The earliest known human inhabitants of what is now Delray Beach were theJaega people.[9]Tequesta Indians likely passed through or inhabited the area at various times. Few other recorded details of these local indigenous settlements have survived.[10][11]
An 1841 U.S. military map shows aSeminole camp located in the area now known as Lake Ida. In 1876, theUnited States Life Saving Service built theOrange Grove House of Refuge to rescue and shelter ship-wrecked sailors. The house derived its name from the grove of mature sour orange and other tropical fruit trees found at the site chosen for the house of refuge, but no record or evidence of who planted the trees was discovered.[1][2]
Independence Day parade, July 4, 1914The Colony Hotel, built in 1926, was designed by architectMartin L. Hampton.The Arcade Tap Room was a gathering place for Delray's Artists and Writers Colony from the mid-1920s to the 1950s.[2]
The first nonindigenous group to build a settlement was a party of African Americans from thepanhandle of Florida, who purchased land a little inland from the Orange Grove House of Refuge and began farming around 1884. By 1894, the black community was large enough to establish the first school in the area.[1]
In 1894,William S. Linton, a Republican U.S. Congressman forSaginaw, Michigan, bought a tract of land west of the Orange Grove House of Refuge, and began selling plots in what he hoped would become a farming community. This community was named after Linton. In 1896,Henry Flagler extended hisFlorida East Coast Railroad south fromWest Palm Beach to Miami, with a station at Linton.[1]
The Linton settlers established a post office and a store and began to achieve success with truck farming of winter vegetables for the northern market. A hard freeze in 1898 was a setback, and many of the settlers left, including William Linton.[12] Partly in an attempt to change the community's luck, or to leave behind a bad reputation, the settlement's name was changed in 1901 to Delray, after the Detroit neighborhood ofDelray ("Delray" being the anglicized spelling of Del Rey, which is Spanish for "of the king"), which in turn was named after theMexican–American War'sBattle of Molino del Rey.[1]
Settlers from the Bahamas (then part of theBritish West Indies), sometimes referred to as Nassaws, began arriving in the early 1900s.[13] After 1905, newspaper articles and photographs of Delray events reveal that Japanese settlers from the nearbyYamato farming colony also began participating in Delray civic activities such as parades, going to the movies, and shopping. The 1910 census shows Delray as a town of 904 citizens. Twenty-four U.S. states and nine other countries are listed as the birthplace of its residents. Although still a small town, Delray had a diverse citizenry.[2]
In 1911, the area was chartered by the state of Florida as an incorporated town. In the same year, pineapple- and tomato-canning plants were built. Pineapples became the primary crop of the area. This is reflected in the name of the present day Pineapple Grove neighborhood near downtown Delray Beach.[1]
Prior to 1909, the Delray settlement land was inDade County. That year,Palm Beach County was carved out of the northern portion of the region. In 1915, Palm Beach County and Dade County contributed nearly equal portions of land to create what is nowBroward County between the two, leaving Delray situated within the southeastern portion of Palm Beach County.[14]
By 1920, Delray's population had reached 1,051. In the 1920s, drainage of theEverglades west of Delray lowered the water table, making it harder to grow pineapples, while the extension of the Florida East Coast Railway toKey West resulted in competition from Cuban pineapples for the markets of the northern United States.[1]
TheFlorida land boom of the 1920s brought renewed prosperity to Delray. Tourism and real estate speculation became important parts of the local economy. Delray issued bonds to raise money to install water and sewer lines, paved streets, and sidewalks. Several hotels were built. At that time, Delray was the largest town on the east coast of Florida betweenWest Palm Beach andFort Lauderdale. The collapse of the land boom in 1926 left Delray saddled with high bond debts and greatly reduced income from property taxes.[1]
Delray was separated from the Atlantic Ocean beach by the Florida East Coast Canal (now part of theIntracoastal Waterway). In 1923, the area between the canal and the ocean was incorporated as Delray Beach. In 1927, Delray and Delray Beach merged into one town named Delray Beach.[1]
Estate at 1755 North Ocean Boulevard, January 26, 1933
