Rocket is a public art piece located at the Boca Raton Innovation Campus. It is part of the Art in…read morePublic Places Initiative in South Florida. This office park used to be the research and development headquarters of IBM in 1970. It contains architecturally iconic historical buildings created by Marcel Breuer in the 1960s. The first IBM personal computer was invented here along with the first smartphone. This campus was at the forefront of early robotics technology and other tech inventions. Rocket is the creation of Virginia artist Hubert Phipps who is well known for his abstract sculptures and paint pigment drawings He is also a champion race car driver and aviator. He took inspiration for Rocket from his love of aero dynamic forms. First he drew the model and created it out of clay. It was then rendered in 3D using Maya, a software modeling program. The rocket design is meant to represent the intersection of science and art while celebrating modern engineering. The 30-foot, 9.8 ton corrosive resistant stainless steel rocket was manufactured in 2019 at the Tany Foundry in Hangzhou, China. From there it experienced several Covid related delays crossing the Pacific Ocean and traveling through the Panama Canal before arriving 8,000 miles away in Boca Raton through a partnership with the Boca Raton Museum of Art and developer CP Group. The rocket sculpture is valued at 1.5 million dollars will be here for a five year loan period. I loved discovering this public art. The park like setting adds even more beauty to the sculpture. You can walk through it and discover the perfect spot to take a picture or selfie of yourself making it interactive art. Come out and experience it before it jets off to galaxies unknown.

As I drove up towards the BRiC building, the art installation caught my eyes!…read more This once was a technology facility. Now, it is the Boca Raton Innovation Campus. To represent this forward-thinking presence, the Rocket sits in the very front as you drive through the round-a-about parking lot. Hubert Phipps' 30-foot stainless steel sculpture "Rocket" traveled over 8,000 miles to arrive as the new centerpiece at Boca Raton Innovation Campus, 5000 T-Rex Ave. Inspired by the artist's love of aerodynamic forms, the steel sculpture's full-scale fabrication began in 2019 at the Tany Foundry in Hangzhou, China. "The sculpture by Hubert Phipps was conceived as that intersection between art and science, and celebrates the heroics of modern engineering, as also seen in Marcel Breuer's historic building designs for IBM's North American Research and Development Headquarters," said Irvin Lippman, the Executive Director of the Boca Raton Museum of Art. The gleaming, stainless steel reflecting Rocket was two years in the making, with a nod to Sci Fi retro futurism. The Campus encourages visitors to walk around and underneath it, to enjoy their funhouse mirror images on the shiny surface. The monumental new sculpture Rocket by Hubert Phipps was been selected for an Art in Public Places initiative in South Florida, for the BRiC, the historic tech landmark where the first IBM Personal Computer was invented. This new public art program is part of a cultural partnership between the Boca Art Museum and CP Group, the owner of BRiC and a premier developer and operator of commercial real estate. South Florida officials heralded this announcement with an unveiling ceremony at BRiC, officially welcoming Rocket as one of the largest outdoor sculptures ever chosen for a public art initiative in Palm Beach County. The Phipps sculpture is valued at $1.5 million, stands 30-feet tall, weighs 9.8 tons, and took more than 7,000 square feet of stainless steel to construct. The Rocket sculpture towers alongside a waterfront panorama of iconic architecture designed by Marcel Breuer in the 1960s. This celebrated architectural style by Breuer is rarely seen at this grand of a scale, spanning so many acres. The new sculpture by Phipps and the historic buildings designed by Breuer marry each other well in the Brutalist style, creating a powerful visual impact.

