Lavender house, also known as Hermann V. Von Holst House is a private residence on the U.S…read more National Register of Historic Places in the historic old Floresta neighborhood in Boca Raton. It is located on 875 Alamanda Street. The neighborhood the house is in was initially designed by Addison Mizner but he went broke in 1926. Chicago Prairie School architect Hermann V. Von Holst along with partners purchased the development and he finished building the houses. Lavender House was the residence Holst built for himself. He went on to serve on the Boca Raton City Council from 1934 to 1948 and the planning board from 1940 to 1953. Although you can't tour this house it's worth driving through this beautiful historic neighborhood. It looks like the current owners embrace the history of their home as it is beautifully kept. They occasionally post pictures of the interior on their Facebook page dedicated to the home.

Covered bridges are rare and finding one in South Florida especially so. This is the oldest one in…read morethe state, built in 1964 so relatively modern. It was the first permanent structure in Coral Springs. A single steel span that is 40 feet long. It is an active bridge and I was pleased that the height and weight clearance were sufficient for the Sprinter van. There is no easy parking here with signs indicating private property and no parking on the grass. As such, you can't get any good view of the logos on the side of the bridge. Interesting note - it is the only covered bridge located on a public right-of-way in all of Florida. [Review 20249 overall - 1752 in Florida - 1226 of 2023.]

This was the nicest and "coolest" thing I saw today for Earth Day 2022. Real covered bridges are…read morenot found in South Florida and I was happy to see this one. It has murals painted on each side of the bridge span and recently is was closed for repairs but now it is open for cars. No trucks allowed. The neighborhood that it bridges is also very nice. The history behind this bridge can be found on a raised plaque on the side of the entrance and it has some pretty interesting history. Definitely check it out and drive through if you get the chance.

This neighborhood was designed by Addison Mizner in a Mediterranean style that you can see…read morethroughout the city of Boca Raton. It is located off of Palmetto Rd behind the Boca Raton Art Museum art school. The houses were designed for the executives of Mizner's company and one was for his brother the Reverend Henry Mizner who retired to Boca Raton. The Robinson Company were contracted to construct 29 homes in the neighborhood but they went bankrupt before they could finish. Architect Herman Von Holst from Chicago who owned the land foreclosed and along with investors he finished designing the subdivision and named it Old Floreresta meaning "a delightful rural place" in Spanish. The houses have certain characteristics in common, barrel tile roofs, wrought iron balconies, and Spanish style architecture. The homes are on narrow tree lines streets. Some of the notable homes in the subdivision are 888 Oleander St owned by Henry Mizner who lived in Acacia, 875 Alamanda St. was the home of Herman Von Holst and he named his home Lavender House. He went on to serve on both the Boca Raton town council and planning boards. The house is now on the National Register of Historic Places as is 801 Hibiscus St, it was owned by film producer and mayor of Boca Raton Fred Aiken. Other well known residents of the neighborhood were Thomas Fleming who founded Florida Atlantic University, Don Estridge who worked on the IMB personal computer, and Nathaniel Weyl who authored the book "Red Star Over Cuba" In 1990 Boca Raton named Old Floresta it's first historic district. The homes in the neighborhood are privately owned so you are not able to tour them. You are free however to drive through the beautiful neighborhood or even better bike it if you are able to do so. Although the homes I mentioned are not for sale a lot of other ones are. I saw quite a few for sale signs in the neighborhood. I am sure they are way out of my price range but it's free to dream.

Imagine my surprise to find a listing for the Old Floresta Historic District in Yelp. Like wow,…read morewhoever wrote this did a great service for helpers who seek out historic areas in Palm Beach county, areas which may be close to where they live or work. And this is OUR neighborhood. It's where we drive into and out of daily. It's where we walk our sato Bori. And where we drive friends around to show them the authentic ORIGINAL Mizner designed homes, as well as those which mimic the Mizner look. The streets are narrow, some cannot accommodate two cars going in either direction without riding up into someone's lawn. The foliage is heavy, very heavy. People who visit us or do work for us always comment that it reminds them of Coral Gables. As a historic district the City monitors carefully all renovations which affect the exterior in any manner at all, as plans must be reviewed by Historic division as well as City Code Compliance. Things like roof materials and colors, driveway design and materials, alterations to windows and doors or subtle things like the removal of a tree and its replacement. And that's all good! I love Old Floresta. I don't love the drivers who try through our area on the way to Boca Regional Hospital or anywhere else and roll through stop signs. I hope they get tickets when police set up traps. Our neighborhood is quiet, well preserved and a place where families walk with their children and their dogs and just chill. While not a gated community it is tucked away off Palmetto Park Road, east of 95 and west of Dixie, on the north side of the street. If you find the old Art School on the north side of Palmetto, you access Old Floresta on either Paloma or Cardinal (NW9). Drive slow when in our community. Or better yet, walk around. Oh by the way, on Halloween the homeowners really go craycray decorating their homes and thousands go trick treating.

