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Boca Raton

Boca Raton Background

   Imagine a city where the weather is always warm; the streets are broad and clean; the lawns are neatly manicured; the buildings are the color of flamingos; pedestrians stroll through downtown boutiques; miles of beach invite long walks in the evening; and sounds of music drift through the balmy air. The city is Boca Raton, a paradise in every respect.
   City leaders have done everything right in guiding the growth and development of this once sleepy little town whose claim to fame was green beans. With a carefully crafted master plan implemented in 1988, Boca Raton embarked upon a program to beautify the city, direct and control growth, and ensure the highest quality of life for its residents. Today, there is no city in Florida more beautiful or more desirable than Boca Raton.

Boca Raton History

   The name “Boca Raton” comes from the Spanish words for “mouth” and “rat,” but the name was figurative for Thieves Inlet, a body of water frequented by cowardly robbers. The original settlers were Tequesta Indians, a tribe lucky enough to have found the confluence of warm weather and bountiful land and sea. The Spanish spoiled this idyllic world by bringing disease and warfare, the ravages of which destroyed the Indian population.
   The area was sparsely populated until the late 1890s, when the construction of the Florida East Coast Canal (now the Intracoastal Waterway) and the Florida East Coast Railway opened the area to growth. In the early 1900s, Boca Raton had a flourishing pineapple industry, and by the mid-1920s, Florida was the nation's hot spot for real estate speculation.
   The town of Boca Raton was incorporated in May 1925, and the Town Council commissioned architect Addison Mizner to plan a high-society resort community. Mizner’s hotel, the Cloister Inn, was completed in 1926 and today stands as the city's most famous landmark, the Boca Raton Resort and Club. Mizner’s architectural style with its Spanish features and tile roofs set the standard for Boca Raton’s future development. It's still the dominant theme of the city's buildings and homes.
   When the land boom ended in the 1920s, Boca returned to its agricultural roots, and its winter vegetables – including its coveted green beans – were its primary industry. The town grew slowly, however, until the 1960s, when Florida experienced resurgence in popularity with the winter-weary Northerners. Between 1940 and 1970, the population increased from 700 to 30,000, and development pushed westward into the Everglades.
   In the 1980s, city leaders recognized that Boca would not stay small much longer, and they decided to take action to control the city's future development. In March 1988, the city obtained approval from the Florida Department of Community Affairs for a Downtown Development of Regional Impact, a statutory device for master planning the infrastructure, architecture, environmental resources and land use of 344 acres of the downtown. Included in the plan was a stringent sign code that became a model for the rest of the nation and put an end to street signs and building clutter. Architectural controls were put in place to ensure an aesthetically pleasing, unified architectural scheme for the downtown. Most importantly, the city joined with private developers to develop Mizner Park, now the focal point for downtown.
   Mizner Park is a mixed-use project with residential, commercial and cultural features working hand in hand to create a living, breathing downtown with immaculate landscaping, pedestrian-friendly walking paths, restaurants, entertainment, and comfortable streetscapes. The two anchors of Mizner Park are the amphitheater at the north end of the grounds and the Museum of Cartoon Art, located at the south end.

Boca Raton Fast Facts

   Size: 27.14 square miles
   Population: 74,764
   Average temperatures: 75°F high, 59°F low in winter; 92°F high, 76°F low in summer
   Median age: 42.9 years
   Per capita income: $45,628
   Median home price: $230,200

Economy

   Fueled by a booming retirement population, the services and trade industries are the strongest sectors of the city's economy. A whopping 89.9 percent of the working population is employed in the services industry, and the remainder is in the trades, construction, production and other “blue-collar” industries.
   The residents of Boca Raton are well-educated and well-heeled, and nearly 40 percent are retired. Nearly 73 percent of the residents have attended college, and 44 percent have a college or professional degree. Poverty is practically non-existent in Boca Raton; only 4 percent of the families live on poverty-level incomes.
   The city is now enjoying the fruits of its comprehensive planning efforts of the 1990s. The industrial base is growing, and high-tech companies are attracted to the well-educated working population.

Quality of Life

   What could be better than living in an upscale paradise, where there is no snow, little poverty, great dining, New York-style shopping, and world-class arts and entertainment? It's little wonder that Boca Raton is the city of choice for retirees and young families alike. With a crime rate less than half of the national average, good schools and higher educational opportunities, and an abundance of recreational amenities, Boca is the ideal place to both raise a family and retire.