Beginning in the mid-1920s, a seasonalartists and writers colony[15] was established in Delray Beach and the adjacent town ofGulf Stream. At the time, the city ofPalm Beach did not welcome Hollywood personalities or all types of artists, so the Delray winter colony drew a more eclectic and bohemian populace. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Delray became a popular winter enclave for artists and authors. Two nationally syndicated cartoonists –H.T. Webster (creator of "Caspar Milquetoast") andFontaine Fox of "Toonerville Trolley" – had offices upstairs in the Arcade Building over the Arcade Tap Room, a gathering place where the artists and writers might be joined by aristocrats, politicians, entertainers, and sports figures. Other well-known artists and writers of the era who had homes in Delray Beach include Herb Roth, W.J. "Pat" Enright,Robert Bernstein, Wood Cowan,Denys Wortman,Jim Raymond, Charles Williams, Herb Niblick, Hugh McNair Kahler,Clarence Budington Kelland,Nina Wilcox Putnam, andEdna St. Vincent Millay. These seasonal visitors helped soften the effect of the real estate downturn and the Great Depression on the city.[1][16]
During the Depression, not much money was available, since the two banks had failed, but progress continued, and the town still looked prosperous because of the previous burst of new buildings during the boom years. The artists and writers colony flourished and Delray Beach's fame as a resort town grew. This era is regarded as Delray Beach's "golden age of architecture", a period in which the city ranked 50th in population, but 10th in building permits in Florida.[1][17] Prominent architectural styles in Delray Beach from this period includeArt Deco,Mediterranean Revival,Mission Revival,Monterey Colonial,Streamline Moderne, bungalows, and Key West-style cottage homes for the colony's winter residents.[18][19][20][21][22][2]
For the four years ofWorld War II, citizens of Delray Beach volunteered to watch the beach and ocean 24 hours a day from the faux bell tower atop the seaside Seacrest Hotel. Military personnel patrolled the beach on horseback. Shipping attacks could be seen from the coast. During World War II, Delray Beach also had an influx of service personnel stationed at the nearbyBoca Raton Army Airfield. Some of the veterans who had trained at the airfield returned to settle in Delray Beach after the war. Steady growth of the city continued through the 1950s and 1960s.[2]
While Delray Beach had a sizeable African-American population from the beginning, it attempted to keep out Jews. In 1959, theAnti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith called it "one of the nation's most completelyanti-Semitic communities". It quoted an unnamed realtor who "proudly called it the only city on the East Coast [of Florida] fully restricted toGentiles both in buying and selling".[23]: 78
By the early 1960s, Delray Beach was becoming known for surfing. Atlantic Avenue was the biggest seller of surfboards in Florida at the time.[24] Delray Beach's surfing fame increased somewhat serendipitously after a 1965 shipwreck. DuringHurricane Betsy, the 441-foot (134 m) freighterAmaryllis ran aground onSinger Island, creating a windbreak that formed perfectly breaking waves. The ship was dismantled three years later, yet local surfers have retained an association with the area.[25][26]
In the 1970s,Interstate 95 between Palm Beach Gardens and Miami was fully completed and development began to spread west of the city limits. This pattern continued and accelerated through the 1980s, as downtown and many of the older neighborhoods fell into a period of economic decline.[2][27]
Revitalization of some historic areas began during the last decade of the 20th century, as several local landmark structures were renovated. These include the Colony Hotel[28] andOld School Square (the former campus of Delray Elementary School and Delray High School, since turned into a cultural center).[29] The city also established fiveHistoric Districts, listed in the Local Register of Historic Places, and annexed several other historic residential neighborhoods betweenU.S. Route 1 and the Intracoastal Waterway in an effort to preserve some of the distinctive local architecture.[19][20][21]
In 2001, the historic home of teacher/principal Solomon D. Spady was renovated and turned into theSpady Cultural Heritage Museum. The Spady Museum houses black archives.[30] In 2007, the museum was expanded by renovating a 1935 cottage as a Kid's Cultural Clubhouse, and the construction of a 50-seat amphitheater named for C. Spencer Pompey, a pioneer black educator.[31]
Downtown Delray, located in the eastern part of the city, alongAtlantic Avenue, east of I-95 and stretching to the beach, has undergone a large-scale renovation and gentrification. TheDelray Beach Tennis Center has brought business to the area. It has hosted several major international tennis events such as the April 2005Fed Cup (USA vs. Belgium), the April 2004Davis Cup (USA vs. Sweden), theDelray Beach International Tennis Championships (ATP event), and theChris Evert/Bank of America Pro-Celebrity event.[1]
WhenDayJet operated from 2007 to 2008, its headquarters were in Delray Beach.[34]
From 2009 to 2012,Pet Airways had its headquarters in Delray Beach.[35]
In 2012, Rand McNally "Best of the Road" named Delray Beach America's Most Fun Small Town.[36] Delray Beach was rated as the 3rd Happiest Seaside Town in America byCoastal Living in 2015.[37] Delray Beach won the title of Best Beach in Florida in theUSA Today 2024 Readers' Choice Awards.[38]
