Boca Raton, FL
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Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in
Palm Beach County, Florida Palm Beach County is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's third-most populous county after Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and Broward County, Florida, Broward County ...
, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton
postal address An address is a collection of information, presented in a mostly fixed format, used to give the location of a building, apartment, or other structure or a plot of land, generally using political boundaries and street names as references, along ...
live outside of municipal boundaries, such as in West Boca Raton. As a business center, the city also experiences significant daytime population increases. Boca Raton is north of
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
and is a
principal city In the United States, a principal city is the largest incorporated place with a population of at least 10,000 in a core-based statistical area (CBSA) or New England city and town area (NECTA), or if no incorporated place of least 10,000 populati ...
of the
Miami metropolitan area The Miami metropolitan area is a coastal metropolitan area in southeastern Florida. It is the sixth-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States, and the lar ...
. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924 as "Bocaratone", and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" on May 26, 1925. While the area had been inhabited by the
Glades culture The Glades culture is an archaeological culture in southernmost Florida that lasted from about 500 BCE until shortly after European contact. Its area included the Everglades, the Florida Keys, the Atlantic coast of Florida north through present-day ...
, as well as
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
and later
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
colonial empires prior to its annexation by the United States, the city's present form was developed predominantly by American architect
Addison Mizner Addison Cairns Mizner ( ) (December 12, 1872 – February 5, 1933) was an American architect whose Mediterranean Revival Style architecture, Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, Spanish Colonial Revival style interpret ...
starting in the 1920s. Mizner contributed to many buildings in the area having Mediterranean Revival or
Spanish Colonial Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish architecture in general. Thes ...
architecture. Boca Raton also became a key city in the development of the early computer industry. The city is the birthplace of
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
's first personal computer and various other technologies created by the company. Still centered around luxury beach culture, the city today is dotted by many malls and shopping centers, including the Town Center at Boca Raton.
The ODP Corporation The ODP Corporation is an American office supply retailer headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. The company operates 922 retail stores in the United States under the Office Depot and OfficeMax brands, as well as e-commerce sites and a business-t ...
, which operates Office Depot and
OfficeMax OfficeMax is an American office supplies retailer founded in 1988. As an independent chain, it was the third-largest office supply retailer in the United States. Following a 2013 merger, it is currently a brand and subsidiary of Office Depot. ...
, is headquartered here. Boca Raton is also home to the main campus of
Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...
and the Evert Tennis Academy, owned by former professional tennis player
Chris Evert Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954) is an American former professional tennis player. One of the most successful players of all time, she was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 2 ...
. The city has a strict development code for the size and types of commercial buildings, building signs, and advertisements that may be erected within the city limit, which has led to major thoroughfares without billboards and large advertisements, as well as increased green spaces on roads.


Name


Etymology

''Boca Ratón'' translates to "Mouse Mouth" in English. Its name was originally labeled in the early European maps of the area as . , meaning "mouth", was a common term to describe an
inlet An inlet is a typically long and narrow indentation of a shoreline such as a small arm, cove, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In ...
on maps by sailors (as in a
river mouth A river mouth is where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river, a lake/reservoir, a bay/gulf, a sea, or an ocean. At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current, reducing the carryin ...
). The meaning of the word ''ratones'' for the area is less certain. Some claim that the word appears in old Spanish maritime dictionaries referring to "rugged rocks or stony ground on the bottom of some ports and coastal outlets, where the cables rub against". Thus, one possible translation of ''Boca Raton'' is "Rugged Inlet". Others claim that referred to pirates who hid out in the area, and thus the name could translate to "Pirates' Inlet".


Pronunciation

City residents pronounce ''Raton'' as . People not from the region often mispronounce this as instead.