Activities

Shopping
   With so many transplants from the Northeast, high-class shopping is a necessity. Downtown Boca is populated with boutiques, fine clothing shops, jewelry stores, and high-end goods and services. A little further down the street from Mizner Park, the Royal Palm Plaza houses 80 shops in a Spanish-style shopping center. Dozens of smaller shopping centers cater to the retail needs of residents. For those who can't live without Bloomingdale’s, Town Center Mall is the place to be. Here, one can find high-fashion department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom and Lord & Taylor; trendy dress shops; and exclusive jewelry and specialty stores.

Events and Festivals
   With the lovely year-round warm weather, special events in Boca Raton center around outdoor markets, music and festivals. In the winter, Royal Palm Place's parking lot becomes a greenmarket where local produce, plants, and arts and crafts are displayed. The Mizner Park Amphitheater hosts the Indian River Pops & Chorus and a Music in the Park Series, and a variety of musicians play in the Sunset Music Series at Sanborn Square.
   Throughout the year, residents enjoy art festivals and downtown street fairs. The Fiesta of Arts occurs in February, the Spring Fling in March, the Summer Extravaganza in June, Fabulous 4th celebration in July, Family Fruitfest in August, Halloween Happenings in October, and Holiday Tree Lighting in December. Interspersed with the music and festivals are children's events and film events.

Arts and Culture
   Boca Raton’s Cultural Consortium sponsors a calendar of cultural events. A group of cultural organizations and agencies, the consortium also coordinates activities and marketing for its members, which include the Boca Ballet Theatre, Boca Raton Historical Society, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Caldwell Theatre Company, Centre for the Arts at Mizner Park, Children's Museum, Children's Science Explorium, Gallery Center, Harid Conservatory, Little Palm Family Theater, Music Guild of Boca Raton, Sunset Entertainment Group and others. Many of these organizations are community-based and provide classes and instruction for residents.
   At the center of cultural activities is the Boca Raton Art Museum, which was founded as the Art Guild of Boca Raton in 1950. Since then, its influence has grown to the extent that residents contributed more than $13 million to construct a new museum at Mizner Park. The new 44,000-square-foot facility shares a 5.7-acre site with the outdoor amphitheater and a proposed concert hall. The museum not only houses exhibitions and collection galleries; it also educates and entertains. More than 175,000 visitors enjoy the museum each year, and it has become the cultural center of Boca Raton.
   Just an hour's drive to the south, Miami offers additional cosmopolitan cultural events and activities, including opera, Broadway plays, symphony programs, and a broad array of events and shows.
 
Sports and Recreation
   With more than 1,000 acres of parks, Boca Raton has recreational amenities for young and old alike. There are beachfront parks, community centers, athletic fields and neighborhood parks. Saltwater fishing is a year-round activity, and Lake Okeechobee, the second-largest freshwater lake in the United States, is just a short drive west.
   Palm Beach County is a golfer's mecca, with 145 golf courses, including 22 in the city of Boca Raton. There are dozens of public and private tennis courts in Boca Raton, and the Evert Tennis Academy is located in Boca.
   Boca Raton’s waterfront location makes it convenient for divers, swimmers and boaters to enjoy their hobbies year round.
   South Florida is the home to a wide range of world-class spectator events. The Lipton Championships and Miami Grand Prix are an hour's drive away. In fact, every major professional sport is within an hour's drive of Boca Raton: The Florida Marlins, Miami Heat, Florida Panthers and Miami Dolphins all make their homes in the area.
   For enthusiasts of pari-mutuel waging, Palm Beach County is the home of the Palm Beach Kennel Club, and Gulf Stream Park and Dania Jai Alai are also close by. For a different kind of sporting event, The Royal Palm Polo Club hosts the $100,000 International Gold Cup Tournament.
   For those who enjoy a quieter type of recreation in a more pristine setting, the city owns hundreds of acres of nature preserve land. The 212-acre Yamato Scrub is a well-known scrub plant region, as is the 24-acre Blazing Star Preserve. The Gumbo Limbo Environmental Education Center at Red Reef Park features a coastal dune, hardwood hammock, mangroves, an observation tower, and a marine laboratory and library.

Dining and Nightlife
   While Boca Raton has its share of trendy restaurants, ethnic cafes and hole-in-the-wall oyster bars, it also enjoys the benefits of being close to the eclectic cuisines and upscale nightlife available in Palm Beach, just 20 minutes north. Between these two cities, residents can enjoy food from every nation at every price range. Afterwards, diners can dance the night away at one of the hip nightclubs or beachside bars that dot the coastline.

Maps of Boca Raton

Written by Margaret Bowles exclusively for CoastParadise.com.
Photos courtesy of the City of Boca Raton.

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