I was invited by email to sign up for a tour of their offices in which they explain and show you…read morehow mail in ballots generated, mailed out, processed... the entire process is demonstrated. I have to say, it's amazing to see. Best of all its lead by the Supervisor of Elections herself, Wendy Sartory... and she is impressive! You have to register for a tour, and they are only given at certain times... it's really well worth it if you have an interest in our elections in Florida. It's really well organized and very professional. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Pioneer Memorial Park is also known as Lakeside Cemetery. It is the final resting place of the…read morepioneer families of West Palm Beach. The cemetery was maintained by the Lakeside Cemetery Association until it became too small to meet the needs of the community. Woodlawn Cemetery opened across the street on land deeded by railroad tycoon Henry Flagler, and the Lakeside Cemetery Association deeded the land to the city in 1921. The Association had three requirements for the land, it be kept as a park, a plaque naming the pioneers buried there be maintained, and that the Lake Worth Pioneers Association be allowed to hold their meetings there. When Ralph and Elizabeth Norton wanted the land to build an art museum the association dropped the requirement of keeping it as a park. If families could be contacted for permission than the graves were moved across the street to Woodlawn. Norton Museum was built on top of the remaining graves. The 1902 grave of Richard Hone who was murdered and his two infant sons lie in the northwest corner of the gallery in a crawl space under the auditorium. A plaque was placed on the Norton Gallery by the Palm Beach Arts League who built the museum. It is dedicated "in memory of those whose names appear below." It is unclear which of the names on the plaque of the 40 people still remain beneath the museum. If you visit the cemetery all you will see are the signs. There is a historical sign posted outside with the cemetery information. Many people pass it everyday without bothering to read it. Although it is not a secret that bodies lie under the museum not many people know about it. This is not an uncommon phenomenon in South Florida. The African-American section of Lakeside Cemetery now lies under the Flamingo Park neighborhood. So next time you are at the museum pause for a moment of respect for the Palm Beach. Pioneers who lay beneath your feet.

Discovered this old cemetery and this is where many of the pioneers were buried. Many have been…read moremoved but forty remain.The list of pioneers from 1873 to1886 are. H Hammon W Moorse H Dye C Moorse H Pierce M Dimick F Dimick J McFarland E Bradley V Spencer A Wilder J Brelsford W Lainhart F Lennon E Dimick I Hendry A Geer C Lane D Brown G Potter M Spencer R Moore B Lainhart C Haight U Hendrickson C Cragin E Brelsford G Gale G Charters J Porter J Hoagland O Porter E Heyser J White W Lainhart R Potter J Davidson J McKenna E Gale A Garnett R McCormick G Rowley

I discovered this 1921 Neoclassical gem while driving through downtown West Palm Beach. It was such…read morea beautiful reminder of a bygone era that I had to learn more about it. The story of how this building came to be here has its roots in the flu pandemic of 1918 which killed an estimated 675,000 people in the United States that year. When Florida established a Board of Health in 1889 there were only 390,000 non indigenous people living in Florida, mainly north of Fort Pierce. As Florida grew, the population was at risk from malaria, cholera, dengue fever, yellow fever, smallpox, and even black plague. Henry Flagler became concerned that developers would not be able to sell lots in Florida if it had a reputation of being infested by disease. Dr. Joseph Y. Porter rose to the forefront of public health safety as Florida's first director of the State Board of Health from 1889 to 1917. Under Porter small pox and yellow fever were brought under control through his study of epidemiology. He also lowered the risk of death from Spanish flu. Porter eventually resigned because of clashes with Governor Catts. Upon Porter's departure Catts cleaned house in the State Board of Health and under the threat of Spanish Flu he signed a bill to create six new state laboratories. At the time West Palm Beach had fewer than 8,500 residents but it received this laboratory thanks to Joseph Earman who was editor of The Palm Beach Post from 1913 to 1920 and who also was well connected politically. Despite Catts not liking him because he wrote an unflattering article about him, Earman was appointed to the three member Board of Health which recommended the six sites where the labs would be built. On Dec. 7, 1920, The Palm Beach Post announced that the E. H. Barto Construction Company, recently relocated from Saskatchewan, Canada, to Kelsey City, now Lake Park, Florida would be building the State Health Laboratory designed by Pensacola architect Walker D. Willis at 415 5 Street, in downtown West Palm Beach. It was located across from Flagler's FEC train station so that it could receive medical supplies and samples. The railroad station was demolished in the 1950's. The building contract amount was $34,700 and payment was contingent on finishing in four moths. They finished in 100 days by working three shifts, seven days a week. Over 100 years later the building is still standing. In 2018 it became West Palm Beach's first landmarked building. Today it is part of Seacoast Bank but to me it stands as a reminder of how far health care and West Palm Beach has come.

