Every time I drive past Lake Worth Beach on I-95, I always keep an eye out for this colorful water…read moretower. Standing 145 feet tall, the Lake Worth Beach water tower is located on the north side of Sixth Avenue South, just east of I-95. In July 2023, it was transformed into a giant beach ball with twelve bright red, yellow, white, and blue stripes making it one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. The whimsical design was proposed by Mayor Betty Resch to promote the city's coastal identity. It also prominently displays the city's official name, "City of Lake Worth Beach," reflecting the 2019 voter-approved name change from simply "Lake Worth." The artist behind the giant beach ball is Jimmy Kelly, a nationally recognized water tower painter whose work can be found on towers in more than three dozen states. His Florida projects also include water towers in Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale. After several career changes, Kelly began painting water towers in 1992. More than 20 years ago, he founded his own company, Industrial and Commercial Signs, and he sometimes works alongside his wife on these large-scale projects. Beyond serving as advertising for the city, the 300,000-gallon water tower plays an essential role in Lake Worth Beach's water system. It stores water to meet peak demand, provides the gravitational pressure needed to maintain a steady flow to homes and businesses, and serves as a backup water supply if the city's primary pumps or water source experience an interruption. Like all steel water towers, it must be repainted about every 10 years to protect it from corrosion. For now, though, residents and travelers can enjoy this cheerful beach ball rising above the skyline, both a practical piece of infrastructure and a memorable work of public art.

Not an official State of Florida Marker but a more local one, this plaque is embedded in a large…read moreboulder along A1A/Ocean Boulevard opposite Nassau Street. It points out some of the earliest developments of the area now known as Delray Beach. The marker reads, "Sara Gleason, Belle G. Dimick Reese and Ella M. Dimick Potter dedicated this beach to the public in 1899. In 1895 Sarah Gleason and her husband's business partner, W.H. Hunt, sold a parcel of land containing the beach area to William S. Linton for about $10.00 an acre except for a small portion then occupied by the Orange Grove House of Refuge (see marker north of Atlantic Avenue). A mortgage from William Linton, U.S. Congressman from Michigan who was promoting a town here called Linton, secured $3,000 of the purchase price. At the end of 1895, civil engineer E. Burslem Thomson drew a plat describing the Town of Linton. The plat, filed by William Linton and the Model Land Company during 1896, contained the first dedication for public use of what is now this mile-long municipal beach. When William Linton defaulted, the mortgage was foreclosed, half to Sara Gleason and half to the heirs of W.H. Hunt, his granddaughters Belle Reese and Ella Potter. These three women filed a replat dedicating the area east of the ocean beach lots and "Ocean Road" to the public in 1899." The marker was erected in 2008 by the Delray Beach Historical Society and the Robert Neff Family. There is metered street parking along A1A and a parking lot at Anchor Park. "Gleason" Street is the next one over from A1A. "Linton" Blvd is the main route through Delray Beach. [Review 978 of 2024 - 1854 in Florida - 22006 overall]

Ms. Hill is such a caring individual. She is open-minded & nonjudgemental. Triple H offers…read morenecessary STI screening panels at little to no cost. 10/10 would recommend.

Seagull Cottage is the oldest home in West Palm Beach. It was built in 1886 by Denver railroad…read moredeveloper R.R. McCormick. First called McCormick's cottage he built the staircase with mahogany from a ship wreck and stained glass. Henry Flagler was quite taken with pictures of it remarking when he first saw it "Why, I didn't know there was anything that beautiful south of Rockledge." Flagler purchased it to live in during the winter with his wife until Whitehall was completed in 1902. When Henry owned it it was called Croton Cottage for all of the crotons that were growing around it. When Henry Flagler moved out it was owned by a railroad executive. In 1913 it was named Seagull Cottage and moved to the ocean where it became a guest cottage for the Breakers and sat in anonymity until the 1980's. In 1982 former mayor Earl E.T. Smith heard the cottage was going to be demolished so he purchased it for $1 and paid $80,000 to move it to within 300 yards of it's original location. Overseen by the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach from 1984 to 1986, $600,000 was spent restoring it to it's 1886 aesthetic. Today the cottage is part of the Royal Poinciana Chapel on Cocoanut Row. I have passed the church many times before turning into Whitehall and never knew the cottage was here. The historical mark is facing the lake trail. It is within steps of Whitehall. It's a shame that is not a part of the Flagler museum. The house was used as a Parrish house and today is only used for Sunday school or community events. There are no private tours. The downstairs has a salon, dining room and sitting room and the house is filled with period pieces including Victorian wall paper and a 120 year old mirror. A larger hall was built to meet the needs of the church so the future fate of the house is still to be decided.

A bascule drawbridge allowing the yachts and sailboats to pass on the intercoastal. Based on quick…read moreresearch, the bridge, also known as the North Bridge, use may be temporarily by the Secret Service since Pres Trump's Mar-a-Lago home is nearby. Today we crossed over the bridge and viewed incredible intercoastal water on both sides. Lots of huge boats nearby and massive homes in the distance.

