Palm Beach, Florida

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Palm Beach is a high-class incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth.Palm Beach's west area is home to some of the wealthiest homes in the world, followed by Moscow, Beverly Hills, and New York City. As of 2000, Palm Beach had a year-round population of 10,468, with an estimated seasonal population of 30,000. As of 2004, the year-round population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 9,860.^[1]

[edit] History

Palm Beach was established as a resort by Henry Flagler, a founder of Standard Oil, who made the Atlantic coast barrier island accessible via his Florida East Coast Railway. The nucleus of Palm Beach was established by Flagler's two luxury resort hotels, the Royal Poinciana Hotel and The Breakers Hotel. West Palm Beach was built across Lake Worth as a service town, and has become a major city in its own right.

Flagler's houselots were bought by the beneficiaries of the Gilded Age, and in 1902 Flagler himself built a Beaux-Arts mansion, Whitehall, designed by the New York-based firm Carrère and Hastings and helped establish the Palm Beach winter "season" by constant entertaining. The town was incorporated on April 17, 1911.

[edit] Geography

Palm Beach is located on a sixteen-mile-long barrier island, centered at 26°42′54″N, 80°2′22″W (26.715067, -80.039371).^GR1

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 27.0 km² (10.4 mi²). 10.2 km² (3.9 mi²) of it is land and 16.9 km² (6.5 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 62.45% water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the 2000 census, over half the population (52.6%) are 65 years of age or older, with a median age of 67 years. 9.4% are under the age of 18, 1.5% are from 18 to 24, 11.5% are from 25 to 44, and 25.0% from 45 to 64. For every 100 females there are 79.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 77.0 males.

The per-capita income for the town is $109,219. Males have a median income of $71,685 versus $42,875 for females. 5.3% of the population and 2.4% of families are below the poverty line. 4.6% of those under the age of 18 and 2.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

The racial makeup of the town is 96.00% White (93.8% were Non-Hispanic White,)^[2] 2.57% Black or African American, 0.53% Asian, 0.04% Native American, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. 2.56% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The 10,468 people in the town are organized into 5,789 households and 3,021 families. The population density is 1,031.1/km² (2,669.2/mi²). There are 9,948 housing units at an average density of 979.8/km² (2,536.6/mi²). 7.7% of the households have children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% are married couples living together, 3.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 47.8% are non-families. 42.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 27.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 1.81 and the average family size is 2.38.

Many of Palm Beach's residents are affluent, with a median household income of $94,562 and a median family income of $137,867. The town's affluence, and its "abundance of pleasures" and "strong community-oriented sensibility" were cited when it was selected in June, 2003 as America's "Best Place to Live" by Robb Report magazine.

As of 2000, speakers of English was the first language of 87.81% of all residents, while French comprised 4.48%, Spanish consisted of 3.65%, German made up 2.16%, Italian speakers made up 0.45%, Yiddish made up 0.36%, Russian was at 0.30% (even though those of Russian ancestry made up 10.30% of the population,) Arabic and Swedish at 0.25%, and Polish was the mother tongue of 0.24% of the population.^[3]

As of 2000, Palm Beach's had the fortieth highest percentage of Russian residents in the US, with 10.30% of the populace (tied with Pomona, NY and the township of Lower Merion, PA.)^[4] It also had the twenty-sixth highest percentage of Austrian residents in the US, at 2.10% of the town's population (which tied with 19 other US areas.)^[5]

[edit] Transportation

The city is served by Palm Beach International Airport and Amtrak [1], as well as Tri-Rail – all located in West Palm Beach connecting Palm Beach to Miami. Public transportation is available through Palm Tran, offering several routes within the town of Palm Beach and connecting with the rest of the county.

[edit] Points of interest

• Whitehall, the Flagler Museum
• Four Arts Gardens
• Mar-A-Lago
• Worth Avenue

[edit] Notable residents — past and present

• Marjorie Merriweather Post - Post cereal heiress, socialite, and philanthropist who built Mar-A-Lago wife of E.F. Hutton
• Nancy G. Brinker - Founder, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Former US Ambassador to Hungary
• E.F. Hutton - Wall street broker who built Mar-A-Lago husband of Marjorie Merriweather Post
• Dina Merrill - American actress and socialite (daughter of E.F. Hutton & Marjorie Merriweather Post)
• Donald Trump- Real Estate Developer
• Ivana Trump - Ex-Wife Of Donald Trump
• James Patterson- Best Selling Author
• The Lauder Family- Cosmetic Executives
• Ronald Perelman- Corporate Raider, Chairman of Revlon
• Barney Family- heirs to the Smith Barney banking and brokerage fortune
• Ann Coulter-Author
• Rush Limbaugh-Political Commentator and Talk Show Host
• Jimmy Buffett- Singer
• John Kluge- Chairman of Metromedia, estimated net worth is $11 Billion
• Malcolm Glazer- CEO of First Allied Corporation and sports team owner (Manchester United of the English Premier League and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League)
• James H. Clark- Founder of Netscape
• S. Daniel Abraham- Creator of Slim Fast, Jewish Philanthropist
• Kennedy family- Political Family
• Rod Stewart- Singer
• Sir Geoffrey Leigh - Property Mogul
• Vera Wang - Designer
• DuPont family - DuPont Chemicals
• Curt Gowdy - Sportscaster
• Christopher Sinclair - Former CEO of Pepsi
• Henry Paulson - Current US Treasury Secretary
• Adrian Wilcox - Celebrity Photographer

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2004-04-12.xls
2. ^ Demographics of Palm Beach, FL. MuniNetGuide.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
3. ^ MLA Data Center Results of Palm Beach, FL. Modern Language Association. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
4. ^ Ancestry Map of Russian Communities. Epodunk.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
5. ^ Ancestry Map of Austrian Communities. Epodunk.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.

[edit] External links

• Town of Palm Beach
• Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce
• Palm Beach Police Department
• Whitehall Flagler Museum

• Palm Beach, Florida is at coordinates 26°42′54″N 80°02′22″W / 26.715067, -80.039371Coordinates: 26°42′54″N 80°02′22″W / 26.715067, -80.039371

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