West Palm Beach
 

Hello, all. I've been in West Palm Beach, Fla., for about two months now. I moved here from Austin, Texas. Now that I've mostly settled in, I've gone out and taken a few pictures of the city.

West Palm Beach is severely underrepresented here, so I thought I'd try to rectify that. West Palm Beach is in the northern part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which has a population of 5.5 million. West Palm Beach has about 100,000 people, and Palm Beach County has 1.5 million.

West Palm Beach sits along the east coast of Florida. Immediately to its east is Palm Beach island, (part-time) home of some of the wealthiest people on the planet (they roost in New York, Connecticut, etc. in the summer months). Between the Palm Beaches rests the Intracoastal Waterway. Beyond Palm Beach island is the Atlantic.

Enjoy West Palm Beach.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8470/8...c3f34413_b.jpg
West Palm Beach sign by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8042/8...45d5fa5f_b.jpg
Downtown West Palm Beach by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8315/8...2bdc683e_b.jpg
Palm Harbor Marina by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8451/8...17ca5ae3_b.jpg
Triumphant Lady yacht by raptoralex, on Flickr
An example of the wealth here.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/8...aed1a160_b.jpg
Row of palm trees by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8177/8...9674707a_b.jpg
One Watermark Place by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8314/8...5558d19d_b.jpg
Palm Beach Biltmore by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8311/8...b48e12ae_b.jpg
Carefree Theatre by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8327/8...778ebb41_b.jpg
Prado Condos by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8183/8...e9d11216_b.jpg
One and Two City Plaza by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8193/8...e6d9b849_b.jpg
Trump Plaza by raptoralex, on Flickr
These twin skyscrapers are the tallest buildings in the city.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8469/8...5b183c08_b.jpg
Trump Plaza by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8186/8...0b06a979_b.jpg
One City Plaza by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8336/8...2f7bd8e1_b.jpg
City Palms condominiums by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8471/8...6d2115c4_b.jpg
Dock and two high-rises downtown by raptoralex, on Flickr
McKeen Towers (left) and The Strand apartments

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8194/8...1eabd65c_b.jpg
Phillips Point East and West (left) and Esperante by raptoralex, on Flickr
Esperante is the fifth tallest building in the city.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8195/8...e117026f_b.jpg
South Cove Natural Area sign by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8184/8...ef79883e_b.jpg
Man-made island by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8334/8...4336aa57_b.jpg
Red mangrove and crabs by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8187/8...d917e7b5_b.jpg
South Cove Natural Area by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8046/8...f93df313_b.jpg
Palm Beach County Courthouse by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8323/8...1fcebfe8_b.jpg
Historic Palm Beach County Courthouse by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8184/8...cd2ef879_b.jpg
Royal Park Bridge by raptoralex, on Flickr
This is one of three bridges that link West Palm Beach and Palm Beach.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8475/8...94a5e945_b.jpg
Palm tree shadows by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8475/8...b77d326b_b.jpg
Boardwalk by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8187/8...a35ab6e6_b.jpg
Clematis Street by raptoralex, on Flickr
This is where lots of bars, restaurants and nightclubs are. It's the popular street at night, though it's small and can't compare with Sixth Street in Austin.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8180/8...74ec1161_b.jpg
Lone lamp by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/8...041d9b8f_b.jpg
El Cid apartments by raptoralex, on Flickr
El Cid is a historic neighborhood just south of downtown and next to the Intracoastal Waterway.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8297/7...624f6269_b.jpg
Flagler Pointe Condominums and Intracoastal Waterway by raptoralex, on Flickr
About a mile north of downtown. In the distance on the right are the skyscrapers of Singer Island. I'll make a visit there to get shots. It's really modern and has high-rises lining the entire beach.

So that's West Palm Beach. I'll come back and update this thread as I get out more. I hope you like it.

Very nice! I was just down there a couple of months ago as I have quite a bit of family in Palm Beach County. West Palm Beach is definitely not what I'd call an energized core for Palm Beach County... more of an administrative center. The City Place mall and Clematis Street inject some activity though. My favorite area for a stroll in PBC is definitely around Worth Avenue. Not sure if I've seen Worth on SSP before...

Nice to see!

Nice surprise and well captured. Was born and raised in WPB and moving back in a few months. Don't hear many Austin to West Palm Beach transplants, what brought you there?

Nice!

My job transferred me. What's funny is when I was packing my stuff, one of the movers in Austin moved there from West Palm Beach, and one of the unloaders here used to live in Austin.

I grew up on Flagler Drive. It's nice to see my hometown represented here. It's a nice smaller city and only keeps getting better. You should have seen it before Northwood was revamped and before all the new condos, although back then the carefree theater was still open and showing good independent films. I just wish things were not so geared towards tourists and the wealthy and it does need a few more low rise condos to fill it the gaps between clearlake and the intracostal then I feel like it would be the best urban center in South Florida. Maybe they could learn a few lessons from downtown Del Rey.