If one is interested in the history of this bridge, one could surf the web and learn some…read moreinteresting facts about the bridge. Recently, the Flagler Memorial Bridge was redesigned and reconstructed to maintain traffic for this active causeway to Palm Beach. The original Flagler Memorial Bridge was constructed in 1927. The new design provides a rolling lift span over the widened channel. The community had requested that the innovative bridge commemorate their famous historic resident, Henry Flagler, and provide a traditional visual appearance. I traveled over this bridge often to visit the Northside of Palm Beach Island where I enjoy an easy bicycle ride through the neighborhood and shorelines.

I am a fan of 1920's Mediterranean Revival architecture and love the El Cid neighborhood in West…read morePalm Beach. There are 281 historic structures located in the boundaries of Flamingo Drive, South Flagler Drive, Dyer Road and South Dixie Highway. El Cid was one of the few areas of Florida without any Native American history because the area was isolated from the rest of Florida by the Everglades. The first permanent resident to this western shore of Lake Worth was Benjamin Lainhart who built a cabin near Barcelona Road with the help of his cousin William. Lainhart started the first commercial pineapple farm and the land in this area was mainly pineapple farms. Disease ruined the pineapple industry in the early 1900's. Henry Flagler brought the railroad in 1894 and the town of West Palm Beach became incorporated causing a population explosion. In the 1920's, the Florida land boom resulted in population doubling again. Jay Phipps, the son of Andrew Carnegie's partner in U.S. Steel created the neighborhood with the old pineapple fields. He named it El Cid after Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar (1040-1099), a Spaniard who led Castilians and Iberian Moors to conquer Valencia in 1094. Cid is an Arabic term meaning lord. Between 1923 and 1926 upscale Mediterranean Revival and Mission style homes were sold on lots but the land boom bust after hurricanes and the Great Depression halted further building. WWII brought in new people and construction that filled in the empty lots. After a downturn in the 1960's, this neighborhoods beautiful homes and proximity to the water and downtown makes it highly sought after today. Historic homes range in the one million to three million range. The very first home built in El Cid in 1922 at 282 Barcelon Rd, is currently on the market for $2,695.000. One of the most well known homes and the only one you can tour in this neighborhood, is the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens. This house turned museum once belonged to artist Ann and her husband Ralph Norton. Ralph founded the Norton Art Museum in West Palm Beach which is where he met his second wife Ann. The El Cid District is listed on the local, State, and National Register of Historic Places. The neighborhood maintains and supports the landscaping with dues from it's El Cid neighborhood association. There is a marker along the Lake Worth Lagoon describing the historical importance of this neighborhood.

The Chapel of the Holy Spirit is one of the oldest structures in Palm Beach but it is not in it's…read moreoriginal location. It started out as the tea house for the Royal Poinciana Hotel that Henry Flagler built in Palm Beach in 1894 when he extended his railroad. That is the one building I most wish I could see today. It was a 6 story gilded age Georgian hotel that Flagler built as a winter retreat for wealthy northerners. Pictures of it remind of the Grand Floridian, Disney's most expensive hotel. The Grand Floridian was modeled on the Victorian era beach resorts built along Florida's east coast during the late 19th century and early 20th century, just like the Royal Poinciana. When Flagler built the hotel there was nothing in Palm Beach and that hotel is credited for building the City of Palm Beach. The hotel was packed during the social season from mid December to February 23. It had to be enlarged to accommodate the crowds and at one point was the largest wooden structure in the world. Eventually the Florida land boom bust caused by hurricanes and the Great Depression caused the hotel to close and it was torn down in 1935. All that remains is a historical marker where it once stood. I have looked at some of the china and other relics from the Royal Poinciana in Whitehall, Henry Flagler's mansion turned museum in Palm Beach. The Chapel of the Holy Spirit is the only building that I know of left of the hotel. This little building has had quite an adventure since being saved from destruction with the rest of the hotel. Through the years it has been a guest house, part of a gambling casino, artist's studio, a caretaker's cottage, and a gift shop. It first became a chapel in 1967 when it was purchased by former Hypoluxo Mayor James Brown who moved it to a mobile home park and named it the Minerva Chapel after his mother. When the trailer park was sold the chapel was donated to the Holy Spirit Anglican Catholic Church in Palm Springs. In August 2011, it was moved to the Church of the Holy Guardian Angels when they merged with the Church of the Holy Spirit. The building was renamed the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. In 2013 the Church of the Holy Guardian Angels and the Florida Department of State placed a historical marker in front of the chapel. It is now used for services, weddings, and special events. I loved finding this little structure and it looks like it is being lovingly cared for. Hopefully this tangible piece of Palm Beach past is home at last.

Wellington is an affluent village in Palm Beach County. It's located about 16 miles west of West…read morePalm Beach, 31 square miles & home to about 62,000 residents. Wellington is world renowned as a premier destination for equestrian sports. Annually an extensive Winter Equestrian Festival and the Global Dressage Festival from January through April are happening here. This fall a $750,000,000 massive 98-acre expansion of the village's signature state of the art show grounds are scheduled to open. It will expand Wellington International's total footprint to 215 acres. Wellington has over 25 parks, natural habitats like the Peaceful Waters Sanctuary with hundreds of miles of multi-use pathways. The Wellington Amphitheater hosts seasonal music tribute series, movie nights, and community celebrations. The Mall at Wellington Green, many strip mall's & restaurants offer all price points.