Vedado Historic District is a national historic district in West Palm Beach, Florida in Palm Beach County. Including primarily one-story buildings constructed between 1947 and 1957 as well as the Land Boom from 1924 to 1928, it is bounded by Merril Ave, Southern Blvd, Parker Ave, and Paseo Morella.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. History The present-day Vedado Historic District in West Palm Beach, Florida, was first developed during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. In 1924, Clarence J. Ohmer paid $67,500 for the property of Alida Bell, with the intention of the sale leading to the creation of lots and blocks. The Ohmer family then sold the property in September for $1 to the Suburban Development Company. In November 1924, the first plat was recorded, which included 15 blocks ranging from 6 to 27 lots in size and a park. An advertisement in The Palm Beach Post that year touted that "Vedado is different because we are using the "highest type of street construction and working out a beautiful park effect" and that "we have taken care of the ‘kiddies’ by setting aside more that 40,000 square feet of space for a playground", while lots then cost $30 to $40 per front foot.
Between 1925 and 1926, Vedado's first homes were developed. Although news of real estate scams beginning in the mid-1920s, two hurricanes in 1926 and 1928, and the Great Depression all decimated the local economy, the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) registration form for the Vedado Historic District noted that "The Vedado Subdivision’s proximity to Morrison Field made it a familiar location for returning veterans." Now known as the Palm Beach International Airport, Morrison Field served as a military facility during World War II, with more than 6,000 aircraft landing there and approximately 3,000 United States Army Air Forces stationed at that site. During the war, about 27% of homes, then numbering about 94, were owned by active military personnel.
After World War II, the Vedado neighborhood underwent another period of significant development from 1946 to 1956, with at least 10 homes constructed in 1947, 1950, 1951, and 1952. Although this section of West Palm Beach is sometimes referred to as the Vedado-Hillcrest Historic District, most of the Hillcrest neighborhood was demolished in the late 1980s as part of a federal buyout program for expansion of the Palm Beach International Airport. Much of the former Hillcrest section is now occupied by Palm Beach Atlantic University's Marshall and Vera Lea Rinker Athletic Campus. Locally, the district has been included on the West Palm Beach Register of Historic Places since 2007. The Vedado Historic District has been listed as part of the NRHP since October 15, 2010.
Architecture Several architectural styles are present throughout the district, including Contemporary, Minimal Traditional, Minimal Ranch, Mediterranean Revival, Mission Revival, Monterey, Ranch, Split Level, and Vernacular. Structures Of the 130 resources in the Vedado Historic District, 81 are considered contributing, including 80 structures and 1 site, Vedado Park, constructed in 1924. Additionally, 49 resources are considered non-contributing. These structures were either significantly altered or constructed after the period of significance, including the Vedado Park Community Center, built around 2000. The following are listed as contributing:
