A City Steeped in History

Architecturally distinct and naturally beautiful — Boca Raton is a product of a rich and fascinating history. The earliest known inhabitants of the Boca Raton area were the Tequesta Indians, who lived in communities near the ocean nearly 1,000 years ago until the 18th century. The construction of the Florida East Coast Canal (now the Intracoastal), and the Florida East Coast Railway in the 1890s made the region accessible to resourceful pioneers.

The 1920s were marked by important developments for Boca Raton, including the incorporation of the town; the purchase of oceanfront property by a group of Palm Beach and Northern U.S. investors headed by architect Addison Mizner; and the announcement of plans to build a sprawling, beachfront hotel complex (these plans were soon replaced by plans to build the Cloister Inn). Fresh from turning Palm Beach into an international vacation mecca, an eccentric and talented Mizner set out to transform Boca Raton into the city he had always dreamed of creating. The result was spectacular: 29 homes in Floresta, now a historic area adjacent to the Boca Raton Museum of Art; 12 smaller residences in Spanish Village, north of the Children's Museum and west of Second Avenue; and the celebrated 100-room, Spanish-style Cloister Inn, which opened its doors in 1926. The Boca Raton Resort &  Club’s distinctive Mediterranean Revival style has set the standard for much of the local architecture.