With images from public and private collections, join the Palm Gardens Historical Society as they paint a colorful picture of this impressive community.
Sculpted from the swamp, sawgrass, and sand of Florida scrubland, Palm Beach Gardens emerged as a pristine embodiment of the dream of eccentric--but brilliant--billionaire John D. MacArthur, who appealed to the Florida Legislature in 1959 for the creation of this new city. A larger-than-life character who relocated an 80-year-old, 76-ton banyan tree several miles down roads and across railroad tracks to mark the entrance to his... Read More
Format: Paperback
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With images from public and private collections, join the Palm Gardens Historical Society as they paint a colorful picture of this impressive community.
Sculpted from the swamp, sawgrass, and sand of Florida scrubland, Palm Beach Gardens emerged as a pristine embodiment of the dream of eccentric--but brilliant--billionaire John D. MacArthur, who appealed to the Florida Legislature in 1959 for the creation of this new city. A larger-than-life character who relocated an 80-year-old, 76-ton banyan tree several miles down roads and across railroad tracks to mark the entrance to his... Read More
With images from public and private collections, join the Palm Gardens Historical Society as they paint a colorful picture of this impressive community.
Sculpted from the swamp, sawgrass, and sand of Florida scrubland, Palm Beach Gardens emerged as a pristine embodiment of the dream of eccentric--but brilliant--billionaire John D. MacArthur, who appealed to the Florida Legislature in 1959 for the creation of this new city. A larger-than-life character who relocated an 80-year-old, 76-ton banyan tree several miles down roads and across railroad tracks to mark the entrance to his city, MacArthur later fully financed the Palm Beach Gardens interchange on Florida's Turnpike to promote growth in the western part of the city. Palm Beach Gardens, with 30 percent of its 4,000 acres devoted to green space, was ecologically sound before the environmental movement began. With the RCA Corporation and nearby Pratt & Whitney providing employment in the early years, schools and churches nourishing families, and a strong strain of volunteerism among residents, by 1970 Palm Beach Gardens was the fastest-growing municipality in the nation. Although ""Mr. Mac"" did not play golf nor particularly like the game, he encouraged its development in the ""Gardens"" because of its positive influence on real estate sales and tourism. Indeed, he invited the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) to make its home there and declared Palm Beach Gardens the ""Golf Capital of the World""--today, there are 17 golf courses in the city.
Details
Pages: 128
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Imprint: Arcadia Publishing
Series: Images of America
Publication Date: 23rd July 2012
State: Florida
Illustration Note: Black and White
ISBN: 9780738593807
Format: Paperback
BISACs: TRAVEL / Pictorials (see also PHOTOGRAPHY / Subjects & Themes / Regional) PHOTOGRAPHY / Subjects & Themes / Regional (see also TRAVEL / Pictorials) HISTORY / United States / State & Local / South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
Reviews
"Photographs of ""prosperity farms"" along the Intracoastal Waterway and city founder John D. MacArthur sitting alongside his dog Zeck are part of a 128-page book about the city's history scheduled for release July 23 in local bookstores.
""We wanted to capture the early years. Tracing the city's history showed us how eras have come and gone,"" said Linda Smith, a former Pratt & Whitney employee who is one of the seven local authors of the book to be released by Arcadia Publishing.
Incorporated in 1959, the city by 1970 had a population of about 7,000 people. The population boomed with the arrival of Pratt & Whitney and RCA. Gardens now has about 50,000 residents and covers about 55 square miles, stretching west into the Loxahatchee Slough.
The book shows many firsts, including the 1962 opening of the Palm Beach Gardens Elementary School, the city's first public school building, on Riverside Drive. An overhead view of the Gardens Mall shows the 1.4-million-square-foot PGA Boulevard shopping center when it was opened by the Forbes Co. in 1988 as what was then the largest indoor mall in Florida.
Recreation was always a major focus for city leaders, said Don Kiselewski, a former mayor who was on the council for a dozen years starting in 1982. The city council worked with developers to set aside property that is now PGA National Park and the ballfields off MacArthur Boulevard.
""Many people opposed setting aside the property for recreation because it didn't make any money. But that's part of the city's life,"" said Kiselewski, who is pictured on page 84 judging a 1982 Junior Miss Palm Beach Gardens beauty contest at Palm Beach Gardens High School.
