By Bob Davidsson
The West Palm Beach City Commission unanimously approved a local landmark designation Dec. 2 for the First Church of Christ, Scientist, placing the unique neoclassical house of worship on the city's Register of Historic Places.
Located in the heart of West Palm Beach at the intersection of Okeechobee Blvd. and Flagler Drive, the Greek revival-style landmark graces the city's waterfront like a 21st century Parthenon rising above the Lake Worth Lagoon.
The historic building has served as an anchor to the west side of the city's Royal Palm Bridge since the 1920's. The church is thus a visual landmark marking the entrance and departure point for West Palm Beach and the Town of Palm Beach across the lagoon.
In their recommendation to approve the church as an official historic site, city staff reported, "It embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction."
"It possesses a singular physical characteristic that makes it an established or familiar visual feature," the Dec. 2 West Palm Beach staff report concludes.
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, was built between 1927-29 on land originally donated by Anne Phipps, the wife of steel magnate Henry Phipps of Palm Beach. The Phipps family acquired extensive land holdings in both Palm Beach and West Palm Beach during the 1920's.
One longtime seasonal congregant and supporter of the church was General Foods cereal heiress and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post of Palm Beach. Her Mar-a-lago mansion was built the same year as the church on the island of Palm Beach.
Christian Science is a religion founded by Mary Baker Eddy in the late 19th century. It is based on the Bible and the tenets explained in Eddy's "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures."
The First Church of Christ, Scientist qualified for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places in December 1998. However, since the building was still a functioning church, the owners decided the designation was inappropriate at that time.
Architects of Distinction
The Philadelphia-based architectural firm headed by Horace Trumbauer was contracted by the local Christian Science congregation to design their new church in 1927. The builder was F.W. Blandford.
Trumbauer (1868-1938) was a self-trained architect who became prominent during the "Gilded Age" at the turn of 20th century. His firm designed more than 400 mansions, cultural centers and government buildings.
In 1906 Trumbauer hired African-American architect Julian Abele (1881-1950) of Philadelphia as his chief designer. After Trumbauer's death in 1938, Abele would continue managing the "Office of Horace Trumbauer" architectural firm until 1950.
Among his many projects, Abele was belatedly credited as the designer of several buildings on the campus of Duke University, including the Duke University Chapel in 1934.
He also designed the Widener Memorial Library at Harvard University. Tragically, the library would later serve as a family memorial to Trumbauer's son, Henry, a Harvard alumni and bibliophile who died while aboard the "HMS Titanic" on its maiden voyage.
The neoclassical design for the First Church of Christ, Scientist in West Palm Beach was Abele's inspiration. He was an admirer and scholar of classical Greek and Roman architectural techniques.
The east entrance to the church is supported by eight fluted Ionic columns. The name of the church is inscribed in the pediment. Behind the columns, three 10-foot doors at the main entrance open into the sanctuary.
Acroterions, winged architectural ornaments commonly placed on Greek temples and early Christian churches, are mounted on the four corners of the building's pediments.
Four Ionic columns also are posted on the south entrance to the church. The structure's use of blue tiles was inspired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, an earlier Trumbauer-Abele architectural design.
The Price of Preservation
An agreement was made between the church and the Related Cos. in 2016 for the purchase of the west parking lot by the development company for a future "One Flagler" high-rise office building.
In exchange for the property, Related agreed to provide a church reading room and parking for the congregation within the "One Flagler" garage. The historic church will be preserved and maintained at its current site.
The First Church of Christ, Scientist Building Fund was established in 2019 to finance the maintenance of the building. The special preservation fund was created through the Community Foundation of Palm Beach ad Martin Counties.
The landmark church will be preserved in perpetuity, but it may soon be under the shadow of a 25-story office building.
(c.) Davidsson. 2019.
*NOTE: See additional articles posted below and archived in Older Posts.
Thursday, December 12, 2019
Monday, November 25, 2019
'Napoleon of Finance' Swindled Local Pioneers
Richard Johnson "Dicky" Bolles was an infamous larger-than-life land speculator who played a major role in the early development of Dade and Palm Beach counties. In fact, some believe his life story continues beyond the grave today in a supernatural afterlife.
Dicky Bolles was born Aug. 1, 1843, the son of Dr. Richard M. and Henrietta Bolles of New York City. Bolles had an innate talent for investments and real estate marketing which at the youthful age of 23 earned him a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.
His aggressive business enterprises and short physical stature (just 5 feet, 6 inches) won Dicky Bolles the title from both critics and admirers as the "Napoleon of Finance" on Wall Street.
In 1906 his real estate business acumen was brought to the attention Florida's own political "Napoleon" - Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward (1905-09), a former ship captain and Cuban gun-runner from Jacksonville. Broward needed someone with Bolles' skill in land development to fulfill his vision of Everglades "reclamation".
Governor Broward's reclamation plan was the polar opposite of today's restoration projects in the Glades. He favored the draining and settlement of Everglades marshlands with new farms and townships to increase the state's tax base.
The target of Broward's ambition was Dade County, the vast thinly settled geographical area extending from the Florida Keys north to the St. Lucie River and west to the mouth of Kissimmee River on Lake Okeechobee at the turn of the 20th century.