History


Timeline

* 1890 – Bocaratone settled. * 1896 –
Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a p ...
begins operating. * 1909 – Bocaratone becomes part of newly created
Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's third-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and Broward County and the 24th-most populous in the United States, wi ...
. * 1912 –
Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a Navigability, inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, the ...
opens. * 1915 ** Telephone installed. ** Board of Trade organized. * 1918 – Ebenezer Baptist Church founded in Pearl City neighborhood. * 1923 – Boca Raton Inlet bridge constructed. * 1924 ** Town of "Boca Ratone" incorporated. **
Addison Mizner Addison Cairns Mizner ( ) (December 12, 1872 – February 5, 1933) was an American architect whose Mediterranean Revival Style architecture, Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, Spanish Colonial Revival style interpret ...
chosen as town planner. ** George Long becomes mayor. * 1925 ** Town of "Boca Raton" incorporated. ** Mizner Development Corporation in business. * 1926 **
Cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...
resort built. ** Chamber of Commerce founded. * 1927 –
Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
built. * 1928 – Water plant built. * 1930 ** Railroad station built. ** Population: 447. * 1936 – Airport established. * 1939 – Camino Real
Bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
opens. * 1942 – U.S. military
Boca Raton Army Air Field Boca Raton Army Air Field was a World War II United States Army Air Forces airfield, located northwest of the 1940s borders of Boca Raton, Florida. During World War II, it operated the only training for the then new and secret technology of ra ...
established. * 1947 – October: 1947 Cape Sable hurricane occurs. * 1950 ** Art Guild established. ** Population: 992. * 1955 – ''
Boca Raton News The ''Boca Raton News'', owned by the South Florida Media Company, was the local community newspaper of Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 Unit ...
'' begins publication. * 1960 – Population: 6,961. * 1961 **
Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...
founded. **
Boca Raton Public Library The Boca Raton Public Library consists of two library facilities serving the residents of the incorporated area of Boca Raton, Florida. The City of Boca Raton, incorporated in 1925, is one of the largest and southernmost cities in Palm Beac ...
building constructed. * 1962 **
Lynn University Lynn University is a private university in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. Founded in 1962, the university awards Associate degree, associate, Bachelor's degree, baccalaureate, Master's degree, master's, and Doctorate, doctoral Academic degr ...
established. ** Saint Andrew's School opens. * 1963 – Boca Inlet
Bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
opens. * 1964 – Boca Raton Theatre in business. * 1970 – Population: 28,506. * 1972 – Boca Raton Historical Society founded. * 1979 – ''Jewish Floridian of South County''
newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
begins publication. * 1980 ** Pope John Paul II High School established. ** Town Center at Boca Raton opens. * 1981 – August: "
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
(International Business Machines) introduces the
IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the List of IBM Personal Computer models, IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible ''de facto'' standard. Released on ...
from its Boca Raton factory." * 1986 –
Boca Raton Museum of Art Founded by artists, the Boca Raton Museum of Art was established in 1950 as the Art Guild of Boca Raton. The organization has grown to encompass an Art School, Guild, Store, and Museum with permanent collections of contemporary art, photography, ...
active. * 1989 –
Boca Raton station Boca Raton station can refer to: * Boca Raton station (Tri-Rail), a Tri-Rail commuter rail station in Boca Raton, Florida * Boca Raton station (Brightline), a Brightline inter-city rail station in Boca Raton, Florida * Boca Express Train Museum, ...
opens. * 1990 ** Old Floresta designated a city historic district. ** Population: 61,492. * 1991 – W.R. Grace & Co. headquarters relocated to Boca Raton from New York. * 1998 – City website online (approximate date). * 1999 – W.R. Grace & Co. headquarters moves away from Boca Raton. * 2000 ** Muvico cinema in business. ** Population: 83,255 * 2001 – Anthrax attack; Robert Stevens dies. * 2004 – September: Hurricane Frances and
Hurricane Jeanne Hurricane Jeanne was the deadliest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin since Mitch in 1998, and the deadliest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2004. It was the tenth named storm, the seventh hurricane, and the fifth major hurricane of the se ...
occur. * 2005 – October:
Hurricane Wilma Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin and the second-most intense tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere, both based on barometric pressure, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Wilma's rapid intensifi ...
occurs. * 2009 – ''Boca Raton News'' ceases publication. * 2010 – Population: 84,392. * 2012 ** October 22: United States presidential debate held in Boca Raton. * 2014 – Susan Haynie elected mayor. * 2017 **
Ted Deutch Theodore Eliot Deutch ( ; born May 7, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative from Florida's 22nd congressional district from 2010 to 2022. His district, numbered as the 19th district from 2010 to 2013 ...
becomes
U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
for
Florida's 22nd congressional district Florida's 22nd congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in Southeast Florida. In the 2020 redistricting cycle, it was drawn as a successor to the previous 21st district and includes Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach ...
. ** September:
Hurricane Irma Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Hurricane Maria, Maria two weeks later. At the time, it was considered ...
occurs.


Early history

The area where Boca Raton is now located was originally occupied by the
Glades culture The Glades culture is an archaeological culture in southernmost Florida that lasted from about 500 BCE until shortly after European contact. Its area included the Everglades, the Florida Keys, the Atlantic coast of Florida north through present-day ...
, a Native American tribe of
hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...
s who relocated seasonally and between shellfish sources, distinct from the
Tequesta The Tequesta, also Tekesta, Tegesta, Chequesta, Vizcaynos, were a Native American tribe on the Southeastern Atlantic coast of Florida. They had infrequent contact with Europeans and had largely migrated by the middle of the 18th century. Loca ...
to the south and the
Jaega The Jaega (also Jega, Xega, Geiga) were Native Americans living in a chiefdom of the same name, which included the coastal parts of present-day Martin County and northern Palm Beach County, Florida, at the time of initial European contact, and ...
to the north. What Spanish voyagers called "Boca de Ratones" was originally to the south, in present-day
Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is large ...
in
Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County () is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most-populous coun ...
. The area of Boca Raton was labeled "Rio Seco", meaning "Dry River", during this time. By mistake during the 19th century, mapmakers moved this location to the north and began referring to the city's lake, today known as Lake Boca Raton, as "Boca Ratone Lagoon" and later "Boca Ratone Sounde". An inland stream near the lake was later renamed Spanish River, and eventually became part of the
Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a Navigability, inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, the ...
. When Spain surrendered Florida to
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
in 1763, the remaining Tequestas, along with other Indians who had taken refuge in the Florida Keys, were evacuated to
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. In the 1770s,
Bernard Romans Bernard Romans ( 1720–1784) was a Dutch-born navigator, surveyor, cartographer, naturalist, engineer, soldier, promoter, and writer who worked in the British American colonies and the United States. His best known work, ''A Concise Natural History ...
reported seeing abandoned villages in the area, but no inhabitants. The area remained largely uninhabited for long afterwards, during the early years of Florida's incorporation in the United States. The first significant European settler to this area was Captain Thomas Moore Rickards in 1895, who resided in a house made of driftwood on the east side of the East Coast Canal, south of what is now the Palmetto Park Road bridge. He surveyed and sold land from the canal to beyond the railroad north of what is now Palmetto Park Road. Early settlement in the area increased shortly after
Henry Flagler Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder ...
's expansion of the
Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a p ...
, connecting
West Palm Beach West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...
to Miami.