I would love to live in a historic home that has a name. This house was built in 1926 is located in…read morethe historic neighborhood of Old Floresta in Boca Raton. It is one of the 29 homes Addison Mizner designed in the Mediterranean Revival style with stucco walls, wrought iron balconies, and barrel tile roofs. The contractor went bankrupt before the neighborhood was completed and the project was finished by Herman Von Holst and his investors. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 24, 1992. It was the home of Fred C. Aiken who was a film producer and mayor of Boca Raton until 1938. The house has spiral staircases, Moorish columns, wood floors, a Spanish clay roof, and plastered kitchen walls. The outside has arched columns and stucco walls. I love the architecture design of Addison Mizner. You can see his work throughout Boca Raton. This house is a private residence so you can't tour it, you can only view it from the outside. This is one of my favorite homes in one of my favorite neighborhoods.

The Raulerson House is the oldest standing home in Boca Raton. It is a Boca Raton designated…read morehistoric site. The two story home is 1,911 square feet and it was built in 1905. It used to sit on Palmetto Park Blvd where a shopping center now sits and it was moved to it's current location. The house is named for Boca pioneers Bert and Annie Raulerson who came to the area in 1903. They built the home and grew oranges and worked in a fruit packing house. When they constructed the house a lot of windows added to keep it cool since there was no air conditioning. The house also sits on pilings to keep air moving underneath it and to prevent rot. Wood used to build homes in this time period were pecky cypress and Dade county pine. Another nice feature of the home is a beautiful front porch. Diane DeMarco restored it when she was the owner. Diane has served as president of the Delray Beach Historical Preservation Board and as a member of the Boca Raton Historical Preservation Board. In 2010 the Boca Raton children's museum had hoped to acquire the house from its owner Robert Muller to add next to their other historic buildings, Singing Pines and the Arvida Cottage. The deal fell through and the museum ended up building a replica of Boca Raton's oldest home, Thomas Moore Rickards house instead. This home is privately owned so you can not tour the inside but it is part of the tour on the geotourist app put together by the Boca Raton Historical Society.

I've lived here for most of my life and somehow I don't think I've ever been to the Stranahan…read moreHouse, despite passing right by it a million times. They recently started offering free tours for locals on Wednesdays, so I decided to take advantage. It's a free self-guided tour, and they give you an audio device that gives you all the information on each room. The volunteer who checked me in was super sweet. Stranahan House is the oldest structure in Broward County, and I really enjoyed learning more about the history of the area, and especially about Ivy Stranahan's activism. It really gave me a new appreciation for the area. My favorite part was the upstairs porch, with a beautiful, relaxing view of the New River. I took the volunteer's advice and sat up there for a minute enjoying it instead of rushing through, and I'm so glad I did. Be aware that upstairs isn't air conditioned, so half of the tour is really hot. Dress accordingly or bring a fan! Overall, I'd highly recommend stopping by! It's something fun to do that's a nice change of pace.

My husband and I finally took a self-guided tour here since we saw they recently made it free…read moreadmission on Wednesday's for locals and it's definitely worth the visit! The tour took about 45 minutes and was super interesting and informative. Just a heads up that the second floor isn't air conditioned so it was just a little warm up there!

This must be the local dive spot of the Delray Wreck because there is a sign stating it. I assume…read morethe wreck is out in the ocean because it was definitely not on land.

This marker along Delray Beach has seen better days since it was installed. The paint is faded and…read moreworn, which is understandable since it is literally right next to the beach and so it gets scrubbed by sand and salt day in and day out. But it still stands, pointing out a bit of history and drama that is now over a century old. There is parking nearby and don't forget to feed the meter. The marker reads, "The old shipwreck know as the Delray Wreck rests at the bottom of the ocean in 25 feet of water about 150 yards offshore the south end of Delray's municipal beach. The wreck is broken and scattered into five sections and has long been one of the most popular diving spots in South Florida. "The S.S. INCHULVA was grounded and wrecked by a fierce hurricane on September 11, 1903. Under the command of Captain G.W. Davis, the 386 foot steel hulled British steamship was bound for Newport News, Virginia from Galveston, Texas carrying wheat, cotton, lumber and a crew of 28 men. "The storm struck about 5 p.m., tossing the ship and causing the cargo to shift. Steering became impossible, so Captain Davis put out both anchors, but to no avail. The anchors parted and the INCHULVA grounded and was ripped apart. Nine crew members were lost. "Dawn revealed to the battered crew that land and a town were just a short distance away. By noon, all the men except Captain Davis and two mates had landed on shore in a small hastily-built raft. They found hot food and coffee at the Chapman House, a local hotel, where many of Delray's residents had taken shelter during the storm. "The nine seamen who lost their lives were buried on the ridge overlooking the ocean where the ship had gone down. The surviving crew members were treated, paid and sent to New York. "Before leaving for their homes, each crew member signed the guest register of the Chapman House. Under their names they wrote, "Shipwrecked in the S.S. INCHULVA, September 11, 1903, landed on a raft September 12th and received every kindness and attention at the hands of Mrs. Chapman." "Captain Davis, his Chief Officer, a 2nd Officer and a seaman from the ship were brought before the Naval Court held at the British Vice Consulate at Jacksonville on September 19th. The Court exonerated the Captain and the crew from all blame." This is marker number F-327 and it was erected in 1980 by the Historic Palm Beach County Preservation Board in cooperation with the Florida Department of State. [Review 976 of 2024 - 1852 in Florida - 22004 overall]