Delray Beach has experienced a drastic spike inopioid overdoses in recent years, reaching record numbers in 2016 and 2017. The number reached its pinnacle of 96 in October 2016. Most overdoses are a result of heroin mixed withfentanyl.[39][40][41][42] This is due to the high concentration ofhalfway houses throughout the city.[43]
To the north and northeast, the city is bordered by Gulf Stream on the barrier island and along a section of mainland east of U.S. Route 1.[44]
To the west, an urbanized area that includesHigh Point,Kings Point,Villages of Oriole, and multiplegated communities extends from the city's western boundary to theLoxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge portion of theEverglades. Many residences and businesses within this suburban corridor of unincorporated Palm Beach County possess a Delray Beach postal address despite technically lying outside the city limits.[44] This area is sometimes referred to collectively and informally as "West Delray."[45]
Delray Beach's location in southeastern Palm Beach County is in the middle of Florida'sGold Coast region.[46]
View of the Intracoastal Waterway from the Atlantic Avenue bridge
In earlier years, downtown Delray was centered along Atlantic Avenue as far west as Swinton Avenue and as far east as the intracoastal waterway. Downtown has since expanded. By 2010, downtown extended west toI-95 and east as the Atlantic Ocean; The north–south boundaries extend roughly two blocks north and south of Atlantic Avenue.[48]
Delray Beach has hot and humid summers. High summertime temperatures range from 87 to 93 °F with low temperatures around 75–78 °F. Winters are warm, with a marked drier season. Ordinarily, wintertime high temperatures are in the range of 74–83 °F and low temperatures 57–65 °F. However, when occasional cold fronts hitSouth Florida, daytime high temperatures may only reach the low or mid 60s (°F). Overnight lows during these brief periods can sink into the 40s. These cold fronts do not typically last more than a day or two and only occur a few times each winter. Its near sea-level elevation, coastal location, position above theTropic of Cancer, and proximity to theGulf Stream shapes its climate.Hurricane season officially runs from June 1 through November 30, although hurricanes can develop outside those dates. The most likely time for hurricane activity is during the peak of theCape Verde season, which is mid-August through the end of September. Delray Beach has received direct or near-direct hits from hurricanes in 1903, 1906, 1928, 1947, 1949, 1964, 1965, 1979, 1992, 1999, 2004, and 2005.[50]
As of 2000, 18.9% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.7% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.87.
In 2000, the city's population was spread out, with 18.2% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 25.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $43,371, and the median income for a family was $51,195. Males had a median income of $33,699 versus $28,469 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $29,350. About 8.2% of families and 11.8% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 17.6% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
Delray Beach is one of South Florida's most popular beach destinations.[59][60] The area is noted for its restaurants, retail shops, nightclubs, art galleries, and hotels.[61][62][63] East Atlantic Avenue is in particular is noted for its nightlife, dining, and shopping.[61][64][63] One of the city's most prominent commercial centers is Delray Beach Market, afood hall and event venue which is Florida's largest. Open since 2021, the opening ceremony was attended by Florida governorRon DeSantis, though is closed temporarily for the first half of 2023 to make room for newer constructions.[65]
Downtown Delray Beach has had a building boom since roughly 2003. Recent development reflects trends ofNew Urbanism downtown, andmansionization of waterfront property, sometimes creating pressures on Historic Districts and historic sites.[66][67] Newmixed-use development projects have recently been constructed, and more are planned, in the areas immediately north and south of Atlantic Avenue. To accommodate the anticipated growth the city has also built two new municipal parking garages.[68][69]
In 2007, an article inThe New York Times labeled Delray Beach the drug recovery capital of the United States because it had one of the country's largest recovery communities and relative number ofsober living houses.[70] The localdrug rehab industry has received mixed reviews from addiction experts and is considered a public nuisance by some residents and city officials.[71] Persistent complaints of health care fraud, insurance fraud, strain on public resources, and a perceived lack of adequate regulation and rehab facility inspections have received media coverage. In July 2017, several national news outlets, includingThe New York Times andNBC News, published investigative reports detailing fraud allegations within South Florida's billion-dollar drug rehab industry, focusing on Delray Beach's sober houses. At least 30 arrests for illegal "patient brokering" had been made between July 2016 and July 2017.[72][73][74]