The first pavilion built here was in 1917 with a $214 contribution from the Deerfield Beach Woman's…read moreClub. It was eventually replaced with the North Beach Pavilion. I used to come here with my daughter for free surf lessons and camps sponsored by Island Water Sports. In 2020 the pavilion was renamed in honor of Island Water Sports founder Kirk Cottrell. Cottrell passed away at the age of 46 during a surfing accident in 2001 in South Africa where had taken his family to establish a chapel. He was a pillar of the community who brought a love of surfing to countless kids in the area. The Community Redevelopment Agency oversaw a 2.3 million dollar refurbishment of the pavilion. Improvements include an area dedicated to surfers with board racks, a cleaning station and showers, an ADA compliant ramp starts in the parking lot and ends on the sand, stadium seats that overlook the sand volleyball courts, fountains and water bottle filler, a large storage room for the beach rescue team, bike racks, a true-north decorative mosaic compass, and a large event room with shelving and check-in window for beachside charity events. The tables and benches are made from reclaimed hardwoods. Five years in the making, the pavilion was designed by architects Walters Zackria Associates and constructed by Danto Builders. The entrance sign was created by local surfboard artist Bird Surfboards. I love the pavilion improvements. This is one of my favorite places to park in Deerfield Beach when I can land a spot in the small lot. Kirk Cottrell Pavilion has great beach access, restrooms, and it is across the street from places to eat and shop. It is also within walking distance of Island Water Sports.

A cool place to chill and take in a great view while in Deerfield Beach in the Sunshine State of…read moreFlorida. The pavilion is named in honor of Kirk Cotrell (the name kind of gives that away) who was a South Florida native. He was a surfer who founded Island Water Sports, a Deerfield Beach retail icon. He was also a pastor who believed in serving his community. It appears that his spirit of community lives on as it said that Island Water Sports conducts surf camps to the children of the community. It is not a large pavilion by any means, there are only four little tables, but that just adds to the charm of the pavilion. Be warned that you do have to pay to park here. It is three dollars an hour for the privilege of parking, but there is extremely limited parking all around here, so it might not be a bad deal after all. They have public restrooms that are well-maintained. Communities need places like this, a place where the community can join together and make that community a living, breathing entity. I am glad that I found this place, I would recommend you seek it out if you find yourself in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

While driving down the Sawgrass Expressway one day I noticed Sunset Hammock, a public art work…read morelocated in Sunset Point Park in Tamarac. I made a mental note to come back and get a better look. Completed in November of 2023, this monumental new artwork was created by artist Margi Glavovic who was born in Harare, Zimbabwe and grew up in Durban, South Africa. In 1999 she founded Glavovic Studio, an architecture firm in Ft, Lauderdale,. Since its inception Glavovic Studios has created affordable housing, parks, commercial spaces, museums, landscapes, and public art commissions. Nature plays a large part in her design inspiration. Sunset Hammock is an interactive in-situ metal land bridge structure that transforms into a community periscope to view the Everglades. An observational boardwalk, which includes a modular red aluminum walkway leads to a large community periscope measuring 20 feet by 3 feet, which offers a view into the Everglades that lie beyond the Sawgrass Expressway. The hammock in the artworks name comes from the hammock ecosystem found in the Florida Everglades. It is a shady tropical forest found on higher elevations and which provide important habitat for many species of wildlife, including nine federally listed species. While most hammocks are now federally protected many acres were lost to developers who were looking for higher ground to build on. This artwork was designed to give visitors a glimpse into the nearby Florida Everglades while bringing together conceptual art and nature. With this art piece Glavovic wants to raise awareness about the critical role of the Everglades within the ecological balance of South Florida. The project was created to integrate the adjacent wetland with this community park. Sunset Hammock is part of the city's Public Art Program and was approved by the city commission in April 2021. In 2020 it won am AIA Fort Lauderdale Honor Award and has been awarded grants from the National Endowment of the Arts and the Florida Land and Water Conservation Fund. The $1.1 million art installation was funded through a $400K Land and Water Conservation Grant and Public Art Funds. I love the interactive nature of this art. It incorporates art, science, community, and nature to spark interest in the Everglades which will hopefully lead to more people learning about the importance of its ecosystem. It is also a great place to watch the sun set.

If you're on the sawgrass, you'll notice the red bridge. I was thrilled to find out this was…read moreminutes from my house. Very small park but a nice one. They have pavilions with electricity to rent (affordable, I rented one), grills , bathrooms on site, covered playground and off course the red bridge. Great for parties, picnics and more. Lots of parking. Very quiet park. No pets allowed!