On Dec. 26, 1908, trustees of the Florida Internal Improvement Fund signed a contract with Dicky Bolles, conveying 500,000 acres in "overflowed" (submerged) state lands to the developer for $2 an acre.
Bolles formed the Florida Fruit Lands Company to develop 180,000 acres of land within Dade and the newly created Palm Beach County (established in 1909). His plan was to divide the land into sections for farms and township units.
He later established the Okeechobee Fruit Lands Company to dispose of the remaining 240,000 acres of property available for development along the shores of Lake Okeechobee. Bolles and his affiliated developers would eventually sell more than 20,000 parcels of land.
Dicky Bolles' primary residence during his stay in Florida from 1910-17 was the exclusive "Seminole Club" in Jacksonville, a private men's-only institution hosting the city's leading business movers and shakers. He listed his occupation as a "Capitalist," according to the U.S. City Directories 1832-1998 archive.
Bolles promoted Everglades properties held by his development companies through a nationwide advertising campaign touting the marshes as the "Promised Land," a "Tropical Paradise" and even as a new "Garden of Eden".
The "Bolles Hotel," once located on the southern shore of Lake Okeechobee in the community of Ritta, was built by the developer in 1910-11 to house prospective Everglades land buyers. The landmark hotel was damaged by the 1928 hurricane and burned to the ground in 1929, according to the Florida Division of Archives.
During a four-day tour of the Everglades sponsored by the Florida Internal Improvement Fund, Dicky Bolles hosted a visit in April 1912 by Florida Governors William Sherman Jennings (1901-05) and Albert Gilchrist (1909-13) at the Bolles Hotel. The governors would later acquire property through his land company.
Dicky Bolles' most ambitious development scheme, which also marked the beginning of his misfortunes, was the infamous "Progresso Land Auction" of March 11, 1911. More than 3,000 land hungry settlers and investors descended on the unincorporated village of Fort Lauderdale for a chance to obtain property in a lottery drawing.
However, lotteries were illegal in Florida and the random drawing was canceled. The crowd was told they could purchase deeds to the plotted land tracks for $240 - sites unseen. The promised town of "Progresso" was never established.
After inspecting the swampland purchased during the Progresso auction, one Iowa investor reported, "I have bought land by the acre, and I have bought land by the foot, but by God I have never before bought land by the gallon."
An estimated 4,805 Everglades land buyers attended a similar 1912 "convention" held in West Palm Beach. Most of the prospective buyers traveled to Palm Beach County from the Midwest, according to a 2002 study appearing in the Florida Geographer.
An editorial published in the March 1912 edition of the Miami Metropolis lamented, "Florida has so much good rich land that requires no draining...that the state and its people have undoubtedly suffered great injury through attempts to unload upon unwary customers land that has no condition to produce at this time."
Dicky Bolles' final years in Florida were spent in state and federal courts, fending off criminal fraud charges and lawsuits from angry customers whose promised "Garden of Eden" was swampland.
Bolles was arrested in 1913 with his case going before a state court in March of that year.
Amazingly, the jury decided Dicky Bolles was an "honest man" and he was judged innocent by the court. He was later awarded $1.4 million by the State of Florida for his past land sales in November 1913.
However, Dicky Bolles legal problems were not over. A federal prosecutor in Kansas City presented a 122-page indictment against Bolles for mail fraud with more than 100 witnesses testifying against him.
Legal defense fees and a lavish lifestyle reduced his real estate fortune. What remained of his land grant in 1915 reverted to trustees of the Florida Internal Improvement Fund for nonpayment.
Dicky Bolles died March 25, 1917, soon after boarding a F.E.C. Railway train in West Palm Beach bound for Jacksonville. He was buried within the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY.
Upon his death, Bolles' estate passed on to his secretary in Jacksonville, Agnes Cain Painter. She established a not-for-profit foundation which was used to finance "The Bolles School" in Jacksonville.
Justice from Beyond the Grave?
Dicky Bolles successfully avoided a prison sentence during his lifetime, but at least one South Florida family is convinced he is facing a worse fate in the afterlife.
The story of Dicky Bolles' ghostly visitations at a suburban home in Davie, FL, is the topic of an episode entitled "Deadly Force" (Season 11, Episode 193) of "The Dead Files" cable television series featured on the Travel Channel.
The episode first aired Oct. 3, 2019. During their investigation, psychic medium Amy Allan and retired New York City detective Steve DiSchiavi revealed to a terrified Broward County couple that their property was once part of Bolles' Florida Fruit Lands Company.
Dicky Bolles is described by Allan as an unhappy spirit trapped in their home. He is being eternally tormented by his deceased common-law "wife," who is preternaturally angry about her small estate settlement, and pursues both the living and the dead.
Perhaps this is a final judgment for the Napoleon of Finance.
(c.) Davidsson. 2019.
*NOTE: Read additional articles below and archived in Older Posts.
Dicky Bolles was born Aug. 1, 1843, the son of Dr. Richard M. and Henrietta Bolles of New York City. Bolles had an innate talent for investments and real estate marketing which at the youthful age of 23 earned him a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.
His aggressive business enterprises and short physical stature (just 5 feet, 6 inches) won Dicky Bolles the title from both critics and admirers as the "Napoleon of Finance" on Wall Street.
