Stuart and William L. Kester were originally from West Virginia. They came to Pompano to pursue…read morefishing in the 1920's and in 1937 built the wood frame bungalows that they called "pepper crates" in Pompano and Deerfield Beach. Since they were inexpensive to build soon everyone was constructing them for residents and visitors alike. They were constructed of Dade County pine and had indoor plumbing and running water. They measured 25 feet by 35 feet. Some had a beach view and ranged from one to three bedrooms. At their height of popularity there were 150 of them. All of the cottages were white with playing card suites cut of out their shutters. Houses cost under a thousand dollars to build and you could rent one for as little as $29 a month. I wish you could still get beach front property for that amount. The two Kester cottages owned by the Pompano Beach Historical Society were donated to them by Kester's nephew Stewart. They were moved from their original location to Founders Park behind the Historical Society building. Usually they are locked up but they open them for tours when they do the once a month historical trolley tour. The next time the cottages will be open is on January 12 from 9 to 10 AM. The cottages are filled with historical items from Pompano Beach's history. If you can't tour them they have a wonderful 3-D virtual tour on the website they have have set up for the cottages. One other Kester cottage remains on the grounds of the Butler House in Deerfield Beach.

This is a historical sign that is placed where the first Pompano Colored School once stood. The…read morefirst colored school was a two room wooden school house on what is now Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. It was destroyed by the 1926 Hurricane. Blanche General Ely who was to become the school's first principal supported a new and better school to replace the old one. In 1928 a two story, 6 classroom concrete and stucco building was constructed for grades one through six. In addition to the classrooms the building also had an assembly hall, library, and principals office. The school was completed with funds from the African-American community, Broward County, and the Rosemead Fund. Later on the school was expanded to the 11th grade. In 1954 the school was renamed Coleman Elementary School after Reverend James Emmanuel Coleman, the pastor of Mount Calvary Baptist Church.when desegregation took place the school closed in 1970 and in 1972 the school was demolished. The site where the school once sat is now Coleman Park and there is a historical marker commemorating the school. The marker that took more than two years to get was unveiled on September 6, 2018 in a city ceremony. Some of the schools former students attended. The site is now a designated Florida Heritage Site through the Historical Marker Program.

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.

In 2012 the City of Pompano Beach adopted an ordinance to place public art in the city. Works are…read morechosen by the Public Art Committee and the Old Town Mural is part of the public art program. It's so much fun finding new art popping up in different places in the city. There is a ten year master plan that proposes 27 new pieces of art. Periodically Pompano will list a call for artist submissions on their public arts page and at that time artists can submit their work for consideration for the next project. The Old Town Mural was created by South Florida artist Carlos Gonzalez. He won the competition held by the Public Arts Committee and his design was chosen. The mural is located on an exterior wall in the Old Town section of Pompano located across the street frrom the Pompano Beach Cultural Center. In bright colors, the 98 foot high mural depicts the landmarks and historic sites in Pompano Beach. Scenes include the Pompano Beach pier, the Hillsboro Lighthouse, fruilts and vegetables from when Pompano Beach started out as a farming community, historic buildings, and a Pompano fish. The best time to come and see this mural is during Old Town Untapped, a food arts, and shopping event held on the first Friday of every month. The city planted some flowers in front of the mural and it is the perfect back drop for taking pictures. I really love this mural and am excited to see what the committee approves next.

Kudos to the artist . We were near the mural in the small park listening to a free rock band …read more Apparently they have free monthly concerts near the old town mural . Yippy to free concerts and beautiful art .

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.

One of my favorite casual piers in South Florida! This is a beautifully renovated pier that allows…read moredogs to be walked on, people fishing off the pier, and often a huge sightseeing spot to see pelicans - huge ones! Along the pier, they also have some seating areas so you can take in the beautiful views and leaned over to look at the water. Before walking onto the pier, you'll see plenty of fun restaurants also with amazing beachside views to enjoy before or after your pier walk.

Beautiful sandy beaches and green blue ocean is the view next to the Pompano Beach pier.Renovated…read morein 2022 with some covered areas to sit or fish makes it place to relax and enjoy the sounds of the ocean. We saw people fishing and stingrays swimming up and own the pier depth. There is even a live camera feed from beneath the pier you can see fish stingrays and sharks swimming of you look up that link . Several paid parking meters are close for walking and some open air restaurants are next to pier. No charge to walk the pier and $6 to fish. Worth a look!!