Addison Mizner's resort town

Boca Raton as a city was the creation of architect
Addison Mizner Addison Cairns Mizner ( ) (December 12, 1872 – February 5, 1933) was an American architect whose Mediterranean Revival Style architecture, Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, Spanish Colonial Revival style interpret ...
. Prior to him, Boca Raton was an unincorporated farming town with a population of 100 in 1920. In 1925, Mizner announced his plan for "the foremost
resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...
city on the North American continent," "a new exclusive social capital in America." After spending several years in Palm Beach, where, in his own words, he "did more than any one man to make the city beautiful," and designed the Everglades Club among many other buildings, in Boca Raton his plan was to create from scratch "a resort as splendid in its entirety as Palm Beach is in spots." Activity in that area began at least a year, and probably more, before Mizner's announcement. Land acquisition, tens of thousands of acres, was the largest part. But it is hard not to see Mizner's hand in the incorporation of Boca Raton in 1924; the city immediately appointed him Town Planner. The Mizner Development Company was incorporated in 1925, and promptly issued $5 million of stock, which was fully subscribed in less than a week. $500,000 was reserved for the "average Floridian"; the remainder was purchased by, as Addison called them, "noted personages", all with a Palm Beach connection: Lytle Hall,
Harold Vanderbilt Harold Stirling Vanderbilt Order of the British Empire, CBE (July 6, 1884 – July 4, 1970) was an American railroad executive, a champion Yachting, yachtsman, an innovator and champion player of contract bridge, and a member of the Vanderbilt fa ...
, J. Leonard Repogle, the
Duchess of Sutherland The Duchess of Sutherland is the wife of the Duke of Sutherland, an extant title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which was created by William IV in 1833. Duchesses of Sutherland * Elizabeth Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland (née Elizab ...
,
Rodman Wanamaker Lewis Rodman Wanamaker (February 13, 1863 – March 9, 1928) was an American businessman and heir to the Wanamaker's department store fortune. In addition to operating stores in Philadelphia, New York City, and Paris, he was a patron of the ar ...
, Paris Singer,
Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...
, Madame
Frances Alda Frances Davis Alda (born Fanny Jane Davis; 31 May 1879 – 18 September 1952) was a New Zealand-born, Australian-raised operatic lyric soprano. She achieved fame during the first three decades of the 20th century due to her outstanding singing ...
, W. C. Robinson, H. H. Rodgers, D. H. Conkling, A. T. Herd, Porte,
William Kissam Vanderbilt II William Kissam Vanderbilt II (October 26, 1878 – January 8, 1944) was an American motor racing enthusiast and yachtsman, and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family. Early life He was born on October 26, 1878, in New York City, the secon ...
,
Elizabeth Arden Elizabeth Arden (December 31, 1881 – October 18, 1966), also known as Elizabeth N. Graham, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States. Backg ...
,
Jesse Livermore Jesse Lauriston Livermore (July 26, 1877 – November 28, 1940) was an American stock trader. He is considered a pioneer of day trading and was the basis for the main character of ''Reminiscences of a Stock Operator'', a best-selling book by Edw ...
, Clarence H. Geist, and T. Coleman du Pont as chairman. Addison's brother Wilson also appears on the list of investors, but he had little to invest. Instead of the existing Palmetto Park Road, the main street in Mizner's Boca was to be El Camino Real, 20 lanes wide, which Mizner fancifully translated as "The Royal Highway", referring to Spain's road network and to the road to Santa Fe and to the
Spanish missions in California The Spanish missions in California () formed a List of Spanish missions in California, series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. The missions were established by ...
. (Spanish kings rarely or never travelled on these roads; "The Government Road" would be just as accurate.) It was originally to be circular, with a lagoon in the middle. Soon it became, in the plans, Boca Raton's main east–west street, to be wide and with a canal for pleasure boats in the center. (In the drawing of it on the cover of Mizner Development's first brochure is a Venetian
gondola The gondola (, ; , ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, in a scul ...
.) His statement that it was inspired by
Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...
, a neighborhood and beach in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, Brazil, is another of his many inventions of foreign "facts". Mizner, who never went to
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
nor knew Brazilians, simply made it up because the name "Botafogo" ("fire thrower") sounded impressive, as was the concept of imitating
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
. (The only street in Rio de Janeiro anything like the supposed picture, actually an artist's conception, of "Botafogo" that Mizner included in his first catalogue, is the :pt:Canal do Mangue, which runs down the middle of two streets, but is nowhere near Botafogo, a more elegant name than Mangue "
mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...
".) Only of the road was built (although the street has subsequently been extended to the west at normal scale). According to drawings, the centerpiece of the street was to be a canal for pleasure boats; it was never built. All streets were to be at least wide. His first buildings in Boca Raton were his Administrative Buildings, on El Camino Real (in 2018 th
Addison Restaurant
, and a small hotel to house interested investors. Mizner designed Boca's first town hall/police station/fire station/library, although the design actually built is much smaller and less expensive than what Mizner planned. Today (2018) it is the Boca Raton History Museum, which houses Boca's Welcome Center and the Boca Raton Historical Society. The hotel was his
Ritz-Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addit ...
Cloister Inn, built in 1926, later renamed the Boca Raton Resort & Club, and is one of the only "5 star" hotels in Florida. The 1969 addition of its "pink tower" hotel building is visible from miles away as a towering monument on the
Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a Navigability, inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, the ...
. Because of the end of the
Florida land boom of the 1920s The first real estate bubble in Florida was primarily caused by the economic prosperity of the 1920s coupled with a lack of knowledge about List of Florida hurricanes, storm frequency and poor Building code, building standards. This pioneering e ...
and the 1926 Miami hurricane, the Mizner Development Corporation went into bankruptcy in 1927. Little of Mizner's Boca Raton was ever built: his Administration Buildings, the Cloister Inn, 1/2 mile of El Camino Real, the small Dunagan Apartments (demolished), a few houses near the Cloister Inn (demolished), the Spanish Village neighborhood, and a few small houses in what is now the Old Floresta
Historic District A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...
neighborhood.