In 1906 his real estate business acumen was brought to the attention Florida's own political "Napoleon" - Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward (1905-09), a former ship captain and Cuban gun-runner from Jacksonville. Broward needed someone with Bolles' skill in land development to fulfill his vision of Everglades "reclamation".
Governor Broward's reclamation plan was the polar opposite of today's restoration projects in the Glades. He favored the draining and settlement of Everglades marshlands with new farms and townships to increase the state's tax base.
The target of Broward's ambition was Dade County, the vast thinly settled geographical area extending from the Florida Keys north to the St. Lucie River and west to the mouth of Kissimmee River on Lake Okeechobee at the turn of the 20th century.
On Dec. 26, 1908, trustees of the Florida Internal Improvement Fund signed a contract with Dicky Bolles, conveying 500,000 acres in "overflowed" (submerged) state lands to the developer for $2 an acre.
Bolles formed the Florida Fruit Lands Company to develop 180,000 acres of land within Dade and the newly created Palm Beach County (established in 1909). His plan was to divide the land into sections for farms and township units.
He later established the Okeechobee Fruit Lands Company to dispose of the remaining 240,000 acres of property available for development along the shores of Lake Okeechobee. Bolles and his affiliated developers would eventually sell more than 20,000 parcels of land.
Dicky Bolles' primary residence during his stay in Florida from 1910-17 was the exclusive "Seminole Club" in Jacksonville, a private men's-only institution hosting the city's leading business movers and shakers. He listed his occupation as a "Capitalist," according to the U.S. City Directories 1832-1998 archive.
Bolles promoted Everglades properties held by his development companies through a nationwide advertising campaign touting the marshes as the "Promised Land," a "Tropical Paradise" and even as a new "Garden of Eden".
The "Bolles Hotel," once located on the southern shore of Lake Okeechobee in the community of Ritta, was built by the developer in 1910-11 to house prospective Everglades land buyers. The landmark hotel was damaged by the 1928 hurricane and burned to the ground in 1929, according to the Florida Division of Archives.
During a four-day tour of the Everglades sponsored by the Florida Internal Improvement Fund, Dicky Bolles hosted a visit in April 1912 by Florida Governors William Sherman Jennings (1901-05) and Albert Gilchrist (1909-13) at the Bolles Hotel. The governors would later acquire property through his land company.
Dicky Bolles' most ambitious development scheme, which also marked the beginning of his misfortunes, was the infamous "Progresso Land Auction" of March 11, 1911. More than 3,000 land hungry settlers and investors descended on the unincorporated village of Fort Lauderdale for a chance to obtain property in a lottery drawing.
However, lotteries were illegal in Florida and the random drawing was canceled. The crowd was told they could purchase deeds to the plotted land tracks for $240 - sites unseen. The promised town of "Progresso" was never established.
After inspecting the swampland purchased during the Progresso auction, one Iowa investor reported, "I have bought land by the acre, and I have bought land by the foot, but by God I have never before bought land by the gallon."
An estimated 4,805 Everglades land buyers attended a similar 1912 "convention" held in West Palm Beach. Most of the prospective buyers traveled to Palm Beach County from the Midwest, according to a 2002 study appearing in the Florida Geographer.
An editorial published in the March 1912 edition of the Miami Metropolis lamented, "Florida has so much good rich land that requires no draining...that the state and its people have undoubtedly suffered great injury through attempts to unload upon unwary customers land that has no condition to produce at this time."
Dicky Bolles' final years in Florida were spent in state and federal courts, fending off criminal fraud charges and lawsuits from angry customers whose promised "Garden of Eden" was swampland.
Bolles was arrested in 1913 with his case going before a state court in March of that year.
Amazingly, the jury decided Dicky Bolles was an "honest man" and he was judged innocent by the court. He was later awarded $1.4 million by the State of Florida for his past land sales in November 1913.
However, Dicky Bolles legal problems were not over. A federal prosecutor in Kansas City presented a 122-page indictment against Bolles for mail fraud with more than 100 witnesses testifying against him.
Legal defense fees and a lavish lifestyle reduced his real estate fortune. What remained of his land grant in 1915 reverted to trustees of the Florida Internal Improvement Fund for nonpayment.
Dicky Bolles died March 25, 1917, soon after boarding a F.E.C. Railway train in West Palm Beach bound for Jacksonville. He was buried within the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY.
Upon his death, Bolles' estate passed on to his secretary in Jacksonville, Agnes Cain Painter. She established a not-for-profit foundation which was used to finance "The Bolles School" in Jacksonville.
Justice from Beyond the Grave?
Dicky Bolles successfully avoided a prison sentence during his lifetime, but at least one South Florida family is convinced he is facing a worse fate in the afterlife.
The story of Dicky Bolles' ghostly visitations at a suburban home in Davie, FL, is the topic of an episode entitled "Deadly Force" (Season 11, Episode 193) of "The Dead Files" cable television series featured on the Travel Channel.
The episode first aired Oct. 3, 2019. During their investigation, psychic medium Amy Allan and retired New York City detective Steve DiSchiavi revealed to a terrified Broward County couple that their property was once part of Bolles' Florida Fruit Lands Company.
