south florida
city profiles Boca Raton Boca Raton is a paradise for both visitors and residents with its hotels, public golf courses, private golf clubs and restaurants. During the Florida land boom of the 1920s, Addison Mizner’s Ritz-Carlton Cloister Inn was built and is known today as the Boca Raton Resort & Club, a Waldorf Astoria Resort. The development’s distinctive Mediterranean Revival style set the standard for much of Boca’s architecture. Boca Raton is also a shopper’s haven with the unique boutiques and designer shops of the Boca Town Center rounding out the many downtown options at Mizner Park that include alfresco cafes with international cuisine, cultural centers, cinemas, the Boca Raton Museum of Art and an amphitheater featuring live performances throughout the year. The birthplace of the IBM personal computer, Boca Raton has a concentration of technology, medical, financial, security and educational businesses. It is also known for its high quality public and private schools, as well as several colleges and universities to include Florida Atlantic University with 30,000 students and Lynn University (host of the final 2012 presidential debate). In addition to a successful business environment, Boca Raton is a community well known for its high quality of life and residents are proud of the city’s efforts to maintain and constantly improve the streets and natural areas. The beaches are beautifully preserved and pristine. City beach parks include South Beach Park with its fishing pier and Red Reef Park where snorkelers can enjoy a living reef just offshore without the expense of renting a boat. Within Red Reef, Gumbo Limbo Environmental Education Center is a 20-acre protected barrier island that provides refuge to many varieties of plants and animals, including sea turtles and other rare or endangered species.
Delray Beach Delray Beach has one of the most thriving downtowns in all of Palm Beach and was recently awarded “Best of the Road – Most Fun Small Town in America” by Rand McNally & USA Today. With close to 70 places for dining and nightlife and its own distinct arts district – all fringed by a sprawling white sand beach - Delray Beach is where the New York Times noted that “an influx of design-conscious establishments along East Atlantic Avenue has brought in a new energy: creative, stylish and yet attitude-free.” The town is considered a leading figure in Florida’s growing historic preservation movement and has designated several neighborhoods as historic districts. In the heart of downtown Delray Beach is Old School Square Cultural Arts Center - the multi-million dollar centerpiece of the historic downtown shopping district that houses a museum and theater as well as an outdoor entertainment pavilion. Adjacent to Old School Square is Pineapple Grove, an area filled with art galleries and sculptures by local artists. The Cornell Museum of Art & American Culture, the Crest Theatre, the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, the American Orchid
40 South Florida Living