A lot of progress, but as you can see still pretty empty.
Nice tour though. West Palm is a place that I drive through a lot. Nice to see it up close and personal.

Nice pictures. It's good to see West Palm Beach on here. The areas around the water look pretty inviting.

Would love to see pics from the island - Royal Palm Way, Breakers, Worth Ave, Mar a Lago, some estates, etc. :)

And some of the beach communities in PBC are nice for pics, too...Delray/Atlantic Ave especially.

Very nice pictures! Thanks for sharing.

In our last travel to Florida, last month, we hadn´t enough time to visit Palm and West Palm Beach. It looks very wealthy and pretty. I like the whole atlantic coast of Florida. I hope to visit West Palm Beach in our next visit to Florida.

Congrats and greetings from Madrid, Spain!:tup:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8336/8...c21b3ab1_b.jpg
Furniture store in Northwood Village by raptoralex, on Flickr
A little north of where I live is a neighborhood called Northwood Village. The city's trying to transform it into a district with arts, cafes and shops. So far it's just got about one and a half streets of little stores like this.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8043/8...4ff3384f_b.jpg
Shops in Northwood Village by raptoralex, on Flickr

And back to downtown.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8469/8...d710b6c0_b.jpg
CityPlace South Tower and the tracks by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8046/8...4d5805a1_b.jpg
Passing yacht by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8056/8...8eb202d8_b.jpg
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Landmark Memorial by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8056/8...901a77e2_b.jpg
Palm Beach across the intracoastal by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8047/8...41bcacd1_b.jpg
Sitting by the water by raptoralex, on Flickr

Don't forget Florida is a swing state. These were taken the Wednesday before Election Day. I voted early because I work on the big day.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8470/8...3c56a959_b.jpg
Political signs by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8193/8...c33653b0_b.jpg
Candidate supporters outside polling place by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8051/8...563b0079_b.jpg
Political signs by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8055/8...1639074c_b.jpg
Polynesian torches by raptoralex, on Flickr
Torches on Clematis Street

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8331/8...563f2acf_b.jpg
Flagler Museum and moonrise by raptoralex, on Flickr
Henry Flagler founded Palm Beach. He was a railroad man and is the reason South Florida is a vacation destination. The name Flagler is all around the city.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8054/8...b2e04271_b.jpg
Pier by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8195/8...c4629198_b.jpg
Sailboat at rest by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/8...e0ef0f7d_b.jpg
Intracoastal Waterway on a clear, blue day by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7121/8...ec3142f3_b.jpg
Abandoned building in West Palm Beach by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7140/8...a75b480a_b.jpg
Historic Prospect Park-Monceaux by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8480/8...0a4e9e83_b.jpg
Banyan trees by raptoralex, on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/8...07057db7_b.jpg
Park sculpture by raptoralex, on Flickr

Lastly:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8059/8...6571cea0_b.jpg
Charles by raptoralex, on Flickr
This is Charles. He's homeless.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/8...69ce0da1_b.jpg
Charles' things by raptoralex, on Flickr
This is everything Charles had with him. I wanted to try to show the dichotomy of the two cities split by a thin strip of water called the Intracoastal Waterway, or Lake Worth Lagoon. On one side is exorbitant wealth; on the other is the rest of us just trying to get by.

What a wasteland of architecture.

Great job. How are you liking Florida?

Awesome. I was always planning to make a thread about WPB, but never got around to it. You should also post pictures of the surrounding areas in Palm Beach County. I have been living here for almost 10 years now and it's a city with a lot of potential.

Good tour.

Where are the people?

Yeah. Look at this building. I took this picture specifically because you made this comment. I'm going to try to explore some more if I get more time off, but work's been pretty busy lately.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8481/8...cdbcc073_b.jpg
Waterview towers by raptoralex, on Flickr

It's so-so. I really love the water, and the weather's pretty great when it's not super humid or raining. But I miss Austin like crazy.

It's not a particularly busy place, at least when I've been out. Next time I run around downtown, I'll try to go to Clematis Street and get some street shots. In the Northwood Village shots, I was there on a Sunday when nothing was open. I'll try to go on a weekday. It's not far from where I live, so I can walk there if I'm bored and need to get out.

Nice pics. Thanks for the tour. Looks like a playground for the rich. One homeless guy photo isn't gonna change my mind. lol

Nice pics ! It's good to see West Palm Beach is represented here.

I would love to see historic Flamingo Park and surrounding areas of West Palm Beach such as Wellington, Royal Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens.

Good job !