Featured Apartment:
Palm Beach - Ocean View Apartments are comfortable, convenient, and affordable. We are ideally located near The Loxahatchee Golf Club in Jupiter, with easy access so you are minutes from anywhere in South Florida. Spacious floorplans compliment the attractive design to make Ocean View the perfect home for everyone. Take advantage of our FREE AFTER SCHOOL WINTER PROGRAM!!! . View More Listings -->
Renting an Apartment in Delray Beach
Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA. As of the 2000
census, the city had a total population of 60,020. As of 2004, the population
recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 64,150.
History
The Early Years
The history of Delray Beach effectively begins with the construction of the
Orange Grove House of Refuge in 1876. 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 has
survived. Indians presumably lived or passed through the area at various times,
and hunters, trappers, and run-away slaves may also have lived or passed through
the area in the 18th and 19th Centuries, but there is no record or evidence of
them.
Settlement began around 1884, when African-Americans from the Panhandle of
Florida bought land a little inland from the Orange Grove House of Refuge and
began farming. By 1894 the African-American community was large enough to
establish the first school in the area.
In 1894 William Linton, postmaster of Saginaw, Michigan, bought a tract of land
just west of the Orange Grove House of Refuge, and began selling plots in what
he hoped would become a farming community. Initially, this community was named
after Linton. In 1896 Henry Flagler extended his Florida East Coast railroad
south from West Palm Beach to Miami, with a station at Linton.
The Linton settlers 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. Partly in an attempt to
change the community's luck, or leave behind a bad reputation, the settlement's
name was changed in 1901 to Delray, after a suburb of Detroit, Michigan.
By 1910, Delray had a population of 250. In 1911 Delray was chartered by the
State of Florida as an incorporated town. In the same year pineapple and tomato
canning plants were built in Delray. 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. By 1920 Delray's population had reached
1,051.
In the 1920s drainage of the Everglades west of Delray lowered the water table,
making it harder to grow pineapples, while the extension of the Florida East
Coast Railway to Key West resulted in competition from Cuban pineapples for the
markets of the northern United States.
The Florida 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 between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. The
collapse of the land boom in 1926 left Delray saddled with high bond debts, and
greatly reduced income from property taxes.
Delray was separated from the Atlantic Ocean beach by the Florida East Coast
Canal (now part of the Intracoastal 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.
Recent years
In recent years, Downtown Delray, located in the eastern part of the city,
primarily along East Atlantic Avenue and stretching to the beach, has undergone
a large scale renovation. This area is now home to several upscale restaurants
and several different assorted shops. Major driving factors in this renovation
have been the business brought to the area by the Delray Beach Tennis Center,
which has hosted several major international tennis events such as the April
2005 Fed Cup (USA vs. Belgium), the April 2004 Davis Cup (USA vs. Sweden), the
Millennium ITC (ATP Event), and the Chris Evert / Bank of America Pro Celebrity.
Concurrent with the new construction of the Tennis Center, several local
historic landmark structures were renovated during the last decade of the 20th
century. These include Old School Square, formerly Delray Elementary School and
Delray High School, since turned into a thriving cultural center; and the Colony
Hotel. Old School Square 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 popular venue for local events
such as wedding receptions and dances; the Cornell Museum of Art and History,
built in the restored Elementary School; and a recently constructed outdoor
entertainment pavilion, which serves as a venue for musical performances and has
also been used for events such as political rallies. More recently, the historic
home of teacher/principal Solomon D. Spady was renovated and turned into the
Spady Cultural Heritage Museum. The Spady Museum houses a black archives and
hosts exhibits and programs designed to recognize the efforts of all ethnic
groups who were instrumental in shaping Delray Beach and Palm Beach
County.[citation needed]Atlantic Community High School was rebuilt in 2005 on a
different site from the previous school, a plan which was met with much
contention.
The effect of these efforts is clear- the downtown area is now a thriving center
of commerce, and Delray Beach was named an All-America City in both 1993 and
2001, and having been named a finalist in the competition in 1998.
Hurricane Wilma struck Delray Beach on Monday, October 24, 2005 causing
widespread damage to homes and businesses.
Demographics
There were 26,787 households out of which 18.9% 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 the city the 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.
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. The per capita income for the city was $29,350. About 8.2% of
families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including
17.6% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
Sister Cities
Delray Beach has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities
International, Inc. (SCI)Delray Beach Sister Cities Program:
* Flag of Japan Miyazu, Kyoto, Japan - Miyazu was the birthplace of George
Morikami, for whom Morikami Park and the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is
named.
* Flag of Tanzania Moshi, Tanzania
Points of interest
* American Orchid Society Visitor Center and Botanical Garden
* Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens
* Roji-en Japanese Gardens
* Delray Beach Public Library
* Cason Cottage
* Old School Square
* Delray Tennis Center
* Spady Museum