John and Elizabeth Shaw Sundy House, built in 1902, is listed in the U.S. Register of Historic Places.Cornell Art Museum now occupies part of the restored 1913 Delray School complex.The first floor of theSilverball MuseumTheJ.B. Evans House, presently the home of the Sandoway Discovery Center, is listed the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The city has 2 miles (3.2 km) of public beach accessible fromFlorida State Road A1A.[76]Travel Holiday magazine named Delray Municipal Beach as the top beach in the southeastern United States.[77] The City of Delray Beach maintains five athletic fields, five beach and oceanfront parks, eight community parks, two intracoastal parks, a teen center andskatepark,[78] a splash park,[79] and a pool and tennis club,[80] offering a variety of recreational activities and facilities.[81]
Delray Beach also has a wide variety of venues for all types of art. The Pineapple Grove Arts District, located downtown north of Atlantic Avenue, is noted for its galleries, performance art, and cultural organizations.[82][83][84] Arts Garage, a not-for-profit multi-media arts venue, hosts musical concerts, live theatre, arts education and outreach programs, and a visual art gallery.[85] The Delray Beach Playhouse, which opened in 1947 in Lake Ida East Park, stages plays, musicals, interactive studio theatre, books on stage, children's theatre productions, classes and camps.[86]
Old School Square, the former campus of Delray Elementary School and Delray High School, has since been converted into a cultural center.[87] The Old School Square complex now comprises the Crest Theatre, a venue for the performing arts, in the former High School building; the 1925 Gymnasium, restored to maintain its appearance, which has since become a venue for local events such as wedding receptions and dances; theCornell Art Museum, built in the restored Elementary School; and The Pavilion, which serves as an outdoor venue for musical performances and other events such as political rallies. The Creative Arts School offers beginner through master level art, photography, and writing classes for children and adults.[88]
Atlantic Avenue is also a regular host for various art fairs and street festivals.[89]
Some museums within Delray Beach have a more historical focus. Cason Cottage House Museum, once home to a family of Delray Beach pioneers, offers visitors a glimpse at daily life inSouth Florida from 1915 to 1935. The Museum is maintained and operated by the Delray Beach Historical Society.[90] The historic home of teacher and later principal Solomon D. Spady was renovated and turned into theSpady Cultural Heritage Museum. The Spady Museum houses black archives and hosts exhibits and programs designed to recognize the efforts of blacks who were instrumental in shaping Delray Beach and Palm Beach County.[30] In 2007 the museum was expanded by renovating a 1935 cottage as a Kid's Cultural Clubhouse, and the construction of a 50-seat amphitheater named for C. Spencer Pompey, a pioneer black educator.[31] Among the city's most niche museums is thepinball-centeredSilverball Museum, which features more than 150 classic, playable pinball machines and arcade games.[91]
The remains of the British Steamship Inchulva that sank on Sept 11, 1903 are located in shallow water near the public beach, acting as habitat for native fish and corals.[92] Known today as the Delray Wreck, the site is noted for snorkeling and scuba diving.[93]
Some historic houses have been repurposed. The historicSundy House now operates as a luxuryeco resort. The premises includes The Sundy family's former apartments and cottages which have been converted into guest accommodations, a café, an antique shop, and tropical Taru Gardens.[22] TheJ.B. Evans House at 142 SouthOcean Boulevard, has been repurposed into the Sandoway Discovery Center, a natural history museum and environmental center which features native plants, live animals, and a large collection of shells from around the world.[94]
Delray Beach is also the home of theMorikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, a center for Japanese arts and culture. The campus includes two museum buildings, theRoji-en Japanese Gardens: Garden of the Drops of Dew, abonsai garden, library, gift shop, and a Japanese restaurant, called the Cornell Cafe, which has been featured on the Food Network. Rotating exhibits are displayed in both buildings, and demonstrations, including tea ceremonies and classes, are held in the main building. Traditional Japanese festivals are celebrated several times a year.[95]