The Barefoot Mailmen were eleven US postal workers who delivered the mail in South Florida from…read more1885 to 1893 by walking barefoot on the beach from Palm Beach to Miami. Before the mailman started the route, a letter from Lake Work to Miami could take anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months to arrive and would be routed through Cuba. The annual salary of a Barefoot Mailman was $600 a year. The trip started on Monday and took three days to get to Miami, Then they would turn around and come back for a round trip of 136 miles. Eighty miles were walking and fifty six miles were by boat. The three day trek down the coast was not without it's danger. You can find statues and markers dedicated to them all down the coast from Lantana to Miami. The first barefoot mailman tribute in Hillsboro Beach was a ten-foot-tall stone statue created in 1973. It was placed in front of the Barefoot Mailman Hotel. Fifteen years later the hotel burned down, the statue was moved to the front of municipal hall. The city then paid to have a second Barefoot Mailman statue made out of bronze and this is the one you can still see today. The original statue was moved to the Coast Guard's Hillsboro Inlet Light Station at the base of the lighthouse. It overlooks the place where James "Ed" Hamilton mysteriously vanished in 1897 while crossing the Hillsboro Inlet. The mystery of what happened to Hamilton is fascinating. Was he eaten by an alligator, killed by native people, or did he drown? No one will ever know. I have found many of the tributes to these hardy Florida pioneers throughout the three counties they traveled. Every time I do I am amazed by what they endured in order to deliver the mail to the areas first residents. This statue serves as an enduring symbol of the grit and endurance it took to survive early Florida.

This vernacular frame structure is the oldest home in Boynton Beach. The house was built in 1907 by…read moreBert L. Kapp, a Dutchman who moved to Boynton from Michigan. He sold the house to A.E. Parker, Major Nathan S. Boynton's son-in-law. The house then passed into the possession of Charles Lee Andrews, a Confederate Civil War veteran and his 42 year younger wife Katie. When Katie passed away in 1971 she was still collecting her husbands Civil War veteran benefits. She was the last person to collect them in Palm Beach. Katie's son and daughter inherited the house and after her son passed away and his widow moved out it deteriorated. In 1998 Boynton resident Bob Katz bought the house and restored it. He had the house moved to the lot next door. He passed away at the age of 50 leaving the ownership of the house without a resolution. I saw the house during the Pirate and Mermaid Festival. It was decorated for Halloween and singers were performing from the porch. It's such a cute house and an important part of Boynton Beach's history. It would be wonderful if the city could gain ownership of it and open it up for tours.

Nice, interesting little park with a few descriptive signs. If you are riding the Water Taxi, it's…read morea great place to spend time while you are waiting for the next boat.

I've been here several times. I didn't realize it, but the last time was exactly 5 years ago in…read moreJuly 2014. This was shortly after it had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. At the time it was only the 2nd place in Pompano listed. For some reason, my review wasn't listed in Yelp at the time. Since I was first here, the trees have grown and the lawns have become lush and green. One of the newer plaques lists the various trees planted here in memoriam. They were all donated. It is within view of the intracoastal waterway. This is what I wrote about it before -- all still true: This prehistoric Indian Mound Park honors the ancestors of the Tequesta Indians who used to bury the bones of their ancestors all together in large piles. It is now covered with grass and in the middle of the mound is a small pedestal with a plaque on it saying that it was created as a ceremonial burial place about 1300 AD. Surrounding the green grassy hill and central plaque is a small path and a couple benches. In front of the benches, there are pedestals with more information about the Mound. One embedded plaque (looks original) on the ground indicates it is also a bird sanctuary. The large leafy trees make it a shady spot for reflection and rest. There have never been any other people there when I've visited. Parking is limited nearby. There are a few spaces along the street parallel to the intracoastal.