Dicky Bolles is described by Allan as an unhappy spirit trapped in their home. He is being eternally tormented by his deceased common-law "wife," who is preternaturally angry about her small estate settlement, and pursues both the living and the dead.
Perhaps this is a final judgment for the Napoleon of Finance.
(c.) Davidsson. 2019.
*NOTE: Read additional articles below and archived in Older Posts.
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Flagler Drive: WPB Development vs. Sea-Level Rise
The annual "King Tides" of September and October 2019 once again forewarned the City of West Palm Beach of the future danger of sea-level rise along its highly valued eight-mile shoreline fronting the Lake Worth Lagoon.
City street crews are very aware of flood hazards along Flagler Drive. They are on the front line of the environmental battle - posting street flooding signs on Oct. 1 to warn motorists of the pending danger at four locations, and clearing the city's overburdened storm water drains that are often unable to keep pace with the combination of rain and high tides.
However, for a coastal city facing a future of sea-level rise within its tidal estuary, the issue is strangely muted at City Hall, especially when developers present their high-rise condominium and hotel projects for Flagler Drive. The street is within a designated FEMA flood zone and county hurricane evacuation area.
In April 2012, the city released its comprehensive "Rethink Paradise: The West Palm Beach Sustainability Action Plan" as a 123-page blueprint to use when facing a variety of future environmental issues. The action plan correctly states (on Page 4), "The city is within the front line of climate change impacts such as sea-level rise and increased hurricane intensity."
"One of Florida's greatest threats associated with a changing climate is sea-level rise," the report continues (on Page 7). "There can be a devastating effect on our built environment, including water and sewer infrastructure, coastal erosion leading to property loss, and salt water intrusion into our drinking water supply."
A consensus of estimates by NOAA and the 2015 "Unified Sea-Level Rise Projections for Southeast Florida" predict higher water levels of up to one foot by 2030 and three feet by the year 2060.
In the seven years that have elapsed since the release of "Rethink Paradise,' coastal development has accelerated while solutions to the sea-level rise problem remain elusive.
The City Commission approved the 25-story "Bristol" condominium built on infill land extending into the Lake Worth Lagoon. It was followed in succession by the high-rise "La Clara" (2018) and "Forte" (2019) waterfront projects along South Flagler Drive.
Developers currently have their sights on redevelopment of the Currie Park Corridor along North Flagler Drive. Currie Park also happens to be the city's last best hope of creating a true green space buffer against future storm surge and high tides east of Flagler.
The Galveston and Richmond Models
Progressive cities facing the threat of climate change have opted for two alternative approaches to negate the impacts of sea-level rise. Like many Florida coastal cities, Galveston, TX, has suffered from the ravages of hurricane storm surge and flooding. This included the devastating Hurricane of 1900, the deadliest storm in U.S. history.
Galveston is meeting future storm surge threats by "armoring" its coastline with a massive 10-mile seawall capable of holding back tidal flooding. It is a solution also used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prevent inland flooding along Lake Okeechobee.
Richmond, the capital of the State of Virginia, is intersected by the James River, one of the state's historic tidewater estuaries. The city's solution to river flooding is limiting development along its banks. Parks and green spaces front nearly 50 percent of the waterway within the city limits.
The use of development setbacks and green spaces along flood-prone waterways is gaining popularity nationwide as a means of preventing future damages to a city's infrastructure from sea-level rise.
In West Palm Beach, renovation of the downtown waterfront, with its elevated seawall, benefited the Clematis business district by creating a community green space that also serves as a flood barrier. Most of the remainder of Flagler Drive lacks this protection.
City staff is hopeful that improvements to its storm water drainage system in 2020-21 will be enough to meet the short-term challenge of sea-level rise in its coastal neighborhoods.
In the City of West Palm Beach, "Rethink Paradise" will require additional long-term actions and not just words to protect residents from sea-level rise in the future. For those still doubting the urgency of this issue, just remember two words - Hurricane Dorian.
(c.) Davidsson. 2019.
NOTE: Additional articles archived below and in "Older Posts."
City street crews are very aware of flood hazards along Flagler Drive. They are on the front line of the environmental battle - posting street flooding signs on Oct. 1 to warn motorists of the pending danger at four locations, and clearing the city's overburdened storm water drains that are often unable to keep pace with the combination of rain and high tides.
However, for a coastal city facing a future of sea-level rise within its tidal estuary, the issue is strangely muted at City Hall, especially when developers present their high-rise condominium and hotel projects for Flagler Drive. The street is within a designated FEMA flood zone and county hurricane evacuation area.
In April 2012, the city released its comprehensive "Rethink Paradise: The West Palm Beach Sustainability Action Plan" as a 123-page blueprint to use when facing a variety of future environmental issues. The action plan correctly states (on Page 4), "The city is within the front line of climate change impacts such as sea-level rise and increased hurricane intensity."
"One of Florida's greatest threats associated with a changing climate is sea-level rise," the report continues (on Page 7). "There can be a devastating effect on our built environment, including water and sewer infrastructure, coastal erosion leading to property loss, and salt water intrusion into our drinking water supply."
A consensus of estimates by NOAA and the 2015 "Unified Sea-Level Rise Projections for Southeast Florida" predict higher water levels of up to one foot by 2030 and three feet by the year 2060.