Rosemary Square is home to Palm Beach County's largest concentration of public art installed by a…read moreprivate company. One such piece, The Wishing Tree is a public art piece created in 2019 by San Francisco Symmetry Labs, an American, art & design collective founded 2014. By day the installation looks like a 26 foot tall Banyan tree in the middle of Rosemary Square. By night, the tree is illuminated by a computer made light show. The tree is covered in 100,000 individually programmable, full-color-spectrum LEDs that create the light embedded in 10,000 leaves. The way the lights are programmed was inspired by the fast changing South Florida weather system. Symmetry Labs has said about The Wishing Tree "We hope, despite the technological complexity, that the piece invokes a simple and beautiful feeling: the wonder of nature and humans working in harmony, the possibilities we can achieve together when we share knowledge and wisdom, and the awe of life itself." I love this show stopping piece. Art, technology, and nature intertwine to great a piece that makes you stop and whip out your camera. After taking all of your pictures don't forget to make a wish. With a tree this amazing, it will surely come true.

The Mechanical Horse is a new public art installation in front of the Boynton Beach Arts and…read moreCultural Center. First announced in December of 2018, it is part of a new 1.15 million dollar art project to create kinetic and interactive art to bring cultural tourism to Boynton Beach and to make the new Town Square "iconic, interactive, and connective". Some of the money came from the city while the majority came from a private developer. Art is dispersed around the area in the new Kapok Tree Park, the new  fire station, police headquarters, and two new parking garages that will have murals. I love horses and public art so I was really delighted to discover this guy hanging out in front of the culture center. It was created in 2015 by artist Adrian Landon who grew up riding horses. Of his horse pieces Landon has said "My work also has a lot of sound in it, just the metal clanking, like the hooves touch the ground and slide on a metal sheet. And you can hear the chains. So it's very much about providing a new experience for people." When I visited, the horse was just hanging there but I saw on the internet videos where the motor is turned on and the horse looks like it is running. It is very cool to watch. You can find several large scale art pieces outside in this area. The rest of the exhibit is inside the Arts and Cultural Center. Come check out art that no only moves you, it actually moves.

West Palm Beach offers a delightful blend of cultural richness, natural beauty, and urban…read moresophistication. There is always something new to see and explore which makes it the perfect day trip destination. West Palm Beach boasts a thriving cultural scene that caters to diverse tastes. The Norton Museum of Art is a masterpiece in itself, showcasing an impressive collection spanning various periods and styles. The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts hosts a varied array of shows featuring dance, plays, musicals, and musical performances. Sunday on the Waterfront is a free concert series held on the third Sunday of very month from 4 to 7 PM. The city's commitment to the arts is further evident in its street art scene and the numerous galleries scattered throughout downtown. Whether you're a seasoned art enthusiast or just appreciate creativity, the West Pam Beach arts scene is vibrant. One of my favorite parts of West Palm Beach is the picturesque waterfront which is a haven for relaxation and recreation. Stretching along the Intracoastal Waterway, the waterfront offers stunning views, lush green spaces, and a perfect backdrop for a leisurely stroll or a family picnic. Clematis Street, with its lively atmosphere, charming boutiques, and eclectic eateries, is a testament to the city's commitment to creating inviting public spaces. Every December West Palm Beach puts on Holiday in Paradise which features Sandi, the world's only 35-foot, 700-ton holiday sand tree. For nature lovers, West Palm Beach doesn't disappoint. The Mounts Botanical Garden is a haven of tranquility, showcasing a diverse collection of plants from around the world. The nearby Okeeheelee Park provides ample opportunities for outdoor activities, from biking and hiking to bird watching providing a refreshing escape from the hustle and bustle of urban life. The culinary landscape of West Palm Beach is a melting pot of flavors. From upscale waterfront dining to cozy cafes serving artisanal coffees, the city caters to a wide range of palates. One of my favorites is the rooftop restaurant on the top of Restoration Hardware. West Palm Beach has one of the largest and best farmers' markets, where you can savor fresh produce and homemade treats while soaking in the vibrant community spirit. West Palm Beach is a place where art, nature, and community converge to create an unforgettable experience. I feel a deep appreciation for the city's unique character and history and I am always eager to return to explore more of what West Palm Beach has to offer. Some of my favorite places are Dreher Park, Palm Beach Zoo, Cox Science Center and Aquarium, Antique Row, Anne Norton Sculpture Gardens, Biscuit Lady's Bakehouse, Rosemary Square, City Zen Garden, and Clematis Street. I highly recommend West Palm Beach to anyone seeking a perfect blend of cultural enrichment and coastal charm.