World War II Army Air Force Base

During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, some of the land used by the Japanese farmers of the Yamato Colony was confiscated and used as the site of the Boca Raton Army Air Force Base, a major training facility for
B-29 The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined Propeller (aeronautics), propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to ...
bomber crews and the only facility in the U.S. training
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
operators. Much of the
Boca Raton Army Airfield Boca Raton Army Air Field was a World War II United States Army Air Forces airfield, located northwest of the 1940s borders of Boca Raton, Florida. During World War II, it operated the only training for the then new and secret technology of ra ...
was later donated to Palm Beach County and became the grounds of
Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...
. Many of FAU's parking lots are former runways of the airbase. When viewed from above, the site's layout for its previous use as an airfield is plainly evident. Boca Raton Airport's runway was once part of the original airbase, and is still active to this day, although the runway has been rebuilt. Army School Building #3 (T-604) of the Army Air Forces Base has survived as the office building for the Cynthia Gardens apartment complex on Northwest 4th Avenue.


Post-World War II history

Boca Raton was the site of two now vanished
amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
s, Africa U.S.A. (1953–1961) and Ancient America (1953–1959). Africa U.S.A. was a wild animal park in which tourists rode a "Jeep Safari Train" through the park. There were no fences separating the animals from the tourists. It is now the Camino Gardens subdivision one mile west of the Boca Raton Hotel. A red wooden bridge and remnants from the Watusi Geyser and Zambezi Falls, a 30-foot waterfall, from Africa USA can still be seen at the entrance to Camino Gardens. Ancient America was built surrounding a real Native American burial mound. Today, the mound is still visible within the Boca Marina & Yacht Club neighborhood on U.S. 1 near Yamato Road.


IBM

In the late 1960s,
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
announced their intentions to open a manufacturing plant in the area. In 1965, well before the extension of
I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
into Southern Florida, IBM, working in secret with the Arvida corporation, quietly purchased several hundred acres of real estate west of the
CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...
rail line and northwest of
Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...
. Originally situated in unincorporated Palm Beach County, the site was annexed into Boca Raton almost a year following its dedication in 1970. Construction of IBM's main complex began in 1967, designed by
Marcel Breuer Marcel Lajos Breuer ( ; 21 May 1902 – 1 July 1981) was a Hungarian-American modernist architect and furniture designer. He moved to the United States in 1937 and became a naturalized American citizen in 1944. At the Bauhaus he designed the Was ...
, and the manufacturing and office complex was dedicated in March 1970. The campus was designed with self-sufficiency in mind and sported its own
electrical substation A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station an ...
,
water pumping The pumping of water is a basic and practical technique, far more practical than scooping it up with one's hands or lifting it in a hand-held bucket. This is true whether the water is drawn from a Purified water, fresh source, moved to a needed lo ...
station, and rail spur. By 1984 IBM was Palm Beach County's largest corporate employer, with 8,500 Boca Raton employees. Among other noteworthy IT accomplishments, such as the mass production of the
System/360 The IBM System/360 (S/360) is a family of mainframe computer systems announced by IBM on April 7, 1964, and delivered between 1965 and 1978. System/360 was the first family of computers designed to cover both commercial and scientific applicati ...
and development of the Series/1 mainframe computers, IBM's main complex was the birthplace of the
IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the List of IBM Personal Computer models, IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible ''de facto'' standard. Released on ...
, which later evolved into the IBM Personal System/2, developed in nearby
Delray Beach Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020, was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States Census. Located in the Miami metropolitan area, Delray Beach is 52 miles (83 ...
. Starting in 1987, IBM relocated its manufacturing for what became the IBM PC division to
Research Triangle Park Research Triangle Park (RTP) is the largest research park in the United States; it occupies in North Carolina and hosts more than 300 companies and 65,000 workers. It is owned and managed by the Research Triangle Foundation, a private non-profi ...
in
Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
, and converted the manufacturing facilities into offices and laboratories, later producing products such as the
OS/2 OS/2 is a Proprietary software, proprietary computer operating system for x86 and PowerPC based personal computers. It was created and initially developed jointly by IBM and Microsoft, under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci, ...
operating system and VoiceType Dictation, later known as ViaVoice voice-recognition
software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...
. IBM maintained its facilities in the South Florida area until 1996, when the facility was closed and sold to Blue Lake Real Estate. The site was sold to T-REX Management Consortium, then to the Blackstone Group in 2005, who renamed it the Boca Corporate Center and Campus. The site was later renamed the Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC). Crocker Partners, noted for its development of
Mizner Park Mizner Park is a high-end shopping, residential, and entertainment district located in the affluent downtown neighborhood of Boca Raton, Florida. The district consists of a collection of high-end shops and restaurants with luxury apartments buil ...
and Office Depot headquarters, purchased BRiC in April 2018. What used to be IBM's Building 051, an annex separated from the former main IBM campus by Spanish River Boulevard, was donated to the Palm Beach County School District and converted into Don Estridge High Tech Middle School. It is named after
Don Estridge Philip Donald Estridge (June 23, 1937 – August 2, 1985), known as Don Estridge, was an American computer engineer who led development of the original IBM Personal Computer (PC), and thus is known as the "father of the IBM PC". He opened its sp ...
, whose team was responsible for developing the
IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the List of IBM Personal Computer models, IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible ''de facto'' standard. Released on ...
. IBM returned in July 2001, opening the software development laboratory at Beacon Square off Congress Avenue. It is noteworthy that still left standing inside the old IBM complex is the office and conference table where
Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...
signed his historic deal to supply IBM with the
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...
operating system for its personal computer line.


