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B−History
History · Lake Worth Beach

Lake Worth Beach dates to 1912, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns · #62 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

6 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 354 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1945 on, and the census since 1920.

1912founded
6on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
11famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lake Worth Beach’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lake Worth Beach began

When was Lake Worth Beach founded?

1912

Lake Worth Beach dates its founding to 1912 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 1,106 in 19202020 census: 42,219114 years

How historic is Lake Worth Beach?

B−

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lake Worth Beach’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Worth Beach is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #62 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Worth Beach’s overall grade.
Founding era1912, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194011.2% of homes (±1.8) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register6 listings, 357 historic buildings, 82.3 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 53%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 90%

Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lake Worth Beach’s 82.3 sits above most of its state (93% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 357 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1912.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Lake Worth Beach’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Old Lucerne Historic Residential District takes in 218 historic buildings.Lost villages5 hamlets and corners are still on the map.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1893–1928.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

6 listings protect 357 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
357
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Gulf Stream Hotel
Gulf Stream HotelLake Worth City Hall, OldCollege Park Historic DistrictOld Lucerne Historic Residential DistrictHistoric Old Town Commercial DistrictOsborne School
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Mediterranean Revival4
Masonry Vernacular4
Mission2
Spanish Colonial Revival1
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Frame Vernacular1
Gulf Stream HotelBuilding
Lake Worth City Hall, OldSpanish Colonial Revival
College Park Historic DistrictMasonry Vernacular
Old Lucerne Historic Residential DistrictFrame Vernacular
Historic Old Town Commercial DistrictMasonry Vernacular
Osborne SchoolMasonry Vernacular

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Holiday Mobile Home ParkLake WorthOrange Grove Mobile Home ParkPalm Beach Mobile Home ParkTropical Trailer Gardens

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

By decade

Lake Worth Beach, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s5 items
Scene in Hotel Grounds, Lake Worth, Showing Royal Poinciana Tree in Bloom1893Scene in Hotel Grounds, Lake Worth, Showing Royal Poi…Along the Shore of Lake Worth, Palm Beach, Fla1898Along the Shore of Lake Worth, Palm Beach, FlaPostcardLake Worth through Coconut Trees, Palm Beach, Fla1898Lake Worth through Coconut Trees, Palm Beach, FlaPostcardRoyal Poinciana and Lake Worth, Palm Beach, Fla1898Royal Poinciana and Lake Worth, Palm Beach, FlaPostcardThe Royal Poinciana from Lake Worth, Palm Beach, Fla1898The Royal Poinciana from Lake Worth, Palm Beach, FlaPostcard
1910s–1920s7 items
Bryant and Greenwood office1912Bryant and Greenwood officePanoramic view of West Palm Beach, North Palm Beach and Lake Worth1915Panoramic view of West Palm Beach, North Palm Beach a…Panoramic view of West Palm Beach, North Palm Beach and Lake Worth1915Panoramic view of West Palm Beach, North Palm Beach a…WestPalmBeachLakeWorth1915WestPalmBeachLakeWorth1928 Okeechobee Aftermath 1219281928 Okeechobee Aftermath 121928 Okeechobee Aftermath 1319281928 Okeechobee Aftermath 131928 Okeechobee Aftermath 1619281928 Okeechobee Aftermath 16
1930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
The story

How Lake Worth Beach came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lake Worth Beach.

Read it all →

Native Americans migrated into Florida beginning about 12,000 years ago. While evidence near the town of Jupiter indicates local inhabitation dating back to the Paleo-Indian period, the Jaega were the first known tribe to have resided along the Florida Atlantic coast in the areas of Martin and Palm Beach counties. The remains of shell mounds sites, mostly dating back to approximately 750–1500 CE, attest to pre-Columbian Jaega inhabitation near Lake Worth Beach, including in Boynton Beach, Palm Beach, and South Palm Beach.

ChaptersPrior to incorporationIncorporation to the Great DepressionWorld War II to present

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lake Worth Beach, 1893 to 1991

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893In the archiveScene in Hotel Grounds, Lake Worth, Showing Royal Poinciana Tree in Bloom
  3. 20th century
  4. 1912
    FoundingLake Worth Beach is established
  5. 1912In the archiveBryant and Greenwood office
  6. 1928In the archive1928 Okeechobee Aftermath 12
  7. 1945On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1964Born hereMatt Cetlinski is born here
  9. 1990Born hereJoe Looney is born here
  10. 1991Born hereGHOSTEMANE is born here
  11. 1991Born herePat O'Donnell is born here
On the map

Lake Worth Beach on the map, 1945 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lake Worth Beach. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Lake Worth Beach on the 1945 USGS mapLake Worth Beach on the 1967 USGS mapLake Worth Beach on the 1983 USGS map1945Lake Worth sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lake Worth Beach.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Scene in Hotel Grounds, Lake Worth, Showing Royal Poinciana Tree in Bloom
Retake this viewScene in Hotel Grounds, Lake Worth, Showing Royal Poinciana Tree in Bloom, 1893

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lake Worth Beach’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Lake Worth Beach, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00019201940196019802000202042,219

Grew from 1,106 people in 1920 to 42,219 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lake Worth Beach’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

11 famous people were born in Lake Worth Beach

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
GHOSTEMANEAmerican rapper, singer, songwriter and musician · b. 1991
M
Matt CetlinskiAmerican swimmer · b. 1964
Pat O'DonnellAmerican football player · b. 1991
Joe LooneyAmerican football player · b. 1990
A. T. PerryAmerican football player · b. 1999
C
Charles FrederickAmerican football player · b. 1982
Help out

Finish Lake Worth Beach’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewScene in Hotel Grounds, Lake Worth, Sho…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Lake Clarke ShoresIts storyDLantanaIts storyC−Palm Beach12 historic placesB+West Palm Beach29 historic placesB+

Questions about Lake Worth Beach’s history

What year was Lake Worth Beach founded?

In 1912, according to Wikidata. the census of 1920 counted 1,106 people here.

How does Lake Worth Beach rank for history?

Lake Worth Beach is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #62 of 638 in Florida. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Lake Worth Beach?

6 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Gulf Stream Hotel (listed 1983, the first), and 3 historic districts, the College Park Historic District, the Old Lucerne Historic Residential District and the Historic Old Town Commercial District, with 354 contributing buildings. 357 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Lake Worth Beach?

11% of Lake Worth Beach’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1969.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.