Found 143 blog entries tagged as History.

The Art of Seating exhibit at the 2 Four Arts Plaza in Palm Beach features a diverse array of interior design pieces and other artistic objects. This exhibit is perfect for anyone interested in learning more about interior design or looking for inspiration for their home.

Each piece in the collection has a compelling story to tell about American history, the evolution of American design, and incredible artistry and craftsmanship. It is a fantastic and comprehensive collection of iconic and historic chairs reaching from the mid-1800s to pieces from today’s studio movement.

The objects are from the Thomas H. and Diane DeMell Jacobsen Ph.D. Foundation, and offer a stylistic journey in furniture with showstoppers by John Henry Belter, George Hunzinger,…

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The “Ride & Remember” Historical Tour takes riders on a journey through Delray Beach’s five historic districts. Riders will tour the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum and two other locations. The tour will stop at select historic sites for a closer look at the area’s fascinating history. Illustrated with colorful stories of the personalities and happenings that influenced the growth of the city, the tour does more than relay facts – it draws the riders back in time.

What Are Delray Beach’s 5 Historic Districts?

West Settlers

Established in 1894, the West Settlers area is the site of the first African-American settlement in Delray Beach. African Americans from the north and west Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were the first non-Native Americans…

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New Year’s Eve has been a time of celebration, a day for ushering in the new year, for nearly four-thousand years.

Today, most New Year’s festivities begin on December 31 (New Year’s Eve), the last day of the Gregorian calendar, and continue into the early hours of January 1 (New Year’s Day). In South Florida, as around the world, festivities include partying, handing out with friends, drinking champagne, making resolutions, and counting down as the ball drops in Time Square.

The earliest recorded festivities in honor of a new year’s arrival date back some 4,000 years to ancient Babylon. For the Babylonians, the first new moon following the vernal equinox—the day in late March with an equal amount of sunlight and darkness—heralded the start of a new…

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Christmas is a great time of year. Family, food, and presents, what more can you ask for? For those of you who need some help feeling festive, here are ten fun facts that you may not know about Christmas.

Jingle Bells

The holiday classic "Jingle Bells" was originally written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas. The song was written in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh”. It was supposed to be played in the composer’s Sunday school class during Thanksgiving as a way to commemorate the famed Medford sleigh races. “Jingle Bells” was also the first song to be broadcast from space.

Why Santa Claus Can Fly

The image of Santa Claus flying his sleigh began in 1819 and was created by Washington Irving, the same…

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 You can experience history firsthand this Saturday, December 22, at the Loxahatchee River Battlefield where a tour will be given of the actual battlegrounds of 1838 Battle of the Loxahatchee. The Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park is located at 9060 Indiantown Road Jupiter, FL 33478.

The Battle Of Jupiter Inlet

Renewed interest in the Second Seminole War (1835‐1842), was heightened when archeologists uncovered conclusive factual evidence that confirmed the location of the Battle of the Loxahatchee at Riverbend Park in West Jupiter. More than 163 years ago on that plot of land near the headwaters of the Loxahatchee River, Red and Black Seminoles fought U.S. soldiers. The Battle of the Loxahatchee took place on Jan. 24, 1838. A historical battlefield…

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The Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens comprise the former residence of sculptor Ann Weaver Norton (1905 -1982), the widow of Ralph Hubbard Norton. The house is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and the two-acre property, featuring a collection of 250 species of tropical palms, lies near downtown West Palm Beach on the Intracoastal Waterway.

Displayed throughout the house, studio and gardens are more than 100 works by the artist, including nine monumental sculptures, eight in brick and one in granite. The Gardens were designed by Ann Norton and Sir Peter Smithers. The largest tract of garden containing the great brick sculptures is designed in a natural, unmanicured style. The experience of coming across Norton’s mysterious monoliths as…

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 Every year at Christmas time The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, also called “Whitehall,” is decorated in traditional Gilded Age splendor. The focal point of the Christmas decorations is a 16-foot-tall Christmas Tree in the Grand Hall, adorned with colored electrical lights and traditional Gilded Age style ornaments.

Bring your family and experience holiday traditions like the Annual Tree Lighting where you can meet Santa Claus, enjoy refreshments, hear music on the historic organ and watch as Henry Flagler's descendants and relatives light the Grand Hall Christmas Tree. The annual Special Christmas Lecture features a presentation on holiday traditions. During Holiday Evening Tours, families tour Whitehall after hours by the glow of the original light…

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The Sunset Tour offers an inside look at the inner workings of the Jupiter Lighthouse. It is a great place, and a perfect time of year, to take in the spectacular sunset views and witness the Jupiter Light turning on to illuminate the night sky.

The Jupiter Lighthouse, or “Jupiter Inlet Light,” is a beloved South Florida landmark located in Jupiter, on the north side of the Inlet. The site was chosen in 1853 (it was completed in 1860) because it sits between the Cape Canaveral and Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouses.

The Jupiter Lighthouse stands at 108 feet tall and was designed and built by George Meade. There’s a lot to do at the lighthouse and although the light is still actively used to help boaters navigate the waters of the Jupiter Inlet, it is also…

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If you live in West Palm Beach don’t miss the Florida Surf Museum!

The Palm Beach County Surfing History Project, a nonprofit organization, is dedicated to preserving, documenting and exhibiting a history of surfing in Florida, focusing primarily on Palm Beach County.

Click here for more information.

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Thanksgiving is a uniquely American tradition that is commonly dated back to the 17thcentury when the first pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts and shared a meal with the Wampanoags.

Some historians, however, have argued that a feast which occurred in Florida a good 56 years earlier then the one at Plymouth Rock was America’s REAL first Thanksgiving.

During the first Floridan-Thanksgiving, Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and 800 Spaniards waded ashore on September 8, 1565. The Spanish admiral kissed a cross held aloft by the fleet’s captain, Father Francisco Lopez, then claimed Florida for both his God and his country. As curious members of the indigenous Timucua tribe looked on, the 800 newly arrived colonists gathered around a makeshift…

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