From City of Servants to Thriving Commercial Hub Look at West Palm Beach Now

West Palm Beach was originally founded via a $45,000 real estate deal by railroad businessman Henry Flagler to serve as the residence of servants of wealthy families in nearby Palm Beach Island. These servants were at that time working for two hotels in Palm Beach Island. However, West Palm Beach has grown in influence over the years to become a major area for real estate development. The most famous of the real estate structures you may find in West Palm Beach is the Trump Plaza built by well-known, well-feared and aggressive real estate mogul Donald Trump.

Clematis Street and CityPlace
Clematis Street, a historic center for shopping in West Palm Beach, was forced to upgrade itself after the CityPlace entertainment and shopping district was built downtown. Both locations Clematis Street and CityPlace are currently considered the hosts of the core of West Palm Beach nightlife.

The SunFest Festival
Every year, the SunFest Festival is held in West Palm Beach. This festival, which draws in over 275,000 people annually, is deemed to be the biggest art, music and waterfront festival to be found in the state. This event is manned by over 3,000 volunteers who help make the festival a resounding tourism success.

The glory days of West Palm Beach
Though back in the 1960s, West Palm Beach had a terrible reputation due to high crime rates and urban blight, the city is doing all it can to renew its tarnished image and be reborn as a place to relocate to in Florida. Some areas have been deemed historic neighborhoods that remind old-timers and new visitors alike of the glory days of West Palm Beach. There is the Bel Air Historic District which was originally developed in the mid-1920s to become the home of real estate salesmen and tradesmen people who became instrumental at developing West Palm Beach in those days. The Central Park District is now part of the National Register of Historic Places, as of 1999. If you want to see examples of mission-style- and revival-type homes built in the Mediterranean fashion, then you could head for El Cid which was built when real estate development peaked in Florida in years past. Another residential area in West Palm Beach which is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places is Flamingo Park. One of the earliest neighborhoods to be built in West Palm Beach is the Grandview Heights area which once suffered from the presence of prostitutes and drug dealers but which is now being actively promoted by new investors. It has also made it to the National Register of Historic Places. The very first neighborhood in West Palm Beach to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places is the Northwest neighborhood. Visit on of our favourite websites for Norfolk island accommodations.

Celebrities
West Palm Beach is known to have produced some well-known celebrities who work in various occupations. Tiger Woods, the golf prodigy on the PGA Tour, is known to have lived in West Palm Beach. Veteran actors Burt Reynolds and George Hamilton are graduates of Palm Beach High School. Judge Reinhold is a character actor who has also lived in West Palm Beach.