Delray Beach in Florida, America’s Most Fun Small Town

Monday, 31 December 2018 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General, Miami / South Florida
Reading Time:  9 minutes

Delray Beach © D Ramey Logan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Delray Beach © D Ramey Logan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Delray Beach is a coastal city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach is estimated at 67,000. Delray Beach is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which is home to an estimated 6.2 million people. The city’s eastern boundary includes 3 miles (4.8 km) of beachfront along the Atlantic Ocean. Delray Beach is one of South Florida’s most popular beach destinations. The area is noted for its restaurants, retail shops, nightclubs, art galleries, and hotels. Directly to the south, the city is bordered by Boca Raton. To the south and southeast, the city is bordered by Highland Beach on the same barrier island east of the Intracoastal Waterway. Directly to the north, the city is bordered by Boynton Beach. To the north and northeast, the city is bordered by Gulf Stream on the barrier island and along a section of mainland east of U.S. Route 1.

To the west, an urbanized area that includes High Point, Kings Point, Villages of Oriole, and multiple gated communities extends from the city’s western boundary to the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge portion of the Everglades. Many residences and businesses within this suburban corridor of unincorporated Palm Beach County possess a Delray Beach postal address despite technically lying outside the city limits. This area is sometimes referred to collectively and informally as “West Delray.” In earlier years downtown Delray was centered along Atlantic Avenue as far west as Swinton Avenue and as far east as the intracoastal waterway. Downtown has since expanded. Today, downtown extended west to I-95 and east as the Atlantic Ocean; The north-south boundaries extend roughly two blocks north and south of Atlantic Avenue. Downtown Delray Beach has had a building boom since roughly 2003. Recent development reflects trends of New Urbanism downtown, and mansionization of waterfront property, sometimes creating pressures on Historic Districts and historic sites. New mixed-use development projects have recently been constructed, and more are planned, in the areas immediately north and south of Atlantic Avenue. To accommodate the anticipated growth the city has also built two new municipal parking garages. Delray Beach’s location in Southeastern Palm Beach County is in the middle of Florida’s Gold Coast region.

The city has 2 miles (3.2 km) of public beach accessible from Florida State Road A1A. Travel Holiday magazine named Delray Municipal Beach as the top beach in the southeastern United States. The remains of the British Steamship Inchulva that sank on Sept 11, 1903 are located in shallow water near the public beach, acting as habitat for native fish and corals. Known today as the Delray Wreck, the site is noted for snorkeling and scuba diving.

Downtown Delray Beach has undergone a gentrification program centered on East Atlantic Avenue, also known as simply “The Avenue”. The area is noted for its nightlife, dining, and shopping. Atlantic Avenue is also a regular destination for various art fairs and street festivals. Delray Beach has a street-legal golf cart community among residents as well as local businesses. Exhilaride offers street-legal golf cart rentals to visitors and residents by the hour, day or longer.

Kites at Delray Municipal Beach © DBFLUS/cc-by-sa-4.0 Palm Trail Yacht Club © DBFLUS/cc-by-sa-4.0 Marina Historic District © Pietro/cc-by-sa-3.0 John and Elizabeth Shaw Sundy House © Ebyabe/cc-by-sa-3.0 © Oskar Aanmoen/cc-by-sa-3.0 Delray Beach School, now housing the Cornell Art Museum © Ebyabe/cc-by-sa-3.0 © City of Delray Beach Delray Beach © D Ramey Logan/cc-by-sa-4.0 Boca Delray Golf & Country Club © flickr.com - Carl Lender/cc-by-2.0
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Delray Beach School, now housing the Cornell Art Museum © Ebyabe/cc-by-sa-3.0
The Pineapple Grove Arts District, located downtown just north of Atlantic Avenue, is noted for its galleries, performance art, and cultural organizations.

Arts Garage, a not-for-profit multi-media arts venue, hosts musical concerts, live theatre, arts education and outreach programs, and a visual art gallery.

The Silverball Museum features more than 150 classic, playable pinball machines and arcade games.

The Delray Beach Playhouse, which opened in 1947 in Lake Ida East Park, stages plays, musicals, interactive studio theatre, books on stage, children’s theatre productions, classes and camps.

Old School Square, the former campus of Delray Elementary School and Delray High School, has since been converted into a cultural center. The Old School Square complex now comprises the Crest Theatre, a venue for the performing arts, in the former High School building; the 1925 Gymnasium, restored to maintain its appearance, which has since become a venue for local events such as wedding receptions and dances; the Cornell Art Museum, built in the restored Elementary School; and The Pavilion, which serves as an outdoor venue for musical performances and other events such as political rallies. The Creative Arts School offers beginner through master level art, photography, and writing classes for children and adults.

Cason Cottage House Museum, once home to a family of Delray Beach pioneers, offers visitors a glimpse at daily life in South Florida from 1915 to 1935. The Museum is maintained and operated by the Delray Beach Historical Society.

The Sandoway Discovery Center, located at the historic J. B. Evans House at 142 South Ocean Boulevard, features native plants, live animals, and a large collection of shells from around the world. The center offers environmental education programs and classes.

The historic Sundy House now operates as a luxury eco resort. The premises includes The Sundy family’s former apartments and cottages which have been converted into guest accommodations, a café, an antique shop, and tropical Taru Gardens.

The historic home of teacher/principal Solomon D. Spady was renovated and turned into the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum. The Spady Museum houses black archives and hosts exhibits and programs designed to recognize the efforts of blacks who were instrumental in shaping Delray Beach and Palm Beach County. In 2007 the museum was expanded by renovating a 1935 cottage as a Kid’s Cultural Clubhouse, and the construction of a 50-seat amphitheater named for C. Spencer Pompey, a pioneer black educator.

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is a center for Japanese arts and culture. The campus includes two museum buildings, the Roji-en Japanese Gardens: Garden of the Drops of Dew, a bonsai garden, library, gift shop, and a Japanese restaurant, called the Cornell Cafe, which has been featured on the Food Network. Rotating exhibits are displayed in both buildings, and demonstrations, including tea ceremonies and classes, are held in the main building. Traditional Japanese festivals are celebrated several times a year.

Wakodahatchee Wetlands is a wetlands park open to the public. Facilities include a three-quarter mile boardwalk that crosses between open water pond areas, emergent marsh areas, shallow shelves, and islands with shrubs and snags to foster nesting and roosting. The site is part of the South section of the Great Florida Birding Trail and offers many opportunities to observe birds in their natural habitats. Over 151 species of birds have been spotted inside the park, including pied-billed grebe, snowy egrets, and black-bellied whistling ducks. The park is also home to turtles, alligators, rabbits, frogs, and raccoons.

The City of Delray Beach maintains five athletic fields, five beach and oceanfront parks, eight community parks, two intracoastal parks, a teen center and skatepark, a splash park, and a pool and tennis club, offering a variety of recreational activities and facilities.

Read more on City of Delray Beach, VisitDelrayBeach.org, Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Delray Beach, VisitFlorida.com – Delray Beach, ThePalmBeaches.com – Delray Beach, Colony Hotel & Cabaña Club, Wikivoyage Delray Beach and Wikipedia Delray Beach (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.










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