Riviera Beach is a city in
Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, which was incorporated September 29, 1922. Due to the location of its eastern boundary, it is also the easternmost municipality in the
Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,012,331 people in 2015. In the
2020 U.S. Census, the total population of Riviera Beach residents was 37,604 people.
Riviera Beach is predominantly an African-American city and it is on the
list of U.S. cities with African American majority populations. It is home to the
Port of Palm Beach
The Port of Palm Beach is located in Riviera Beach, Florida, United States, in Palm Beach County. The port is an independent taxing district, with a five-member board of commissioners elected at large by voters within the district. The port dis ...
and a
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
station, and has its own
marina. Riviera Beach is home to Blue Heron Bridge, one of the country's top-rated beach dive sites.
In 2015, Riviera Beach renamed part of
Old Dixie Highway
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
*Old, Northamptonshire, England
* Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...
that runs inside the city limits as President Barack Obama Highway.
The city is also home to
Rapids Water Park, a
water park
A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...
attraction for both tourists and residents.
History
Riviera Beach was originally called Oak Lawn, but the settlement was renamed Riviera in 1893.
[ It wasn't until 1941 that "Beach" was added, though it was incorporated in 1922 as only the "Town of Riviera".][ In 1959, it converted from a "town" status to the present-day "City of Riviera Beach".][ For the first half of the 20th century, its nickname was "Conch Town", after the many Conch people (]Bahamians
Bahamians are people originating or having roots from The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. One can also become a Bahamian by acquiring citizenship.
History
Culture
Olympic Games
World Championships in Athletics
List
* Sidney Poitier, first ...
and Bahamian American
Bahamian Americans are an ethnic group of Caribbean Americans of Bahamian ancestry. There are an estimated 56,797 people of Bahamian ancestry living in the US as of 2019. Bahamian Immigration
Bahamians began visiting the Florida Keys in the 18 ...
s) who resided in the city. The city was named after the French Riviera.[ ]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (15.33%) is water. The eastern part of the city includes most of Singer Island, a peninsula on the Atlantic coast of Palm Beach County, Florida, which is separated from the mainland portion of the city by Lake Worth's Lake Worth Lagoon
The Lake Worth Lagoon is a lagoon located in Palm Beach County, Florida. It runs parallel to the coast, and is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by barrier beaches, including Palm Beach Island. The lagoon is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by two ...
.
Climate
Riviera Beach has a tropical climate
Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) or higher in the cool ...
, more specifically a tropical rainforest climate
A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...
(Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Af''), as its driest month (February) averages 64.8mm of precipitation, meeting the minimum standard of 60mm in the driest month needed to qualify for that designation. Much of the year is warm to hot in Riviera Beach, and frost is extremely rare. As is typical in South Florida, there are two basic seasons in Riviera Beach, a mild and dry winter (November through April), and a hot and wet summer (May through October). Daily thundershowers are common in the hot season, though they are brief. The city of Riviera Beach is home to many varieties of tropical vegetation
Tropical vegetation is any vegetation in tropical latitudes. Plant life that occurs in climates that are warm year-round is in general more biologically diverse that in other latitudes. Some tropical areas may receive abundant rain the whole ye ...
, which can be seen in its variety of plants, trees, and flowers all over South Florida and the city itself.
Demographics
2020 census
''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 17,124 households, out of which 27.7% were vacant. In 2000, 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.1% were married couples living together, 27.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.04 and the average family size was 4.62.
In 2000, the population was spread out, with 37.5% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,715, and the median income for a family was $26,756.
In 2000, males had a median income of $27,232 versus $22,410 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,159. About 29.6% of families and 32.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.1% of those under age 18 and 21.4% of those age 65 or over.
As of 2000, those who solely spoke English at home accounted for 90.30% of all residents, while speakers of Spanish were 4.71%, French Creole 2.42%, and French speakers 0.95%.
Government
Riviera Beach has a mayor–council–manager form of government. Ronnie Felder was elected to a second three-year term as its mayor in 2022. Jonathan Evans, who was fired as city manager by three city council members in 2017 "for cause, for misfeasance" but without further explanation, returned to that position in 2019, and was in negotiations for a contract renewal. The city is divided into five districts, each with a council member; the mayor does not vote.
The Riviera Beach City Council has received national attention for its repeated clashes with local activist Fane Lozman, starting with his successful lawsuit, brought under Florida's open-meetings law, to prevent them from seizing the marina under eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
and selling it to private developers. In 2013, Lozman won against the city at the United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
in an admiralty case after the city seized his floating home. In 2018, Lozman won a rare second victory at the court, this one arising from his arrest during a city council meeting in November 2006.
Education
Public Elementary Schools
*Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School
*Lincoln Elementary School (formerly Lincoln High School was only for black students during segregation Segregation may refer to:
Separation of people
* Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space
* School segregation
* Housing segregation
* Racial segregation, separation of humans ...
, and before that it was a called West Riviera Junior High School)
*Washington Elementary School
*West Riviera Elementary School
Public Middle School
*John F Kennedy Middle School (originally John F. Kennedy High School was only for black students during segregation)[
Public High Schools
* Suncoast High School (originally Riviera Beach High School was only for white students during segregation)]
Inlet Grove High School
Charter High School
Riviera Beach Preparatory and Achievement Academy
(Grades 5–12)
Transportation
Riviera Beach is served by several bus routes operated by PalmTran.
Business and economy
* EDF Incorporated (1978)
Notable people
* Anthony Carter – Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
and NFL wide receiver, 3x Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
selection
*Devin Hester
Devin Devorris Hester Sr. (born November 4, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely regarded as the greatest return specialist i ...
– NFL record-holding kick returner
A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...
for Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons, member of National Football League 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
The National Football League 100th Anniversary All-Time Team was voted on by a panel consisting of media members, former players and league personnel in 2019 to honor the greatest players of the first 100 years of the National Football League (NFL ...
* Elizabeth Jacobson – USAF, killed in Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
*Richard Rellford
Richard Allen Rellford (born February 16, 1964) is a retired American professional basketball player. Born in Riviera Beach, Florida, he was a 6' 6" (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) power forward. He played four games in the NBA, and three seas ...
– professional basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player
* Burt Reynolds – actor, moved to Riviera Beach in 1946 at the age of 10; his father, a police officer, was once the Riviera Beach Chief of Police
* Willie Young – NFL defensive end
See also
* Amaryllis (ship)
References
External links
Online version (made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida) of a 1939 WPA exhibit on the Conchs of Riviera Beach, Florida
{{authority control
1922 establishments in Florida
Cities in Florida
Cities in Palm Beach County, Florida
Populated coastal places in Florida on the Atlantic Ocean
Populated places established in 1922
Port cities and towns of the Florida Atlantic coast