In the seven years that have elapsed since the release of "Rethink Paradise,' coastal development has accelerated while solutions to the sea-level rise problem remain elusive.
The City Commission approved the 25-story "Bristol" condominium built on infill land extending into the Lake Worth Lagoon. It was followed in succession by the high-rise "La Clara" (2018) and "Forte" (2019) waterfront projects along South Flagler Drive.
Developers currently have their sights on redevelopment of the Currie Park Corridor along North Flagler Drive. Currie Park also happens to be the city's last best hope of creating a true green space buffer against future storm surge and high tides east of Flagler.
The Galveston and Richmond Models
Progressive cities facing the threat of climate change have opted for two alternative approaches to negate the impacts of sea-level rise. Like many Florida coastal cities, Galveston, TX, has suffered from the ravages of hurricane storm surge and flooding. This included the devastating Hurricane of 1900, the deadliest storm in U.S. history.
Galveston is meeting future storm surge threats by "armoring" its coastline with a massive 10-mile seawall capable of holding back tidal flooding. It is a solution also used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prevent inland flooding along Lake Okeechobee.
Richmond, the capital of the State of Virginia, is intersected by the James River, one of the state's historic tidewater estuaries. The city's solution to river flooding is limiting development along its banks. Parks and green spaces front nearly 50 percent of the waterway within the city limits.
The use of development setbacks and green spaces along flood-prone waterways is gaining popularity nationwide as a means of preventing future damages to a city's infrastructure from sea-level rise.
In West Palm Beach, renovation of the downtown waterfront, with its elevated seawall, benefited the Clematis business district by creating a community green space that also serves as a flood barrier. Most of the remainder of Flagler Drive lacks this protection.
City staff is hopeful that improvements to its storm water drainage system in 2020-21 will be enough to meet the short-term challenge of sea-level rise in its coastal neighborhoods.
In the City of West Palm Beach, "Rethink Paradise" will require additional long-term actions and not just words to protect residents from sea-level rise in the future. For those still doubting the urgency of this issue, just remember two words - Hurricane Dorian.
(c.) Davidsson. 2019.
NOTE: Additional articles archived below and in "Older Posts."
Friday, August 9, 2019
Local Lawmakers Push for New State Capital Site
In 1824 the site of Tallahassee was selected by city delegates from St. Augustine and Pensacola as a compromise location halfway between their two cities for the new capital of the U.S. territory of Florida.
If one local lawmaker has his way, history may repeat itself 195 years later with a proposal to move Florida's state capital and offices to the geographic center of Florida (i.e. Orlando area). A bill will be brought before the 2020 session of the Florida Legislature.
State Sen. Kevin Rader (D-Delray Beach) introduced the bill (SB 112) on Aug. 6 requiring the Legislature's Office of Program Policy Analysis of Government Accountability (OPPAGA) to conduct a study regarding the relocation of the state capital to "Central Florida". The agency would submit its economic findings to Florida Legislature by Dec. 15, 2021 for further consideration.
The proposed legislation was referred to the Florida Senate's Government Oversight and Accountability Committee on Aug. 16. If passed by the Legislature, the "Capital Relocation Study" will include evaluations of the following four elements:
The journey from Palm Beach County to Tallahassee averages a seven-hour drive via the Florida turnpike, I-75 and U.S. 27. Commercial airline flights between the PBI and Tallahassee airports are routed through Atlanta.
Local lawmakers, lobbyists and citizens have long complained about the length of the trip to attend sessions of the Florida Legislature in Tallahassee. If Orlando becomes the new state capital in the future, it would be linked to South Florida by both AMTRAK and Brightline's high-speed rail service.
How Tallahassee Became Our Capital
Tallahassee was built over the ancient Appalachee native American village of "Anhaica". The town and adjacent mound site was briefly occupied by Spanish conquistador Hernando Desoto in 1538-39. Anhaica became the capital of "Appalachee Province" during most of the Spanish colonial period.
The Spanish Appalachee missions near Anhaica were the western terminus of Florida's "El Camino Real" (the royal road), a trail cleared in the 1680's which became the main transportation network connecting Spain's Franciscan mission system with St. Augustine.
During the late 18th century, the current site of Tallahassee was occupied by the Seminole tribe. The place name Tallahassee translates to "old town" in their Muskogean dialect. The town was sacked by Gen. Andrew Jackson during the First Seminole War in March 1818.
In November 1823, Pensacola delegate John Lee Williams wrote, "Doctor Simmons (the St. Augustine capital commission delegate) has agreed that the site should be fixed near the 'old fields' abandoned by the Indians after Jackson's invasion..."
Territorial Gov. William DuVal, backed by a U.S. Army regiment, arrived at the chosen site of the capital. He notified the local Seminole chieftain, Neamathla, that he would have to move his nearby village of "Cohowotochee" to a reservation east of Tampa Bay.
A simple log cabin in Tallahassee became the capital of the Florida territory in 1824. Tallahassee remained the capital when Florida was admitted to the union as a slave state in 1845.
Both the Orlando area and the Palm Beaches were included within thinly populated "Mosquito County" when Florida became a state. Today, the population center of Florida has shifted south of Tallahassee, initiating requests by state lawmakers to move the capital to Central Florida.
(c.) R. I. Davidsson, 2019.
*Note: See additional articles below and archived in Older Posts.
If one local lawmaker has his way, history may repeat itself 195 years later with a proposal to move Florida's state capital and offices to the geographic center of Florida (i.e. Orlando area). A bill will be brought before the 2020 session of the Florida Legislature.
State Sen. Kevin Rader (D-Delray Beach) introduced the bill (SB 112) on Aug. 6 requiring the Legislature's Office of Program Policy Analysis of Government Accountability (OPPAGA) to conduct a study regarding the relocation of the state capital to "Central Florida". The agency would submit its economic findings to Florida Legislature by Dec. 15, 2021 for further consideration.
The proposed legislation was referred to the Florida Senate's Government Oversight and Accountability Committee on Aug. 16. If passed by the Legislature, the "Capital Relocation Study" will include evaluations of the following four elements:
- The study would review the "ease of travel" to the current and proposed state capital sites for members of the public.
- Total cost of travel to and from the state capital for members of the Legislature during interim meetings and legislative sessions.
- The costs of relocating the state capital building, Florida Supreme Court, offices of the Governor and Cabinet, and the legislative branch to Central Florida.
- The negative economic impact of moving the state capital on the City of Tallahassee and Leon County.
The journey from Palm Beach County to Tallahassee averages a seven-hour drive via the Florida turnpike, I-75 and U.S. 27. Commercial airline flights between the PBI and Tallahassee airports are routed through Atlanta.
Local lawmakers, lobbyists and citizens have long complained about the length of the trip to attend sessions of the Florida Legislature in Tallahassee. If Orlando becomes the new state capital in the future, it would be linked to South Florida by both AMTRAK and Brightline's high-speed rail service.
How Tallahassee Became Our Capital
Tallahassee was built over the ancient Appalachee native American village of "Anhaica". The town and adjacent mound site was briefly occupied by Spanish conquistador Hernando Desoto in 1538-39. Anhaica became the capital of "Appalachee Province" during most of the Spanish colonial period.
The Spanish Appalachee missions near Anhaica were the western terminus of Florida's "El Camino Real" (the royal road), a trail cleared in the 1680's which became the main transportation network connecting Spain's Franciscan mission system with St. Augustine.
During the late 18th century, the current site of Tallahassee was occupied by the Seminole tribe. The place name Tallahassee translates to "old town" in their Muskogean dialect. The town was sacked by Gen. Andrew Jackson during the First Seminole War in March 1818.
In November 1823, Pensacola delegate John Lee Williams wrote, "Doctor Simmons (the St. Augustine capital commission delegate) has agreed that the site should be fixed near the 'old fields' abandoned by the Indians after Jackson's invasion..."
Territorial Gov. William DuVal, backed by a U.S. Army regiment, arrived at the chosen site of the capital. He notified the local Seminole chieftain, Neamathla, that he would have to move his nearby village of "Cohowotochee" to a reservation east of Tampa Bay.
A simple log cabin in Tallahassee became the capital of the Florida territory in 1824. Tallahassee remained the capital when Florida was admitted to the union as a slave state in 1845.
Both the Orlando area and the Palm Beaches were included within thinly populated "Mosquito County" when Florida became a state. Today, the population center of Florida has shifted south of Tallahassee, initiating requests by state lawmakers to move the capital to Central Florida.
(c.) R. I. Davidsson, 2019.
*Note: See additional articles below and archived in Older Posts.
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
'Wedding Cake Building' Earns Historic Status
The 1925 Alfred H. Wagg Corporation Building - commonly called the "Wedding Cake Building" - officially became a downtown West Palm Beach historic landmark on July 15.
The West Palm Beach City Commission unanimously approved the designation of the Wagg Building, located at 215 South Olive Avenue, as a municipal landmark property on the city's "Local Register of Historic Places" during its regular meeting.
The Wagg Building is a five-story Mediterranean Revival-style commercial building, designed by the local architectural firm of Harvey and Clarke, and built by contractor J.S. Wilson. The building was dedicated in March 1926 during a ceremony hosted by its civic-minded owner, Alfred Hoppock Wagg II, and served as the headquarters for his real estate and development company during the 1920's land boom era in Florida.
The office building earned the nickname of the "Wedding Cake Building" from its intricate molding and unique exterior detailing. The architects used the University Building in Salamanca, Spain, as a model and inspiration for the Wagg Building.
In its recommendation for approval as a city landmark, city staff reported, "Specifically, the building is at least 50 years old, it is associated with events that have made significant contribution to the broad patterns of the city's history, it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction..."
The Legacy of Alfred H. Wagg in West Palm Beach
Alfred H. Wagg, II was born Aug. 1, 1886 in New Jersey. He was the son of the Rev. Dr. Alfred (1861-1941) and Sara H. Jeffrey Wagg (1864-1943). Both his father and grandfather, John Wagg, were born in Burslem, England. They emigrated to America in the 19th century and served as pastors of Methodist congregations in New Jersey during most of their adult lives.
Alfred Wagg the younger departed from the family's ministerial tradition. After graduating from Dickinson College, he began a business career in New York City as a realtor and developer. His Amsterdam Development and Sales Company was one of city's leading real estate firms prior to World War I.
As a child he visited West Palm Beach with his parents. After a extended illness in New York, he returned to the Palm Beaches to recuperate as a seasonal winter resident in 1917. Wagg decided to make it his permanent home.
Wagg established his development company in West Palm Beach at a time when South Florida was experiencing its post-World War I land boom. The corporate slogan he used in local newspapers to promote his real estate projects was "We sell the Earth."
He developed the "Central Park" neighborhood in West Palm Beach. Wagg also promoted real estate sales in Briney Breezes, Loxahatchee Groves, Lake Park, Clewiston and residential neighborhoods adjacent to the Port of Palm Beach. True to his family tradition, he also financed the construction of a Methodist chapel on Garden Avenue in West Palm Beach.
The most ambitious of his many development projects was the "Estates of Palm Beach," a 125-acre subdivision extending from the Lake Worth Lagoon west to Dixie Highway. Today, the neighborhood, located just south of the Palm Beach Canal, is known as "College Park".
Profits from his real estate projects allowed the construction of the Wagg Building beginning in 1925 for $200,000. The developer resided in a Spanish Revival-style home on Brazilian Avenue in Palm Beach. He also owned a mansion called "Driftwood Manor" on Long Island.
Wagg served a two-year term in the Florida Senate beginning in 1926. He was reelected by the voters for a full four-year term, representing West Palm Beach in the Florida Legislature, from 1928 to 1932.
After retiring from state politics in 1932, he was selected as the president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. He also held an honorary title as a "commodore" in the Palm Beach Yacht Club.
The Great Depression not only crashed the stock market, it crushed the real estate market in Palm Beach County. The 10-year land boom became a bust for persons employed in the local real estate industry.
The Alfred Wagg Development Company became a victim of the business downturn. He was forced to sell his interest in the Wagg Building in a foreclosure sale. Wagg also sold his home in Palm Beach.
Alfred Wagg died July 1, 1937 from a cerebral hemorrhage while visiting Syracuse, NY. He was just 50 years of age. Both Wagg and his widow, Emma, were buried in the Hillcrest Memorial Park cemetery in West Palm Beach.
After many changes of ownership, the Wagg Building was acquired by Neil Seidman, the vice president of a cell phone tower company based in Boca Raton. He began restoring the Wagg Building to its original historic beauty four years ago as both a business opportunity and labor of love.
The designation of Wagg Building as a city landmark assures the community that the "Wedding Cake Building" can be admired for its architectural uniqueness for many years to come.
*NOTE: See additional articles below and archived in Older Posts.
(c.) Davidsson. 2019.
The West Palm Beach City Commission unanimously approved the designation of the Wagg Building, located at 215 South Olive Avenue, as a municipal landmark property on the city's "Local Register of Historic Places" during its regular meeting.
The Wagg Building is a five-story Mediterranean Revival-style commercial building, designed by the local architectural firm of Harvey and Clarke, and built by contractor J.S. Wilson. The building was dedicated in March 1926 during a ceremony hosted by its civic-minded owner, Alfred Hoppock Wagg II, and served as the headquarters for his real estate and development company during the 1920's land boom era in Florida.
The office building earned the nickname of the "Wedding Cake Building" from its intricate molding and unique exterior detailing. The architects used the University Building in Salamanca, Spain, as a model and inspiration for the Wagg Building.
In its recommendation for approval as a city landmark, city staff reported, "Specifically, the building is at least 50 years old, it is associated with events that have made significant contribution to the broad patterns of the city's history, it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction..."
The Legacy of Alfred H. Wagg in West Palm Beach
Alfred H. Wagg, II was born Aug. 1, 1886 in New Jersey. He was the son of the Rev. Dr. Alfred (1861-1941) and Sara H. Jeffrey Wagg (1864-1943). Both his father and grandfather, John Wagg, were born in Burslem, England. They emigrated to America in the 19th century and served as pastors of Methodist congregations in New Jersey during most of their adult lives.
Alfred Wagg the younger departed from the family's ministerial tradition. After graduating from Dickinson College, he began a business career in New York City as a realtor and developer. His Amsterdam Development and Sales Company was one of city's leading real estate firms prior to World War I.
As a child he visited West Palm Beach with his parents. After a extended illness in New York, he returned to the Palm Beaches to recuperate as a seasonal winter resident in 1917. Wagg decided to make it his permanent home.
Wagg established his development company in West Palm Beach at a time when South Florida was experiencing its post-World War I land boom. The corporate slogan he used in local newspapers to promote his real estate projects was "We sell the Earth."
He developed the "Central Park" neighborhood in West Palm Beach. Wagg also promoted real estate sales in Briney Breezes, Loxahatchee Groves, Lake Park, Clewiston and residential neighborhoods adjacent to the Port of Palm Beach. True to his family tradition, he also financed the construction of a Methodist chapel on Garden Avenue in West Palm Beach.
The most ambitious of his many development projects was the "Estates of Palm Beach," a 125-acre subdivision extending from the Lake Worth Lagoon west to Dixie Highway. Today, the neighborhood, located just south of the Palm Beach Canal, is known as "College Park".