This location is on the corner of Seacrest and Boynton Beach Blvd. and although it is a full…read moreservice post office, there is not alot of parking close to the building and getting in and out of the parking lot is a little tricky. I had previously heard that this post office was supposed to be relocated but that hasn't happened yet.

Grandview Heights is one of Palm Beach's oldest historical districts having been established in…read more1910. It was built as an extension of the Palm Beach Heights Neighborhood. Grandview Heights is bordered by Park Place, Alabama Ave, M Street, and Lake Ave. Most of the construction took place between 1910 and 1925. The homes were purchased by ministers, merchants, and construction workers who were building the luxury hotels in the area. The houses were designed in many different architectural style including, Spanish Mission, Craftsman Bungalow, American Four Square, Art Deco, Mission Revival, Dutch Colonial Revival, and smaller Mediterranean Revival homes. At the time it was built, Grandview Heights had the highest elevation in the area and residents had a view of the Lake Worth Lagoon. In the 1980's Palm Beach had the highest crime rate for a city of it's size in the nation. Crack and prostitution were an epidemic. In 1989 the city used eminent domain to complete an urban revitalization project for the downtown area that resulted in all of the Palm Beach Heights neighborhood and part of Grandview Heights neighborhood being torn down. The houses that were razed became City Place, The Kravis Center, and the Palm Beach Convention Center. The remaining houses were restored in the 1990's when people were looking for affordable housing close to downtown. Today the neighborhood consists of mostly single family homes, townhomes, and apartments. Also in this neighborhood are two historic churches, several bed and breakfasts, and small businesses. Grandview Heights is one of thirteen historic districts in West Palm Beach and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. I love walking around this neighborhood. So many of the homes have been recognized by the West Palm Beach Historic Preservation Board and display a plaque with the date they were built. While this area has full time residents it also attracts tourists seeking a reasonably priced Airbnb close to the attractions of downtown. There are so many cute places to rent for a vacation. It is fortunate that Grandview Heights was spared from complete destruction.

This is a very modern and updated facility located just North of the airport…read more The facility has plenty of accessible parking and easy access. We walked in and individually dropped off our ballots to the clerk at the window. She carefully checked our ballots to ensure they were signed and dated, then she time/date stamped them as received.

After being directed by Yelp to the wrong location, we finally made it here. THIS is the main…read moreoffice of the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections. The building is modern, and clean, and nicely landscaped. Outside the building there is handicapped and 15-minute parking close by. There is additional parking across the street. We parked temporarily. They have cordons set up inside for people to wait in line, but we were able to walk right in. We were dropping off our completed ballots. The friendly gal took our sealed ballots and double checked to make sure we had dated and signed them. She then date stamped them and added them to the ballot boxes. This was an easy fast stop. I'd come here again if necessary now that I know where they are located.

I came to see the historical home diagonally across the street and found this "castle" waterfront…read morehome as well. It's called La Florentia and nicknamed the "Birthday Cake Castle". It sits directly on the intracoastal waterway on a much bigger piece of property. It's related to architect Mizner, as well, being done by a protege of his. From the street and through the gates, it's hard to tell why it was nicknamed the birthday cake. There are supposed to be pillars that look like candles and other touches reminding you of frosting. Unfortunately with all the "no trespassing" signs, I couldn't get as close as I'd have liked to do so. This was an added "perk" of my trip in the historic district. Came to see one "castle" and found another!

I have a deep love for 1920's Mediterranean Revival architecture like this building in the tiny 2.3…read moresquare mile town of Lake Park. The Lake Park Town Hall served as the municipal center of the town of Kelsey City, founded in 1921 by Harry Seymour Kelsey, a wealthy Bostonian who joined the Florida land boom in 1919 when he bought 30,000 acres in north Palm Beach. Eventually he went on to own 100,000 acres. He founded Kelsey City and invested a million dollars in his new town. The town hall was designed in a Mediterranean Revival style by architect Bruce Kitchell and built in 1927 by the Arnold Construction Company. The building contained the police and fire and departments, town administration, library, and courtroom. The next year in 1928, it survived the Okeechobee Hurricane and provided refuge for residents of the city during the storm. Many people left the town after the devastation of the storm and the collapse of the land boom in the 1920's and the Great Depression that followed. Eventual money problems with the IRS forced Kelsey to sell his town and in 1939 residents voted to change the name of the town to Lake Park. Through the years the second floor housed a ballroom used for dances and theatrical events. The Palm Beach Junior college was located in the town hall building in the 1950's. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 and still serves as the town hall today.