud glued to Dwarf helmet, Chima torso, Galaxy Squad torso.
Spellbinder: Painted head, Indiana Jones torso with painted tie.
Batman: Painted Bruce head, Trimmed bat-cowl, CMF Bat arms, Ant-Man torso/legs.
Blight: Belleville head, Count Dooku torso, Lone Ranger legs.
Inque: Reversed Asajj Ventress head, Catwoman torso, painted legs.
Let me know what you think!
Kathy Toth || Toronto Graffiti Archive || Instagram
This block was finally turn down almost a decade after I shot it. Much of the area has changed with Brush Park being filled out with modern houses (yuk) and Brewster projects being torn down. I assume that some development is finally planned. It was a very interesting area to walk in 10 years ago. A bunch of us all went as a group and we didn't see anyone. Then a tornado almost happened.
Demolition a few days ago: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogI6qohOh2k