Lake Worth Beach

Lake Worth Beach is a coastal city in east-central Palm Beach County, Florida, sitting directly south of West Palm Beach along the shores of the Lake Worth Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean. The city was called simply Lake Worth before, and it sits about 63 miles (101 km) north of Miami. Home to roughly 42,000 people across 7 square miles, the city's bordered to the east by the Atlantic and the broad waters of Lake Worth Lagoon, and to the west by the fresh waters of Lake Osborne. Artists, retirees, and beach-goers have long found their way here, and Lake Worth Beach has transformed from a quiet agricultural settlement into a vibrant community that draws attention for its historic architecture, walkable downtown, and nationally recognized arts events.

Name and Geography

The city gets its name from the waterway along its eastern border. The Lake Worth Lagoon was named after General William J. Worth, who commanded United States Army forces during the final stages of the Second Seminole War.

Back in the early 1800s, what we now call Lake Worth Lagoon was fresh water. Ground seepage from the Everglades fed it, and the only way out was through a swamp that became Lake Worth Creek as it approached the Loxahatchee River and Jupiter Inlet. The lagoon stayed landlocked and fresh right up until around the Civil War era. Storms occasionally punched holes that let seawater in from the ocean, but those openings didn't last.

Geographically, Lake Worth Beach sits south of West Palm Beach, southeast of Lake Clarke Shores, east of Palm Springs, and north of Lantana. A small section also touches the town of Palm Beach. The lagoon itself stretches roughly 20 miles from North Palm Beach down to Ocean Ridge, where ocean water flows through two inlets and mixes with fresh water coming through three major flood control canals that drain more than 350,000 acres of land.

Boaters, kayakers, paddle boarders, and anglers all rely on the lagoon as a navigable public waterway. Peanut Island, a 79-acre park managed by Palm Beach County, sits within the lagoon near the Lake Worth Inlet and serves as a recreation destination.

History

Early Settlement

From 1889 to 1903, Fannie A. Jones James ran the Jewell Post Office at the Florida East Coast Railway station. Not many households were between West Palm Beach and Lantana back then. She and her husband Samuel James, who'd been enslaved before emancipation, homesteaded 186 acres stretching from what's now Dixie Highway to the lakeshore, and from Lake Avenue down to 12th Avenue South. They filed their homestead claim in 1885, and over time their holdings grew to more than 700 acres, eventually covering what became the College Park neighborhood and lands between present-day Dixie and Federal highways.

A year after Samuel died in 1910, Fannie sold most of her land to the Palm Beach Farms Company. Frederick Edward Bryant, his brother Harold J. Bryant, and William Greenwood owned the company and formed Bryant and Greenwood to market the land across the United States and Canada. They offered five-acre Everglades farm tracts for $250 each, and threw in a 25-by-25-foot city lot at the Townsite of Lucerne on Lake Worth's shore with no extra charge.

Henry Flagler had extended the Florida East Coast Railway south from West Palm Beach to Miami back in 1896. This land scheme placed a townsite between the railroad and the lake. Farm lot buyers, mostly in what's now Greenacres, would also get a small city lot in the community. Bryant and Greenwood promoted the area across the United States and Canada to anyone who'd listen.

Incorporation and Early Growth

The growth was stunning. In July 1912, the settlement had just 38 residents. Five months later it had 308. Lake Worth incorporated in June 1913, and James Love, a carpenter and Socialist Party of America member, became the first elected mayor.

A wooden automobile bridge crossed the lake in 1919. That same year the Brelsford family from Palm Beach gave 1,000 feet of barrier island land to the town. Lake Worth boomed right along with the rest of South Florida in the 1920s. Population jumped from 1,106 in 1920 to nearly 6,000 by 1930. A $100,000 bond issue approved in 1920 paid for the Mediterranean Revival-style Lake Worth Casino and Baths. When it opened, it brought tourists flooding in.

During segregation, African Americans lived in the Osborne Colored Addition, platted in 1917. Local historians say it was probably the only neighborhood in Palm Beach County legally designated as "colored." In 1954, a concrete wall went up to separate the Osborne neighborhood, west of Dixie Highway at the south end of town, from Whispering Pines to the west. Then in 1994, the city renamed the plat the Osborne Addition. The Florida Legislature later unanimously changed state law to make it easier for local governments to remove derogatory racial terms from official records.