Finding and organizing the photographs took the help of residents and city officials, said Maria Mamlouk, another one of the authors. The Lake Park Historical Society provided the photos of the prosperity farms, which were dairy and vegetable gardens along the Intracoastal Waterway owned by local farmers who sold to nearby grocery stores and hotels.
Researching the book confirmed how MacArthur's vision of keeping Palm Beach Gardens a business- and family-oriented community has remained.
""(MacArthur's) influence has been as strong here as Henry Flagler's in Palm Beach,"" Mamlouk said. Copyright 2012 Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc."
With images from public and private collections, join the Palm Gardens Historical Society as they paint a colorful picture of this impressive community.
Sculpted from the swamp, sawgrass, and sand of Florida scrubland, Palm Beach Gardens emerged as a pristine embodiment of the dream of eccentric--but brilliant--billionaire John D. MacArthur, who appealed to the Florida Legislature in 1959 for the creation of this new city. A larger-than-life character who relocated an 80-year-old, 76-ton banyan tree several miles down roads and across railroad tracks to mark the entrance to his city, MacArthur later fully financed the Palm Beach Gardens interchange on Florida's Turnpike to promote growth in the western part of the city. Palm Beach Gardens, with 30 percent of its 4,000 acres devoted to green space, was ecologically sound before the environmental movement began. With the RCA Corporation and nearby Pratt & Whitney providing employment in the early years, schools and churches nourishing families, and a strong strain of volunteerism among residents, by 1970 Palm Beach Gardens was the fastest-growing municipality in the nation. Although ""Mr. Mac"" did not play golf nor particularly like the game, he encouraged its development in the ""Gardens"" because of its positive influence on real estate sales and tourism. Indeed, he invited the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) to make its home there and declared Palm Beach Gardens the ""Golf Capital of the World""--today, there are 17 golf courses in the city.
Pages: 128
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Imprint: Arcadia Publishing
Series: Images of America
Publication Date: 23rd July 2012
State: Florida
Illustrations Note: Black and White
ISBN: 9780738593807
Format: Paperback
BISACs: TRAVEL / Pictorials (see also PHOTOGRAPHY / Subjects & Themes / Regional) PHOTOGRAPHY / Subjects & Themes / Regional (see also TRAVEL / Pictorials) HISTORY / United States / State & Local / South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
"Photographs of ""prosperity farms"" along the Intracoastal Waterway and city founder John D. MacArthur sitting alongside his dog Zeck are part of a 128-page book about the city's history scheduled for release July 23 in local bookstores.
""We wanted to capture the early years. Tracing the city's history showed us how eras have come and gone,"" said Linda Smith, a former Pratt & Whitney employee who is one of the seven local authors of the book to be released by Arcadia Publishing.
Incorporated in 1959, the city by 1970 had a population of about 7,000 people. The population boomed with the arrival of Pratt & Whitney and RCA. Gardens now has about 50,000 residents and covers about 55 square miles, stretching west into the Loxahatchee Slough.
The book shows many firsts, including the 1962 opening of the Palm Beach Gardens Elementary School, the city's first public school building, on Riverside Drive. An overhead view of the Gardens Mall shows the 1.4-million-square-foot PGA Boulevard shopping center when it was opened by the Forbes Co. in 1988 as what was then the largest indoor mall in Florida.
Recreation was always a major focus for city leaders, said Don Kiselewski, a former mayor who was on the council for a dozen years starting in 1982. The city council worked with developers to set aside property that is now PGA National Park and the ballfields off MacArthur Boulevard.
""Many people opposed setting aside the property for recreation because it didn't make any money. But that's part of the city's life,"" said Kiselewski, who is pictured on page 84 judging a 1982 Junior Miss Palm Beach Gardens beauty contest at Palm Beach Gardens High School.
Finding and organizing the photographs took the help of residents and city officials, said Maria Mamlouk, another one of the authors. The Lake Park Historical Society provided the photos of the prosperity farms, which were dairy and vegetable gardens along the Intracoastal Waterway owned by local farmers who sold to nearby grocery stores and hotels.
Researching the book confirmed how MacArthur's vision of keeping Palm Beach Gardens a business- and family-oriented community has remained.
""(MacArthur's) influence has been as strong here as Henry Flagler's in Palm Beach,"" Mamlouk said. Copyright 2012 Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc."