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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984-07-08 The Village of NPB Part 2 (Palm Beach Post)Page 1111 • 1 1 1 11 1 111 1 111 Ill . 1 1 1+• —Supplement to The Post, Sunday, July 8, 1984 bished, kitchen equipment installed, and meals served. In January, 1961, no- tice was given of the intention to sell this entire property, and the village decided to buy and develop the area into a re- creation center. $1,015,000 was set as the price for the existing country club of 145 acres phis a li buildings and equipment. An additional $415,000 covered the swim- • ming pool area, dining room facilities and an expanded parking area. This made a total of $1,430,000. The people voted at a special referendum election, 7 to 1, to purchase and develop the North Palm Beach Country Club. The market now called Pantry Pride was built early in 1958. This was followed by the J. M. Fields store, now Jefferson's. The mall and Sears con - Here Is A List Of Every Bank Service The Big First Doesn't Have: r' THE BIG F1RST 655-8511 Jupiter -Boynton 428-0900 Delray -Boca First Federal Savings of the Palm Beaches - 0 FSLIC WEST PALM BEACH Main Office 215 S. Olive Avenue 655-8511 *WESTWARD 2701 Okeechobee Bc4.evard 683-3133 *SOUTHERN 30 l Southern Boulevard 833-5523 GOLDEN LAKES 1950 Golden Lakes Boulevard 683-9300 PALM BEACH 165 Bradley Place 655-1485 280 S. County Road 655-6446 IP *STUART 2285 S.E. Federal Highway 286-7300 *PALM SPRINGS loth Ave. & S. Congress 964-2212 *LAKE WORTH 531 Lucerne Avenue 582-3511 struction came in May of 1971..As the land for the Sears building was being cleared, the bulldozer flushed a family of foxes, last seen racing in a westerly di- rection. Started in 1969, Old Port Cove has proved to be most successful. It is now nearing its final capacity of 1,062 units. After extended negotiations be- tween the State of Florida, Palm Beach County, and the MacArthur Founda- tion, the oceanfront land which lay with- in the Village of North Palm Beach was sold to the county for $23,000,000. 11/2 miles of oceanfront and 345 acres of land include the controversial Air Force Beach. Half the cost was borne by the state, half by the county. It was dedicat- ed on November 7, 1980. Under the terms of the deed, this prime oceanfront recreation area comes under the jurisdiction of the county and must be kept in a natural state. Some park facilities may be installed, but un- der the general control of a non-profit corporation consisting of representa- tives of Bankeis Life, Palm Beach Coun- ty, North Palm Beach, and Nature Con- servancy. North Palm Beach can take pride in a village that was the first in Florida to win the National Association of Home Builders' award for excellence, a village that still looks new with no depressed neighborhoods, no cheap commercial strips. Real estate values have remained solid. Local government has been clean, public services excellent, and recreation- al facilities superior. It is truly a well planned and successful community. (Appreciation is due Village Historian William Young and his fellow historians for the factual content of this article) DELRAY BEACH *95 N.E. 5th Avenue 278-6261 * 14828 S. Military Trail - 498-4447 BOCA RATON 2400 N. Federal Highway 395-6811 *9033 Glades Road 483-5110 For current rates call toll free: Jupiter to Boynton 833-FUND, Delray to Roca 483-5161 *LAKE PARK 500 Federal Highway 844-6366 *BOYNTON BEACH 280 N. Congress Avenue 737-5777 *24-Hour Teller at these locations Supplement to The Post, Sunday, July 8, 1984 SUNDAY BROWN WRAPL''LtK THE VILLAGE OF NORTH .PALM BEACH From the very beginning, it was clear that North Palm Beach was to become a unique residential community. Superior planning almost guaranteed it, even before the village was launched. Credit for its success is due to Richard and Herbert Ross, together with John Schwencke and Jay White. They were accomplished builders, having built 5,000 houses between 1950 and 1956 in the West Palm Beach area. They proceeded to buy the land bordering the Earman Canal and ex- tending north to the Intracoastal from John D. MacArthur. Not included was the strip along the east side of U.S. 1. A master plan was drawn up, and the vil- lage was given a charter on August 13, 1956. Then, a lot of things started: the water and sewage systems, the streets, the village hall. The Earman Canal was widened and deepened. Before the streets were paved, a system of 42-inch Part II James R. Knott The Blue Heron Hotel culverts was installed to preclude any standing water in the streets. Sidewalks five feet wide were required in the vil- lage. A government was formed, and a council appointed consisting of Charles Cunningham, Richard Ross, Jay White, John Schwencke and J. D. MacArthur. A village manager was hired, Albin Olson, and a chief of Public Safety, Albert Dud - den. Fred Trapnell was general manager of the utilities during their construction and, for 13 years, their operation. The sale of homesites commenced in October of 1956 with a Parade of Homes. This was in conjunction with the Home Builders' Association and includ- ed 15 leading builders. The models were located on the south side of Anchorage, west of Eastwind Drive. It was a success, and by • August of 1957 the permit valuations hit $502,930 for that month alone. The Rosses also built houses, but, after com- . pleting about 50 of them, decided not to compete with other builders and with- drew from this operation. Meanwhile, dredging operations had started. The North Palm Beach wa- terway had commenced, running north and south, splitting the village roughly in halves with 13 east and west branches, all bulkhead\ed. Captain Milling was em- ployed for the job, and for over a year his dredge "Admiral" was a familiar sight slowly working its way south. The job was well done. The bridge carrying Lighthouse Drive across the waterway was built. The water system started with the drilling of 11 deep wells and the erection of a water treatment plant west of the village. At the same time, the sewage y 8, 1984—Page 3 Page 2--Supplement to The Post, Sunday, July 8, 1.984 THE BIG F1RSTSUNDAY BROWN WRAPP treatment complex was being installed. at its present location off Anchorage Drive. These were designed with capaci- • ties to handle an expanded village, plus Lake Park and parts of Palm ` Beach Gardens. Included was a 300,000-gallon overhead water tank. The Rosses' in- vestment was $1,500,000. The distribu- tion system included 75 miles of various sized pipe and almost 300 fire hydrants. The c ompany was sold almost 20 years later i.o John MacArthur, who later ex- panded it to the north. About 4,000 feet west of U.S. 1, on what was to become Northlake Boule- vard, was a large slough or low-lying muck area.`It was thought best to exca- vate .this, using the removed fill to raise other adjacent land. The result was a 10- acre lake formed on each side of North - lake Boulevard, connected with the Ear - man system. These are North and South Lakes. This increased the large number of waterfront lots already created in the village, all with concrete bulkheading. When the First American Bank opened in 1959, it was the first building to be erected on Northlake Boulevard. The Ross group picked excellent men for key jobs. A great deal of respon- sibility fell on the shoulders of Al Olson, the village manager. In the beginning, he Who Was Worth Avenue, Lake Worth and Ft. Worth Named After? An easy answer since 500,000 people read THE BIG FIRST SUNDAY BROWN WRAPPER... every Sunday for the past eight years ... the rich and provocative history of our county. The people of THE BIG FIRST and Col. Worth are pleased you enjoy it. rj THE BIG FIRST 655-8511 Jupiter -Boynton 428-0900 Delray -Boca First Federal Savings of the Palm Beaches t]' FSLIC Rai wore several hats: Village Clerk, Tax Assessor and Tax Collector. Until the village hall was completed, he had a desk in a small room upstairs in the Winter. Club. One of the first things he had to do was set up a tax roll. This was fairly simple, as there were only two taxpayers, North Palm Beach Properties (the Ross operating entity) and John MacArthur. One other turned up in the person of a French duke who owned Little Munyon Island. It seems that he had inherited the island and had never seen it. When Olson sent him a tax bill, a polite letter came back from France with a check for the taxes due — $23. The developers donated 10 acres of land for the erection of a $294,000 ele- mentary school. This school opened for classes September, 1958. The first prin- cipal was Marian Metcalf. The Village Marina was completed in December, 1957. This is located on the North Palm Beach waterway in rear of the water tower and consists of a concrete boat -launching ramp, an elec- tric hoist and a large dry -storage area. There is wet dockage for 30 boats. The privately owned North Palm Beach Marina, created by the Rosses, is located east of the country club on the Intracoastal Waterway. This large in- stallation is capable of handling yachts, has 68 concrete slips and an office build- ing, all completed in 1963. The shuffle -board courts were com- pleted in 1961. These are located next to the library. The village has 14 tennis courts, five outdoor basketball courts, six ball diamonds and six racquetball courts, with paddle ball and volleyball courts, in addition to an 18-hole golf course. In 1968, a revenue bond issue was arranged in the amount of $325,000. $200,000 of this amount plus another $100,000 from the government created the library. The other $125,000 provided two additions to the village hall. THE BIG FIRST "SU 'DAY BROWT The village hall was completed in 1957. In 1958, it was turned over to the village at the developers' construction cost of $206,213. Two additions to the building were made in 1969. On the north end, a wing containing offices and council- chambers was built and another on the south end containing a police complex and a two -bay fire station. In 1961, what is now Osborn Park was a sandy lot with a tall television tower in its center owned by Channel 5. The company later built a new one in another location, and this land, bought by the village, became a park and sports center. Anchorage Park was donated to the village by the Rosses at the same time as the marina, 1957. Ground for the post office was bro- ken on February 27,1964, and the build- ing was completed later that year. When North Palm Beach was creat- ed, there were no residents, and in the absence of any voters a village council was appointed by the developers. The law called for the first election to be held in March of 1959, 'three years after the village received its charter. Two elected candidates would replace two of the ap- pointed members. The first two elected councilmen were Walter Thomas and William Young. The next year, three new members were elected, thus filling out a completely elected council of five members. These three were Louis Aiello, Frank J. Hahn and Emery Newell. The mayors are elected by the council. 15 citizens have served as mayor, from Charles Cunningham through present Congressman Tom Lewis (who served seven years) to Dr. V. A. Marks, the present Mayor. Churches include the Lighthouse Baptist Church, the first services of which were held on Easter Sunday, 1962, the first minister, Rev. Theodore Bur- rell; St. Clare's Catholic Church, 1961, first pastor, Rev. Joseph McLaughlin; First Presbyterian Church, 1967, first minister, Robert E. Wolter; Our Lady of Florida Passionist Retreat, completed June, 1962; Palm Bible Chapel, complet- ed March, 1962, first pastor, C. Ernest Tatham; First Church of Christ Scien- tist, 1969. WRAPPER After the Ross bought the North Palm Beach land area in 1956, extensive improvements were made in the golf course. The old Winter Club was refur- YOU CAN USE THE BIG FIRST 24-HOUR TELLER CARD AT rubtix C1 1 THE BIG FIRST 65 5-8511 Jupiter -Boynton 428-0900 Delray -Boca First Federal Savings of the Palm Beaches FSLIC