Name Change

March 2019 brought a referendum vote on renaming the city Lake Worth Beach, Florida. The change helped distinguish the municipality from the Lake Worth Lagoon itself and emphasized the city's coastal identity.

Population had been 34,910 in the 2010 census. By 2020, it'd grown to 42,219, reflecting steady residential expansion in the years around the renaming.

Government

The city operates under a commission-manager system. A five-member city commission sets policy while an appointed city manager handles day-to-day work. The commission includes a mayor elected at-large and four district commissioners. Lake Worth Beach Police Department, fire-rescue services, and public utilities run municipal operations. City Hall near downtown holds the main offices.

Housing affordability has become a focus for city leadership. The city has pushed forward with several initiatives. Community Land Trust villas aimed at first-time homeowners now offer homes at prices well below market rate, part of a broader push to keep housing costs manageable as property values and tax burdens have climbed.

Historic Districts and Landmarks

Lake Worth Beach has several historic neighborhoods on the National Register of Historic Places, including College Park and Old Lucerne (also called Parrot Cove). The Old Lucerne Historic Residential District covers the area where Samuel and Fannie James once lived. It has 346 total structures. 218 are considered contributing to the district's historic character, while 128 aren't. Downtown contains dozens of buildings that make up the Historic Old Town Commercial District, which anchors the city's walkable commercial heart.

The Gulfstream Hotel is one of the city's most legendary landmarks. Positioned at downtown's gateway, it was first envisioned as El Nuevo in 1923. Two local banks fronted $225,000, and investors filed for a building permit. At that time, it was the largest permit in city history. A year later, in 1924, it became the Gulf Stream Hotel. The U.S. National Register of Historic Places added it in 1983. The Okeechobee Hurricane that smashed Palm Beach County in 1928 damaged the fifth and sixth floors. The Gulfstream made it through the storm, but then came the stock market crash of 1929. The original investors went broke. The hotel stayed shuttered for seven years, then reopened in 1936. It closed again in 2005. That dealt a serious blow to downtown. Restoration St. Louis later bought the property and started a $100 million restoration aimed at restoring the landmark's former glory.

You'll also find the Lake Worth Pier, built in 1920, and the Lake Worth Playhouse, finished in 1924. The Casino building got its name from history rather than current use, since it doesn't have gambling. It was reconstructed and reopened in March 2013 with wrap-around terraces offering Atlantic Ocean views, beach views, and lagoon views. Today it's a centerpiece of the waterfront and hosts community events and dining.

Arts and Culture

Lake Worth Beach has built a strong reputation as an arts community in The Palm Beaches region. It balances a walkable historic downtown with a range of cultural institutions and public programming. The revitalized downtown is home to the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County and the Lake Worth Playhouse, plus independent galleries, studios, and performance venues that pull visitors and artists from South Florida and beyond.

The Lake Worth Beach Street Painting Festival is the city's biggest cultural event. Running for four decades now, it happens every February along Lake Avenue and Lucerne Avenue in downtown. Over 600 artists use the pavement as their canvas, turning the streets into a temporary outdoor museum of original work and masterpiece reproductions. Live entertainment, food vendors, and free admission draw big crowds downtown each year. As of June 30, 2021, the City of Lake Worth Beach took full ownership and control of the festival. The founding board members retired after three decades leading the event.

An annual holiday parade marches through downtown streets. Independent shops, restaurants, and art spaces cluster along Lake Avenue, making it a recognized destination in Palm Beach County for visitors looking for something different from the bigger commercial centers.

Recreation

Beach and Waterfront

Lake Worth Beach Park sits on the barrier island east of Lake Worth Lagoon and serves as the primary public beach for residents and visitors. A boardwalk connects to the Lake Worth Pier, a municipal pier built in 1920 that reaches into the Atlantic Ocean. It's still popular for fishing and sightseeing. On the opposite shore, the Snook Islands Natural Area has a second boardwalk accessible from the mainland, offering views of the lagoon's mangrove habitats and tidal flats.