Suburban expansion

In 1991, the downtown outdoor shopping and dining center,
Mizner Park Mizner Park is a high-end shopping, residential, and entertainment district located in the affluent downtown neighborhood of Boca Raton, Florida. The district consists of a collection of high-end shops and restaurants with luxury apartments buil ...
, was completed over the site of the old Boca Raton Mall. It has since become a cultural center for southern Palm Beach County. Featuring a landscaped central park between the two main roads (collectively called Plaza Real) with stores only on the outside of the roads, Mizner Park resembles a Mediterranean suburban "town center" with a more contemporary look. It features many restaurants and is home to the
Boca Raton Museum of Art Founded by artists, the Boca Raton Museum of Art was established in 1950 as the Art Guild of Boca Raton. The organization has grown to encompass an Art School, Guild, Store, and Museum with permanent collections of contemporary art, photography, ...
, which moved to the new facility in 2001. In 2002, a new
amphitheater An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...
was built, replacing a smaller one and providing a large-capacity outdoor venue where concerts and other performances are held. The Mizner Park Cultural Center, an indoor performing arts/comedy show theater is located to the southwest of the amphitheater within the Mizner Park property. The
National Cartoon Museum The National Cartoon Museum was an American museum dedicated to the collection, preservation and exhibition of cartoons, comic strips and animation. It was the brainchild of Mort Walker, creator of ''Beetle Bailey''. The museum opened in 1974, an ...
was built on the southwest edge of Mizner Park in 1996. Open for six years, the museum relocated to its original home in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 2002. As development continued to focus to the west of the city in the 1980s and 1990s, the mall area known as Town Center at Boca Raton became the geographic center of what is referred to as West Boca Raton, though this mall was not annexed into the city until 2004. Forbes ranked Boca's Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club the third most exclusive gated community in the US in 2017. Many mansions and estates have been built and reflect the high real estate values. 18.1% of homes for sale are within the $655,000–$966,000 range, 8.5% in the $966,000–$1.288 million range, and 11.9% in the $1.288 million plus range. Since the mid-2010s, there has been a developing boom such as the building of the Mandarin Oriental's Residences, remodeling of Downtown Boca Raton's Mizner Park, and development around Florida Atlantic University and Lynn University. On November 2, 2004, the voters of the Via Verde Association, Waterside, Deerhurst Association (Boca South), Marina Del Mar Association, Rio Del Mar Association (both originally Boca Del Mar communities), and Heatherwood of Boca Raton Condominium Association approved
annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...
into the Boca Raton
city limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary (real estate), boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. ...
, increasing the city land area to . A new gated community called Royal Palm Polo was annexed to the City of Boca Raton, which is the only jurisdiction north of Clint Moore Road.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has an area of , of which of this is land and of it (6.63%) is water. Boca Raton is a "
principal city In the United States, a principal city is the largest incorporated place with a population of at least 10,000 in a core-based statistical area (CBSA) or New England city and town area (NECTA), or if no incorporated place of least 10,000 populati ...
" (as defined by the Census Bureau) of the
Miami Metropolitan Area The Miami metropolitan area is a coastal metropolitan area in southeastern Florida. It is the sixth-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States, and the lar ...
. Approximately 1 square mile is on the barrier island Deerfield Beach Island
DBI
, also colloquially known as Deerfield Cay. Like other
South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...
cities, Boca Raton has a
water table The water table is the upper surface of the phreatic zone or zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater, which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the loc ...
that does not permit building basements, however plumbing and sewage is constructed underneath the homes and streets, in addition to electrical systems in some areas. There are several high points in the city, such as 4th Avenue which is aptly named "High Street". The highest point in this area is the guard shack at Camino Gardens, which is above sea level. The Boca Raton Hotel's Beach Club rests at above sea level. Several small tunnels run under roads in Boca, but the roads are built up several feet at these locations, or are on dunes. Several of these tunnels are under State Road A1A at Spanish River Park, from the west side of the road where parking is available to beachgoers, to the east side of the road, which is where the beach is located. State Road A1A is already higher than the surrounding land here due to sand dunes formed by erosion and other natural features.


Neighborhoods

Pearl City is a neighborhood in Boca Raton, immediately north of downtown and within city limits. The neighborhood was originally platted on May 30, 1915, for the
blue-collar A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labor or skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, warehousing, mining, carpentry, electrical work, custodia ...
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
s employed at the Boca Raton Resort and similar establishments, on area farms, in construction, and various other jobs.


Climate

Boca Raton has a
tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest 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 southeast Florida, United States ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''Af''), as its driest month (December) averages of rainfall, narrowly meeting the minimum standard of during the driest month to qualify for that designation. In general the climate is very warm to hot and sunny much of the year, although daily thundershowers occur in the hot season from June through September. Boca Raton is frost free. The warm tropical climate in South Florida supports the growth of tropical trees and plants such as the
coconut palm The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
that was introduced hundreds of years ago to Florida in nearby
West Palm Beach West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...
. Winter high temperatures are typically in the range, while summer high temperatures are about .


Demographics

Boca Raton and other parts of
Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's third-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and Broward County and the 24th-most populous in the United States, wi ...
have a significant Jewish population. Certain areas of outside of Boca Raton city limits, such as the Sandalfoot Cove community, have significant populations of Brazilian and other Latino immigrants. Boca Raton is known for its affluent and educated social community. According to ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'', Boca Raton has three of the ten most expensive gated communities in the U.S. The Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club holds the #1 spot, The Sanctuary takes #6, and Le Lac takes the #8 spot.