+Address/NameYear builtStyleStructure typeNotesVedado Park1924Landscape3632 Glenwood Road1952RanchResidence3629/3631 Parker Avenue1947RanchDuplex3635/3637 Parker Avenue1947RanchDuplex3701/3703 Parker Avenue1947RanchDuplex3709 Parker Avenue1952RanchResidence3805/3807 Parker Avenue1952RanchDuplex3632 Parker Avenue1947Frame VernacularResidence3815 Parker Avenue1955RanchResidence3823 Parker Avenue1955RanchResidence3835 Parker Avenue1955RanchResidence3639 Paseo Andalusia1926Mission Revival Residence3705 Paseo Andalusia1952RanchResidence3709 Paseo Andalusia1952Minimal TraditionalResidence3715 Paseo Andalusia1951RanchResidence3721 Paseo Andalusia1951Minimal TraditionalResidence3805 Paseo Andalusia1950Minimal TraditionalResidence3809 Paseo Andalusia1952Minimal Ranch Residence3815 Paseo Andalusia1949Ranch Residence904/905 Paseo Andorra 1950Ranch Duplex910 Paseo Andorra 1952Minimal TraditionalResidence916 Paseo Andorra 1953Ranch Residence920 Paseo Andorra 1950Minimal RanchResidence926 Paseo Andorra 1925Mediterranean Revival Residence927 Paseo Andorra 1925Mission Revival Residence934 Paseo Andorra 1947Minimal TraditionalResidenceAlso includes elements of Spanish-style architecture 940 Paseo Andorra 1951Ranch Residence946 Paseo Andorra 1946Minimal TraditionalResidenceA home formerly owned by Phillip Rowe, a manager at the Lake Court and Pennsylvania hotels in West Palm Beach1001 Paseo Andorra 1948Minimal TraditionalResidenceA home formerly owned by the Rowan family. Charlie Rowan, who lived there for approximately 60 years as of 2010, was considered the "mayor" of Vedado1002 Paseo Andorra 1951ContemporaryResidence1009 Paseo Andorra 1952Ranch Residence1014 Paseo Andorra 1952Contemporary Residence1015 Paseo Andorra 1951Minimal TraditionalResidence1020 Paseo Andorra 1952Contemporary Residence1021 Paseo Andorra 1951Minimal TraditionalResidence1025 Paseo Andorra 1950Minimal Traditional Residence1028 Paseo Andorra 1950Minimal Ranch Residence920 Paseo Castalla 1947Minimal TraditionalResidence934 Paseo Castalla 1950Split LevelResidence935 Paseo Castalla 1950Minimal TraditionalResidence940 Paseo Castalla 1951Minimal TraditionalResidence941 Paseo Castalla 1925Mission RevivalResidence945 Paseo Castalla 1950Minimal TraditionalResidence946 Paseo Castalla 1949Minimal TraditionalResidence959 Paseo Castalla 1925Mission RevivalResidence1000 Paseo Castalla 1946Minimal TraditionalResidence1012 Paseo Castalla 1952Minimal TraditionalResidence1014 Paseo Castalla 1952Minimal TraditionalResidence930 Paseo Morrella 1951RanchResidence935 Paseo Morrella 1947Minimal RanchResidence936 Paseo Morrella 1952Minimal RanchResidence940 Paseo Morrella 1950RanchResidence946 Paseo Morrella 1948Minimal TraditionalResidence950 Paseo Morrella 1948RanchResidence1002 Paseo Morrella 1925Mission RevivalResidence1015 Paseo Morrella 1954RanchResidence1021 Paseo Morrella 1954RanchResidence1025 Paseo Morrella 1950Minimal TraditionalResidence3630 Paseo Navarra 1956Minimal RanchResidence3636 Paseo Navarra 1925Spanish Colonial Residence3639 Paseo Navarra 1945Monterey Residence3710 Paseo Navarra 1956Minimal RanchResidence3814 Paseo Navarra 1952Contemporary Residence3820 Paseo Navarra 1952Contemporary Residence3829 Paseo Navarra 1925Mission RevivalResidence3829A Paseo Navarra c. 1940Accessory 900-904 Paseo Palmera 1952RanchResidence910 Paseo Palmera 1948ContemporaryResidence911 Paseo Palmera 1956Split Level Residence920 Paseo Palmera 1925Mission RevivalResidence921 Paseo Palmera 1927Mediterranean RevivalResidence921A Paseo Palmera c. 1927Garage922 Paseo Palmera 1925Mission RevivalResidence925 Paseo Palmera 1951RanchResidence934 Paseo Palmera 1954RanchResidence940 Paseo Palmera 1947Minimal TraditionalResidenceAlso includes some Mission Revival-style architectural elements941 Paseo Palmera 1950RanchResidence952 Paseo Palmera 1952Minimal RanchResidence953 Paseo Palmera 1950Minimal RanchResidence958 Paseo Palmera 1949Minimal TraditionalResidence961 Paseo Palmera 1949Minimal RanchResidence
References
External links West Palm Beach Parks - Vedado Park