West Palm Beach FL real estate development began in the late 1800s when railroad magnate Henry Flagler purchased two beautiful island properties on Palm Beach to construct the massive Royal Poinciana Hotel and his marble palace, Whitehall. Flagler then purchased two parcels of South Florida real estate across Lake Worth to develop homes in West Palm Beach for the servants who worked at his estate and hotels.
The Town of West Palm Beach, the oldest municipality in Miami-Dade County and South Florida, incorporated on November 5, 1894. The city grew quickly during the Florida land boom of the 1920s, leaving behind a rich heritage of historic structures and neighborhoods. Many of these older West Palm Beach FL homes are visible in neighborhoods such as Bel Air Historic District, Central Park, Flamingo Park, Grandview Heights, Mango Promenade, Northboro Park, Northwest, Old Northwood Historic District, Northwood Hills Historic District, Pleasant City, Prospect Park, and West Northwood Historic District. These neighborhoods are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Homes built 1925 to 1935 in the Bel Air Historic District for tradesmen and real estate sales people who helped develop Palm Beach County. The first house was the mission-style home of farmer William Ohlhaber. Central Park is a conglomerate of subdivisions north of Southern Boulevard that included the Estates of South Palm Beach and an exclusive neighborhood at the foot of Southern Boulevard.
El Cid features Mediterranean revival and mission-style homes. Pittsburgh socialite Jay Phipps subdivided the former pineapple fields, naming it after the Spanish hero. Another pineapple plantation, Flamingo Park, is located in one of the highest coastal ridge sections that extend from downtown to Miami. Many homes offer Mediterranean- and Spanish-style architecture and some have ocean views. Flamingo Park is in an active revitalization phase.
Built as an extension of Palm Beach Heights from 1910 to 1925, Grandview Heights is one of the oldest neighborhoods. Grandview Heights is the best collection of craftsman-style bungalows and modest Mediterranean revival-style homes. Mango Promenade lies just south of Palm Beach Atlantic University. Northboro Park is an expansion of Old Northwood and consists of high-end custom homes built between 1923 and 1940. The Northwest neighborhood, once a segregated black community, features American bungalow/craftsman, mission, shotgun, Bahamian vernacular, and American Foursquare styles. It contains many important historical buildings marking the history of the blacks in the area. Pleasant City is also a historically black community
Old Northwood Historic District developed from 1920 to 1927. Considered expensive in those days, the Mediterranean revival, mission and frame vernacular houses sold for $30,000 to $36,000. Northwood Hills Historic District, an area from 29th Street to 39th Court, Windsor to Greenwood Avenue, includes a number of Mission-Revival-style houses, a collection of Post World War II architecture, and a unique street-layout high above the city.
Prospect Park was an upscale neighborhood consisting of smaller estates developed from 1920 to 1935 in the Mediterranean Revival and Mission Revival styles. West Northwood Historic District is full of speculative and custom homes built between 1925 and 1927.
For information about present-day real estate values in the southeast part of the state, contact The Herman Group.