Profits from his real estate projects allowed the construction of the Wagg Building beginning in 1925 for $200,000. The developer resided in a Spanish Revival-style home on Brazilian Avenue in Palm Beach. He also owned a mansion called "Driftwood Manor" on Long Island.
Wagg served a two-year term in the Florida Senate beginning in 1926. He was reelected by the voters for a full four-year term, representing West Palm Beach in the Florida Legislature, from 1928 to 1932.
After retiring from state politics in 1932, he was selected as the president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. He also held an honorary title as a "commodore" in the Palm Beach Yacht Club.
The Great Depression not only crashed the stock market, it crushed the real estate market in Palm Beach County. The 10-year land boom became a bust for persons employed in the local real estate industry.
The Alfred Wagg Development Company became a victim of the business downturn. He was forced to sell his interest in the Wagg Building in a foreclosure sale. Wagg also sold his home in Palm Beach.
Alfred Wagg died July 1, 1937 from a cerebral hemorrhage while visiting Syracuse, NY. He was just 50 years of age. Both Wagg and his widow, Emma, were buried in the Hillcrest Memorial Park cemetery in West Palm Beach.
After many changes of ownership, the Wagg Building was acquired by Neil Seidman, the vice president of a cell phone tower company based in Boca Raton. He began restoring the Wagg Building to its original historic beauty four years ago as both a business opportunity and labor of love.
The designation of Wagg Building as a city landmark assures the community that the "Wedding Cake Building" can be admired for its architectural uniqueness for many years to come.
*NOTE: See additional articles below and archived in Older Posts.
(c.) Davidsson. 2019.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Time to Establish School Board Term Limits in PBC
Term limits for the Palm Beach County Commission were established in 2002, following a successful ballot referendum and majority vote by county residents, to two four-year terms or a maximum of eight years in public office.
The County Commission's transition to term-limited government has worked well with little or no disruption of services to the people. It is now time for the Palm Beach County School Board to follow the Commission's path and institute term limits.
Two identical bills have been introduced to the Florida Legislature in 2019 (HJR 229 and SJR 274) to achieve this goal. If the joint resolution is approved by the Legislature this year, the measure would appear on the 2020 ballot as a proposed constitutional amendment limiting local school board members across the state to eight years in office.
The proposed amendment to Article IX of the Florida Constitution reads, "A person may not appear on the ballot for reelection to the office of school board member if, by the end of his or her current term of office, the person will have served, or but for resignation would have served, in that office for eight consecutive years."
If approved by the voters of Florida, the revised constitutional amendment would have a commencement date of Nov. 3, 2020.
The Florida Constitutional Reform Committee advocated for proposed school board term limits in 2018. However, the Florida Supreme Court blocked it from the state ballot due to a dispute in the wording of a secondary issue included in the initiative.
Palm Beach County is one of seven charter counties in Florida that have adopted term limits for its commissioners. Supporters believe democracy is best served when more citizens have an opportunity to participate in elective government. Long-term incumbency by powerful career politicians discourages public participation by new office seekers.
There are currently five members of the Palm Beach County School Board serving more than eight years. Dr. Debra Robinson has been a member of the board since the year 2000 and was reelected four times. Board members Marcia Andrews and Karen Brill were first elected in November 2010. Their current terms expire in November 2022.
The current School Board chairman, Frank Barbieri, has served three terms as its chair. He was first elected in 2008 and been a board member for 11 years. Chuck Shaw also has served since 2008.
Term limits are like a cup of fresh water, used to prime the pumps of our democracy with new leaders and ideas.
(c.) Davidsson. 2019.
The County Commission's transition to term-limited government has worked well with little or no disruption of services to the people. It is now time for the Palm Beach County School Board to follow the Commission's path and institute term limits.
Two identical bills have been introduced to the Florida Legislature in 2019 (HJR 229 and SJR 274) to achieve this goal. If the joint resolution is approved by the Legislature this year, the measure would appear on the 2020 ballot as a proposed constitutional amendment limiting local school board members across the state to eight years in office.
The proposed amendment to Article IX of the Florida Constitution reads, "A person may not appear on the ballot for reelection to the office of school board member if, by the end of his or her current term of office, the person will have served, or but for resignation would have served, in that office for eight consecutive years."
If approved by the voters of Florida, the revised constitutional amendment would have a commencement date of Nov. 3, 2020.
The Florida Constitutional Reform Committee advocated for proposed school board term limits in 2018. However, the Florida Supreme Court blocked it from the state ballot due to a dispute in the wording of a secondary issue included in the initiative.
Palm Beach County is one of seven charter counties in Florida that have adopted term limits for its commissioners. Supporters believe democracy is best served when more citizens have an opportunity to participate in elective government. Long-term incumbency by powerful career politicians discourages public participation by new office seekers.
There are currently five members of the Palm Beach County School Board serving more than eight years. Dr. Debra Robinson has been a member of the board since the year 2000 and was reelected four times. Board members Marcia Andrews and Karen Brill were first elected in November 2010. Their current terms expire in November 2022.
The current School Board chairman, Frank Barbieri, has served three terms as its chair. He was first elected in 2008 and been a board member for 11 years. Chuck Shaw also has served since 2008.
Term limits are like a cup of fresh water, used to prime the pumps of our democracy with new leaders and ideas.
(c.) Davidsson. 2019.
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