Palm Beach

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Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on an island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoastal Waterway to its west, though Palm Beach borders a small section of the latter and South Palm Beach at its southern boundaries. As of 2010 census, Palm Beach had a year-round population of 8,348 and an estimated population of 8,802 in 2018, with an increase to approximately 25,000 people between November and April.

Settlers began arriving in modern-day Palm Beach as early as 1872 and opened a post office about five years later. Elisha Newton “Cap” Dimick, later the town’s first mayor, established Palm Beach’s first hotel, the Coconut Grove House, in 1880. However, it was Standard Oil Tycoon Henry Flagler who became instrumental in transforming the island of jungles and swamps into a winter resort for the wealthy. Flagler and his workers constructed the Royal Poinciana Hotel in 1894, The Breakers in 1896, and Whitehall in 1902; they extended the Florida East Coast Railway southward to the area by 1894; and developed a separate city to house hotel workers, which later became West Palm Beach. The town of Palm Beach officially incorporated on April 17, 1911. Addison Mizner also contributed significantly to the town’s history, designing 64 structures, including El Mirasol, the Everglades Club, La Querida, the William Gray Warden House, and Via Mizner, which is a section of Worth Avenue.

Forbes reported in 2017 that Palm Beach had at least 30 billionaires, with the town ranking as the 27th-wealthiest place in the United States in 2016 according to Bloomberg News. Many famous and wealthy individuals have resided in the town, including United States Presidents John F. Kennedy and Donald Trump. Palm Beach is also noted for upscale shopping districts such as Worth Avenue, Royal Poinciana Plaza, and the Royal Poinciana Way Historic District.