Culture and attractions


Festivals and events

The
Boca Raton Bowl The Boca Raton Bowl is an annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sanctioned post-season Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football bowl game played in Boca Raton, Florida, since December 2014 on the campus of Flor ...
is a
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(NCAA) sanctioned Division I
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...
that features the Mid-American Conference (MAC) facing off against an opponent from the American Athletic Conference (AAC) or Conference USA (C-USA) in alternating years. Each conference participates four times during the six-year agreement, which began with the 2014 season. The Bowl is held at FAU Stadium. St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church in Boca Raton hosts a popular Greek festival during the last weekend of January. An estimated 15,000 people attended the festival in 2018. Additionally, the city hosts the
Festival of the Arts BOCA
annually during the spring, and the Brazilian Beat Festival in the fall.


Mizner Park

Mizner Park Mizner Park is a high-end shopping, residential, and entertainment district located in the affluent downtown neighborhood of Boca Raton, Florida. The district consists of a collection of high-end shops and restaurants with luxury apartments buil ...
is a lifestyle center (retail), lifestyle center in downtown Boca Raton. The area contains several stores and fashion boutiques, restaurants, an iPic movie theater, and housing. The Center for the Arts at Mizner Park is on the development's north end, which includes the
Boca Raton Museum of Art Founded by artists, the Boca Raton Museum of Art was established in 1950 as the Art Guild of Boca Raton. The organization has grown to encompass an Art School, Guild, Store, and Museum with permanent collections of contemporary art, photography, ...
and the Count de Hoernele Amphitheater. Royal Palm Place is adjacent to Mizner Park, and it contains upscale shopping, restaurants, and apartments.


Town Center Mall

Town Center at Boca Raton is an upscale shopping mall, super-regional shopping center in Boca Raton that is the largest enclosed and conventional shopping mall within Palm Beach County, and the third largest by square feet in South Florida metropolitan area, South Florida, behind Sawgrass Mills and Aventura Mall. In 1999, the Simon Property Group bought Town Center at Boca Raton and began building a new wing on its southeastern side, and completed renovations in 2018. Seritage Growth Properties plans to build a lifestyle center called The Collection at Boca Town Center which will provide shopping, dining, and entertainment. Crocker Partners will build a Restaurant Row near the mall.


Beaches and parks

Boca Raton's eastern coast has two miles of beaches, notably Red Reef Park and South Inlet Park. The beach at Spanish River Park was awarded the international Blue Flag beach award, an annual award recognizing high-quality beaches. Red Reef Park has the Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex, an environmental education center. Founded in 1984, Gumbo Limbo is a cooperative project of the City of Boca Raton, Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, Florida Atlantic University, and Friends of Gumbo Limbo. Sugar Sand Park is a municipal park in Boca Raton. It contains the Children's Science Explorium.


Other

Old Floresta Historic District has several historic houses listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Boca Raton is home to the Wick Theatre & Costume Museum.


Economy

Office Depot, a supplier of office products and services, has its global headquarters on a 28-acre campus in the city. The GEO Group, also has its headquarters in Boca Raton based out of One Park Place. Media company Friend Finder Networks, e-retailer Vitacost, YACHTICO, and Celsius Holdings are also headquartered in the city.


Top employers

, the top employers in the city were:


Education


Public schools

Public education is provided and managed by The School District of Palm Beach County, the thirteenth-largest public school district in the United States. Boca Raton is also home to several notable private and religious schools. As of 2007, Boca Raton was served by four public high schools. Within the city's limits, Boca Raton High School, Boca Raton Community High School serves the eastern part of the city. Spanish River Community High School serves the west-central part of the city limits and parts of unincorporated Boca Raton. Olympic Heights Community High School and West Boca Raton Community High School serve the western unincorporated areas. Spanish River, Olympic Heights, and West Boca Raton also serve students from
Delray Beach Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020, was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States Census. Located in the Miami metropolitan area, Delray Beach is 52 miles (83 ...
and Boynton Beach, Florida, Boynton Beach. The area is served by five public middle schools. Don Estridge High Tech Middle School is a technology magnet school named for Don Estridge, the leader of a small group of engineers who developed the IBM Personal Computer in Boca Raton. The other four public middle schools are Boca Raton Community Middle School, Eagles Landing Middle School, Loggers' Run Community Middle School, and Omni Middle School. The area is served by thirteen public elementary schools:


Alternative schooling

Two alternatives to the Palm Beach County Public Schools in Boca Raton are the K–8 Alexander D. Henderson University School and Florida Atlantic University High School, FAU High School. Both are on the Florida Atlantic University campus and are organized as a unique and separate school district; they are not part of the Palm Beach County School System. Henderson School is recognized as Florida Atlantic University School District #72, under the College of Education's administrative oversight. University schools in Florida are authorized to provide instruction for grades K–12 and university students, support university research efforts, and test educational reforms for Florida schools. Both ADHUS and FAUHS are public schools and thus do not charge tuition. And they are open to children who reside in Palm Beach County or Broward County. ADHUS admission is by lottery, while FAUHS admission is determined by academic ability. Student characteristics of gender, race, family income and student ability are used to match the student population profile to that of the state. FAU High School is a dual-enrollment program that involves itself primarily in collegiate classes. Students in ninth grade take advanced classes at the ADHUS sister campus, while students in higher grades attend only collegiate classes on Florida Atlantic University's campus, earning dual credit for both high school and college. A student who has successfully completed all four years at FAU High School will graduate having completed three years of university study on a college campus.


Private schools

Private schools in Boca Raton accelerated in demand in the early 2020s as Wall Street moved many employees and offices to the South Florida area.