Wakodahatchee Wetlands is a wetlands park open to the public. Facilities include a three-quarter mile (1.2 kilometer) boardwalk that crosses between open water pond areas, emergent marsh areas, shallow shelves, and islands with shrubs and snags to foster nesting and roosting. The site is part of the South section of theGreat Florida Birding Trail and offers many opportunities to observe birds in their natural habitats. Over 151 species of birds have been spotted inside the park, includingpied-billed grebe,snowy egrets, andblack-bellied whistling ducks. The park is home to turtles, alligators, rabbits, frogs, and raccoons.[96]
The ProWorld Tennis Academy is located in Delray Beach.[99] The Delray Beach Tennis Center is a full-service public tennis facility with 14 clay courts, 6 hard courts, and an 8,200-seat stadium located near downtown on Atlantic Avenue. The center includes an upstairs pavilion and conference room, pro-shop with locker rooms, racquet stringing, and merchandise. The club offers a variety of adult and junior programs, leagues, clinics and camps. A second location, the Delray Swim & Tennis Club, features 24 clay courts and a clubhouse that has a pro shop with merchandise and locker rooms.[100]
On July 20, 2010, the city's commissioners proclaimed that the city's name would be officially changed to Tennis Beach for one week in honor of its nomination by theUnited States Tennis Association as one of the top tennis towns in the United States.[101]
Delray Beach is covered by two major daily newspapers, thePalm Beach Post and Sun Sentinel, as well as local publications, including theCoastal Star,[102] Delray Newspaper[103] and theDelray Beach Times.[104] There are also two lifestyle magazines, Delray Magazine[105] and Atlantic Ave Magazine.[106] Local television stations covering the county are channel 5 NBC WPTV, channel 25 ABC WPBF, channel 12 CBS WPEC and channel 29 FOX WFLX.
Florida State Road A1A, locally known as "Ocean Boulevard", is a north–south Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway passing through the city between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean.
U.S. Route 1, also known as "Federal Highway", is a north–south road passing through downtown, commercial districts, and residential areas in the eastern part of the city. US1 splits into a dividedone-way pair through downtown.
Interstate 95 bisects the city from north to south with two Delray Beach interchanges.
Florida's Turnpike is a north–south toll road passing through unincorporated Delray Beach, with an interchange at Atlantic Avenue.
U.S. Highway 441, also known asState Road 7, is a north–south highway passing through residential and commercial areas west of the city limits.
Florida State Road 806, locally known as "Atlantic Avenue", is the primary east–west route between State Road A1A and US 441, and the central commercial thoroughfare downtown.
Linton Boulevard and George Bush Boulevard are the other two roads connecting to State Road A1A withdrawbridge crossings over the Intracoastal Waterway.
Downtown Delray Beach is accessible by boat via The Intracoastal Waterway. The city has a municipal marina with rental slips south of the Atlantic Avenue crossing.[110] Yacht cruises also launch daily from Veteran's Park north of the Atlantic Avenue drawbridge.[111]
During the Artists and Writers Colony of the 1930s–1950s, Delray Beach residents and locations were described and depicted—both directly and indirectly—within the cartoon illustrations of Herb Roth, W.J. (Pat) Enright,H.T. Webster,Fontaine Fox, andJim Raymond.[257][258]
Delray Beach is referenced in published correspondence from poetEdna St. Vincent Millay, who resided in the city with her husband Eugen Jan Boissevain in 1935–1936 while writingConversation at Midnight.[259]
Transplanted Greenwich Village folk singerRod MacDonald's song "My Neighbors in Delray" was written upon the author's discovery that some of the terrorists responsible for theSeptember 11 attacks had spent time in Delray Beach before the attacks.[263]Some film and television productions specifically set or filmed in Delray Beach include:
Bad Boys II, starringMartin Lawrence andWill Smith, was partially filmed in Delray Beach. The film's producers blew up a real $40 million waterfront mansion in Delray Beach as part of a scene that is set in Cuba.[266]
After Midnight, a 2014 feature film was shot in Artists Alley, part of Delray Beach's Pineapple Grove Arts District downtown.[267]
^Goldman, Adam; Schmidt, Michael S. (December 16, 2021)."How Ashley Biden's Diary Made Its Way to Project Veritas".The New York Times. RetrievedDecember 19, 2021.Ms. Biden, who has kept a low profile throughout her father's vice presidency and presidency, had left a job the year before working for a criminal justice group in Delaware. She was living in Delray Beach, Fla., a small city between Miami and West Palm Beach, with a friend who had rented a two-bedroom house lined with palm trees with a large swimming pool and wraparound driveway, according to people familiar with the events.
^Television/Radio Age (1979)."Television/Radio Age".Television/Radio Age, Volume 27. Television Editorial Corporation. p. 112. RetrievedFebruary 12, 2015.
.jpg)
.jpg)