We sailed under this bridge today, seen the traffic moving east and west on it as people were…read moretrying to get to/from the beaches in the Pompano Beach area. There's some nice artwork on the side of the bridge, giving this bridge a unique look and image. This bridge opens for tall boats on the hour and at 30 minutes past the hour.

The first water crossing that allowed people to cross from Pompano Beach to the ocean was made of…read morewood and it was built in 1912 when the town was only four years old. A wood and steel bridge replaced it in 1924 and lasted until 1955. By that time the population of Pompano Beach had risen to 10,000 people and a more modern bridge was needed. The Atlantic Boulevard Bridge was built a little further north than the previous bridge. It is a bascule bridge built in 1955 and it spans the intracoastal waterway. As the bridge remained the same over the next decades the city of Pompano Beach grew up around it. After remaining unchanged for 65 years Pompano Beach redesigned the bridge. I was able to attend the grand opening on June 26, 2019. The ceremony was presided over by Pompano Beach mayor Rex Hardin and other city officials. The cost of the project was $5 million and was funded by the City's Community Redevelopment Agency. Work on the bridge began in August 2018. A prominent feature of the new bridge design are two large sails at either end that have a computer operated lighting system that allows them to change colors. A new promenade underneath the bridge connects the north and south sides of Atlantic Boulevard allowing people to walk underneath the bridge. Ocean sea life art work by local nautical artist Dennis Friel decorates the underside of the bridge. Freil was on hand to sign posters of his art work at the bridge celebration. After breaking bottles of champagne the new bridge was opened to the public. Live music played as food tastings were provided by local restaurant, The Rusty Hook. Everyone was given champagne to toast the new bridge. The new bridge design is part of Pompano Beach's plan to make it a world class tourist destination.

On Saturday 08/30/24, we took a road trip to the Pompano Beach area to sight see the area. We found…read morerecommendations to see the Hillsboro Lighthouse, Roy L. Rogers Park, and the museum. We love to visit lighthouses when we can and decided to see one this also. At Hillsboro Park, also called Roy L. Rogers Family Park, we came across this small but pretty park and museum and decided to explore. It is a one room museum filled with information about the lighthouse that was built in 1907. You can sign up for boat tours to visit the Lighthouse once a month thru the museum. It is free. Only 8 people can comfortably fit inside, so there is a waitline. But it goes fast. Some people choose to climb up the outside of the Lighthouse at their own risk. Others climb the 175 stairs inside to get to the top. The tours are short and they are once a month. Sign up at the museum. It is an active Lighthouse that still send signals. This is worth seeing close up.

Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse is an easy Five Stars. Growing up in South Florida and being Aquarius I…read morelove lighthouses. This one was one of the first lighthouses I remember as a child. I really miss seeing it now. It's been beatified a lot over the years. The lighthouse was constructed in 1907. It's automated now and flashes every 20 seconds. If you're in the area check it out.

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.

The original SE 5th bridge was built in 1959. A report by FDOT's Bridge Management System…read moreidentified the bridge as needing repairs to the deck, substructure, and superstructure. The design phase began in 2019 with construction targeted for 2020. Plans were made to make the recommended repairs and replace the pilings and jackets. The bridge was also raised to match the clearance at US/Federal Hwy. Construction was anticipated to be finished last year but it was slowed due to Covid. I am happy to report the bridge is finally completed and open. Pompano did an outstanding job. On both sides of the bridge is ocean sea life art work by local nautical artist Dennis Friel. He also did all of the artwork on the Atlantic Boulevard Bridge. On the SE 5th Avenue Bridge you can see a crab, manatee, dolphins, and a sea turtle. I am a huge fan of Friel and I love the new artwork on the bridge. Pompano has taken a functional bridge and turned it into a work of art.

Nice bridge used by many in the Pompano area…read more The original bridge was built in 1959, based on Florida's Department of Transportation's Bridge Report. A few years ago, there were recommendations for repairs to the deck and superstructure as well as substructure components, including pilings and jackets. The bridge now matches the vertical clearance of FederalHighway. Nice artwork and fresh paint makes this cute bridge a pleasure to use.