North Palm Beach, Florida

North Palm Beach, Florida
—  Village  —
Location of North Palm Beach in Palm Beach County, Florida
Coordinates: 26°49′6″N 80°3′49″W / 26.81833°N 80.06361°W / 26.81833; -80.06361Coordinates: 26°49′6″N 80°3′49″W / 26.81833°N 80.06361°W / 26.81833; -80.06361
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Palm Beach
Area
– Total	5.8 sq mi (15.0 km2)
– Land	3.6 sq mi (9.2 km2)
– Water	2.2 sq mi (5.8 km2)
Elevation	10 ft (3 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	12,064
– Density	3,388.0/sq mi (1,308.1/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	33403, 33408, 33410
Area code(s)	561
FIPS code	12-49600[1]
GNIS feature ID	0287845[2]

North Palm Beach is an incorporated village in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 12,064 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 12,645.^[3] The village won an award from the National Association of Home Builders as best planned community of 1956, and is home to a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course.

History

In 1954 for $5.5 million John D. MacArthur bought 2,600 acres (11 km²) of land in northern Palm Beach County that had been owned originally by Harry Seymour Kelsey and later by Sir Harry Oakes. The land included most of today's North Palm Beach as well as Lake Park, Palm Beach Gardens and Palm Beach Shores.^[4] MacArthur then began developing what is now North Palm Beach, which sat on former mangrove swamps and farm land. The area was punctuated only by Monet Road and Johnson Dairy Road to the north and south and US 1 and Prosperity Farms Road to the east and west.

Full scale development and incorporation as a village occurred nearly simultaneously in 1956, with extensive dredging creating waterfront cul-de-sacs, and the development of a new east-west artery, Lighthouse Drive, connecting Old Dixie Highway and the newly aligned US 1. US 1 was widened and became the main office and civic corridor. Sir Harry Oakes' castle-like home on US 1 became the clubhouse for the village golf course.

In 1958-1959, North Palm Beach elected Walter E. Thomas, Jr. as its first Mayor. Walter and his wife Jackie and four children (Ted, Larry, Jim, and Pam) were the 55th family to move in to the Village, arriving in 1957.

Lake Park West Road was also extended from Old Dixie Highway to US-1 and was renamed Northlake Boulevard, becoming the village's main commercial corridor. Twin City Mall, an enclosed shopping center, opened in 1970 at the corner of Northlake Boulevard and US-1 as Palm Beach County's second enclosed shopping mall. This Mall built onto the previous grocery store/strip mall completed in 1959. The mall contained a Sears, Jeffersons and GC Murphy's department stores, as well as the locally popular Karmelcorn and Orange Bowl eateries. The mall also sported one of the few movie theaters in the vicinity. The enclosed mall was demolished in the mid-1990s and has gradually been replaced by a mid-sized strip mall anchored by Publix. The village has maintained relative prosperity due to the many waterfront homes with Atlantic Ocean access as well as the overall jump in development in northern Palm Beach County in the last 10 years.

In 2006, village resident Jack Nicklaus redesigned the town's golf course and it reopened in late 2006 to rave reviews. Nicklaus charged the Village of North Palm Beach $1 for his services.^[5]

Geography

North Palm Beach is located at 26°49′06″N 80°03′49″W / 26.818239°N 80.063714°W / 26.818239; -80.063714.^[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 5.8 square miles (15 km²). 3.6 square miles (9.3 km²) of it is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²) of it (38.62%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 12,064 people, 6,196 households, and 3,327 families residing in the village. The population density was 3,388.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,308.4/km²). There were 7,325 housing units at an average density of 2,057.1 per square mile (794.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.22% White (93.4% were Non-Hispanic White,)^[7] 0.93% African American, 0.09% Native American, 1.22% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.53% of the population.

There were 6,196 households out of which 15.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.3% were non-families. 39.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.95 and the average family size was 2.58.

In the village the population was spread out with 14.3% under the age of 18, 3.9% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 30.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $53,163, and the median income for a family was $69,104. Males had a median income of $41,709 versus $32,080 for females. The per capita income for the village was $39,564. About 1.3% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.9% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2000, speakers of English as a first language accounted for 92.78% of all residents, while Spanish consisted of 3.91%, French was at 1.32%, German made up 0.92%, Italian 0.66%, and Greek was the mother tongue of 0.39% of the population.^[8]

Points of interest

• John D. MacArthur Beach State Park is located nearby.

Notable residents, past and present

• Jeff Atwater State Senator; 25th district
• Gardner Dickinson PGA golfer
• Mike Douglas Famous American entertainer
• Ryan Klesko Retired Major League Baseball first baseman
• Jack Nicklaus Golf legend and course architect
• Sir Harry Oakes, early developer of the area
• Gary Wiren PGA Hall of Famer; famous golf instructor and collector

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2004-04-12.xls
4. ^ McGoun, William E., Southeast Florida Pioneers: The Palm and Treasure Coasts, 1998, Sarasota: Pineapple Press, p. 167
5. ^ http://www.pga.com/news/travel/southeast/npb051706.cfm
6. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
7. ^ "Demographics of North Palm Beach, FL". MuniNetGuide.com. http://www.muninetguide.com/states/florida/municipality/North_Palm_Beach.php. Retrieved 2007-11-13. 
8. ^ "MLA Data Center Results of North Palm Beach, FL". Modern Language Association. http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=12&county_id=&mode=place&zip=&place_id=49600&cty_id=&ll=&a=&ea=&order=r. Retrieved 2007-11-13. 

External links

• Village of North Palm Beach Official website