Higher education

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...
(FAU), founded in 1961, held its first classes in Boca Raton in 1964. FAU is a member of the State University System of Florida and is the largest university in Boca Raton. It has over 29,000 students, 3,555 of which are residential students, and a Division I athletics program. In recognition of the rapid growth of Boca Raton's universities, in particular FAU, the city of Boca Raton has recently been referred to as a "burgeoning college town".
Lynn University Lynn University is a private university in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. Founded in 1962, the university awards Associate degree, associate, Bachelor's degree, baccalaureate, Master's degree, master's, and Doctorate, doctoral Academic degr ...
is a four-year co-educational institution renamed to honor the Lynn (Eugene & Christine) family who continue to be benefactors of the university; its Digital Media Arts College, founded in 2001, offers bachelor's and master's degrees in computer animation and graphic design. Palm Beach State College has its Boca Raton campus adjacent to Florida Atlantic University since 1983. When it was opened, it was named Palm Beach Junior College. In 1988 it changed its name to Palm Beach Community College, and in 2009, to Palm Beach State College. Everglades University has its main campus in Boca Raton.


Libraries and newspaper

The
Boca Raton Public Library The Boca Raton Public Library consists of two library facilities serving the residents of the incorporated area of Boca Raton, Florida. The City of Boca Raton, incorporated in 1925, is one of the largest and southernmost cities in Palm Beac ...
serves city of Boca Raton residents. The Glades Road Branch Library and the West Boca Branch Library of the Palm Beach County Library System additionally serve Boca Raton residents who live outside the city limits in West Boca Raton. County library card holders may use any of the sixteen branches in the Palm Beach County Library System and have access to many databases and downloadable e-books and audio books. The ''Sun-Sentinel'' newspaper delivers local news to the area. Previously, the ''
Boca Raton News The ''Boca Raton News'', owned by the South Florida Media Company, was the local community newspaper of Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 Unit ...
'' was a local newspaper for the town.


Politics

* George Long, 1924–1925 * John Brown, 1925–1929 * Fred Aiken, 1929–1938 * Joe Mitchell, 1938–1950 * Bill O'Donnell, 1950–1951 * Louie Zimmerman, 1951–1952 * Bill Day, 1952–1953, 1954–1954 * Harold Turner, 1953–1954, 1954–1955 * Bill Herbold, 1955–1956 * Roy Shores, 1956–1958 * Hal Dane, 1958–1959 * Joe Delong, 1959–1960, 1963–1964 * Courtney Boone, 1960–1961 * Leo Fox, 1961–1962 * John Brandt, 1962–1963 * Harold Maull, 1964–1965, 1968–1969 * Pat Honchell, 1966–1967 * Nardy Turner, 1967–1968 * Emil Danciu, 1969–1970, 1987–1993 * Tore Wallin, 1970–1971 * Norm Wymbs, 1971 * Bill Miller, 1971–1972 * Byrd Marshall, 1972–1973, 1975–1976, 1978 * Al Alford, 1973–1974 * Dick Houpana, 1974–1975, 1977 * Byrd Marshall, 1972–1973, 1975–1976, 1978 * Dorothy Wilken, 1976–1977 * Jeff Milner, 1977–1981 * Bill Konrad, 1981–1987 * Bill Smith, 1993–1995 * Carol Hanson, 1995–2001 * Steven L. Abrams, 2001–2008 * Susan Whelchel, 2008–2014 * Susan Haynie, 2014–2018 * Scott Singer, 2018–present The City of Boca Raton has a Council-Manager form of government. The Mayor has been chosen through a direct election since 1978. The offices of the city council and the mayor are Non-partisan democracy, nonpartisan. The previous mayor was Susan Haynie. On April 27, 2018, Governor Rick Scott suspended Susan Haynie due to felony and misdemeanor charges brought against her for corruption and bribery. (She would later plead guilty to two of the counts, avoiding jail time.) Scott Singer was appointed mayor and held that position on that basis until the August 28th special election; Singer was elected outright as mayor in that election. As of January 2023, Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Jared Moskowitz represents Florida's 23rd congressional district, Florida's 23rd Congressional district, which includes the most northern point of Boca Raton and extends south through Palm Beach County. The district then continues into Broward County communities like Coral Springs, Parkland, and Margate, down to Fort Lauderdale. In the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, Republican Party (United States), Republican Donald Trump won in Boca Raton by a plurality. In the 2024 United States presidential election, Trump received 30,159 votes and Harris received 23,401 votes; 86% of eligible voters in Boca Raton participated.


Crime

The City of Boca Raton is one of the safest cities in Palm Beach County, with a crime rate 38% lower than the entire state of Florida. Boca Raton has had connections to the American Mafia, Mafia. According to a number of US Federal indictments, as of June 2004, the Gambino crime family, Gambino family continues to operate in Boca Raton. The television show ''The Sopranos'' featured the city in its plot ("Boca (The Sopranos), Boca" and "...To Save Us All From Satan's Power"), and ''Mafia Wife'' author Lynda Milito resides in Boca Raton. Joey Merlino, the reputed head of the Philadelphia crime family, also resides in northern Boca Raton. In 2007, several murders at the Town Center Mall gained national attention. In March, a 52-year-old woman was kidnapped and murdered. In December of the same year, a 47-year-old woman and her 7-year-old daughter were also kidnapped, and later found bound and shot in the head in the woman's SUV in the mall parking lot. This case was featured on ''America's Most Wanted''. Though there is no forensic evidence to suggest the murders were committed by the same person, the similarities in the cases led police to believe they were related. To this day, the murders all remain unsolved. The Pearl City neighborhood has been known as a drug trafficking hub in the past. In recent years, the city, like most of the county (especially neighboring Delray Beach) has experienced a steady rise in heroin and opioid overdoses. As of the end of 2019, the crime rate in Boca Raton was down 26% over the preceding 13 years.