I have visited West Palm Beach many times and I always love my visit here. One of my first visits,…read morewe stayed at a Bed and Breakfast called Casa Grandview. This was definitely a wonderful memorable stay! We have visited the food hall in West Palm Beach many times. It's called Grandview Public Market. We have gotten to ride bikes from West Palm Beach to Palm Beach as well as do the Duck Boat tour which is land and water. That is definitely an experience bc the ride starts on land and it converts to a boat to see the homes on the water. The fun place for shopping and action is City Place which we have enjoyed many a times. In their downtown area, they also have a great farmers market with a good amount of vendors. There's also a lot of downtown restaurants, shops, cafes, art, murals, etc. Lastly my all time favorite is their Christmas tree. It's one of my most favorite Christmas trees. It's made of sand and is so beautiful day and night. This is def a great place to visit. So many things to do. Fun for families, couples, kids, dog friendly. I will continue to visit and will love checking out the new local attractions and restaurants that open!

The Palmetto Park Bascule Bridge carries Palmetto Park Road over the Intracoastal Waterway. It has…read morea vertical clearance of 19 feet when closed and there is a horizontal clearance of 91 feet. The current bridge was built in 1987 and has a total length of 520 feet. Two lanes in each direction with a center median and raised curbs on each side for pedestrian traffic. Unlike some other bridges that stop traffic pretty far back from the spans, the gates for the Palmetto Park Bridge are quite close. The bridge is in very good condition and we had no trouble crossing it in either direction. Silver Pal Park is located on the south side of the bridge on the west side of the Intracoastal and there are good views of the bridge from there. [Review 15842 overall - 1418 in Florida - 1346 of 2021.]

Built in 1917 Palmetto Park Bridge was the first bridge built to cross the Florida East Coast Canal…read morenow called the Intracoastal Waterway. The first bridge was a wooden manually operated swing bridge operated by William and Eliza Townsend who lived in a house near the bridge. In 1919 Lucas Douglas and his family took over operation of the bridge until 1947. A concrete drawbridge replaced the wooden bridge in 1928. The drawbridge you see today is a bascule bridge built in 1987 and it was dedicated to Lucas Douglas. It opens every half four to boat traffic. The Camino Real bridge is closed for repairs for a year forcing more traffic over to the Palmetto Park Bridge for the foreseeable future.

The Mermaid is an abstract sculpture created in 2000 by local artist Claudia Jane Klein who…read moreattended Albert Lea College in Minnesota where she majored in art. In the 1980's she worked in fashion design and was recognized by the Fashion Institute of Technology for her unique designs. In the 1990's she decided to concentrate solely on sculptures and learned metal fabrication and welding in trade schools in New York and Florida. Today she creates metal sculpture in her studio in Lake Worth. I love mermaids so this sculpture caught my eye as I was walking back from the Snook Islands. This is not a classic sculpture of a mermaid but a more abstract form of a sea nymph although you can clearly make out the tail.The face of the mermaid is an open circle. Claudia Jane Klein thought a mermaid sculpture was perfect for Lake worth since it is directly on the Lake Worth Lagoon and ocean. She donated her time and money to create the piece and gifted it to the city in partnership with the Lake Worth Street Painting Festival who maintains it. You can find The Mermaid in Bryant Park across from the golf course. She is next to the fountain. I think she adds artistic interest to the park.