Transportation


Air

The Boca Raton Airport (BCT) is a general aviation airport immediately adjacent to
Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...
and Interstate 95 in Florida, Interstate 95. It has a control tower which is staffed from 0700 to 2300. The Boca Raton Airport is publicly owned and governed by a seven-member Authority appointed by the City of Boca Raton and the
Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's third-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and Broward County and the 24th-most populous in the United States, wi ...
Commission. The airport is noted for a very high concentration of private jets and charter aviation, and the airspace surrounding the airport is in Class D airspace. All three of the Miami area's major commercial airports serve Boca Raton, though the city is located about equidistantly between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Palm Beach International Airport. Most commercial international flights to the region will pass through Miami International Airport, which can be accessed via I-95 and Florida State Road 112, Florida State Route 112 by road or by using Tri-Rail.


Highways

* State Road A1A is a north–south road lying between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. *U.S. Route 1 in Florida, U.S. Highway 1, locally known as "Federal Highway", is a north–south highway passing through the city's downtown, commercial, and industrial districts in the eastern part of the city. *U.S. Route 441 in Florida, U.S. Highway 441 (also known as Florida State Road 7, State Road 7) is a north–south highway passing through commercial and residential districts west of the city limits. *
I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
bisects the city from north to south with four interchanges serving Boca Raton. *Florida's Turnpike is a north–south highway passing through unincorporated Boca Raton, forming part of the city limits in the north, with one interchange at Glades Road. *Glades Road is an east–west road between US 441 and US 1. * Other major east–west roads include Palmetto Park Road and Yamato Road. * Other major north–south roads include Military Trail (Florida), Military Trail and Florida State Road 845, Jog Road / Powerline Road (Changes name on Glades Road).


Rail

*The Tri-Rail commuter rail system serves the city with its Boca Raton (Tri-Rail station), Boca Raton station on the south side of Yamato Road just west of
I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
. *Freight service operated by CSX Transportation and
Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a p ...
also serve the city. *Brightline has a Boca Raton station (Brightline), station adjacent to the
Boca Raton Public Library The Boca Raton Public Library consists of two library facilities serving the residents of the incorporated area of Boca Raton, Florida. The City of Boca Raton, incorporated in 1925, is one of the largest and southernmost cities in Palm Beac ...
. It provides service to MiamiCentral, Miami, Fort Lauderdale station (Brightline), Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach station (Brightline), West Palm Beach, and Aventura station, Aventura, as well as Orlando International Airport Intermodal Terminal, Orlando.


Bus

* PalmTran provides local bus service in the area.


Water

Long before any settlers arrived, the original 1870 government survey of the area showed that just west of and parallel to the Atlantic Ocean's coastal dune was the "Boca Ratones Lagoon", which extended south for measured from just north of the present location of Atlantic Avenue in
Delray Beach Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020, was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States Census. Located in the Miami metropolitan area, Delray Beach is 52 miles (83 ...
. Along the southern half of the lagoon were three wide areas each called a "Lake", which are now named (north to south) Lake Rogers, Lake Wyman, and Lake Boca Raton. At the southeast end of the lagoon was a short protrusion toward the south which would become the Boca Raton Inlet after a sandbar at its mouth was removed. The lagoon and lakes were part of a half-mile (0.8 km) wide swamp, west of which was scrub land a mile (1.6 km) wide (part of the Atlantic Coastal Ridge) where the
Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a p ...
(1896) and Dixie Highway (1923) were built. To the west of the scrub was a half mile or wider swamp within which flowed north to south the "Prong of Hillsborough River", which is now the El Rio Canal. It now forms the eastern border of
Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...
and the Old Floresta neighborhood. The prong entered the "Hillsborough River" at the present eastern end of the straight portion of the Hillsboro Canal (dredged 1911–1914), which is the southern city limits. The river flowed southeast in several channels along the western edge of the present Deerfield Island County Park, formerly called Capone Island (named for Al Capone who owned it during the 1930s), which did not become an island until the Royal Palm Canal was dredged along its northern edge in 1961. Flowing south from the lagoon to the river along the eastern edge of the 'island' was a "Small boat Pass into Hillsboro' River", also called the Little Hillsboro. The river continued due south about just inland of the coastal dune until it emptied into the Atlantic Ocean at the "Hillsborough Bar", now the Hillsboro Inlet. The lagoon was dredged in 1894–1895 to form part of the Florida East Coast Canal with a minimum depth of and a minimum width of . After 1895, the lagoon and canal were sometimes called the Spanish River. Between 1930 and 1935 the canal was improved to by the federal government and renamed the
Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a Navigability, inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, the ...
. It was improved again between 1960 and 1965 to . All three versions were subject to shoaling which reduced their depths below the specified minimum. Forming part of the northern city limits is the C-15 canal, connecting the El Rio Canal to the Intracoastal Waterway. Boca Raton pioneered an innovative means to recycle wastewater that involves selling the recycled water to golf courses, to use for irrigation. This system is called the IRIS system. Instead of pumping the nutrient laden wastewater out to sea, or under the ground into an aquifer, the IRIS system prevents nutrients from ending up in the ocean, reducing Boca Raton's impact on the problem of toxic algae blooms.


See also

* List of people from Boca Raton


Notes


References


Further reading

* * 1973– * * Curl, Donald W. and John P. Johnson. Boca Raton: A Pictorial History. Virginia Beach, VA: Donning Company, 1990. * Sally J. Ling (2005). ''Small Town, Big Secrets: Inside the Boca Raton Army Air Field During World War II.'' History Press. . * *


External links

* {{authority control Boca Raton, Florida, 1895 establishments in Florida Academic enclaves Addison Mizner Beaches of Florida Beaches of Palm Beach County, Florida Cities in Florida Cities in Palm Beach County, Florida Jews and Judaism in Florida Populated coastal places in Florida on the Atlantic Ocean Populated places established in 1895 Seaside resorts in Florida Planned communities in Florida