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| Riviera Beach, mainland. Pawn shop sign reveals differences |
By Jane Feehan
Riviera Beach in Palm Beach County is marked by stark contrasts. Its tall and glamorous condominiums stand side by side facing the Atlantic Ocean.
This is Singer Island*, which is actually a peninsula. Bounded on its west by
Lake Worth Lagoon, Singer Island—about 5,000 residents—is separated from mainland
Riviera Beach. With a population of about 39,000 (2023), Riviera Beach is listed
as one of America’s cities with an African American majority population (67.25
percent).
Residents of the mainland side live in older structures,
some wooden, others stucco, most all in poor condition. Neighborhoods are marked
by store front churches, open or shuttered family-owned businesses and a few
discount retail stores. In one area, a
closed bank with dilapidated, ghostlike remains of its drive-thru serves as a gathering
place for a few homeless or neighborhood friends.
Riviera Beach’s history mirrors that of many Florida towns formed
after Henry Flagler’s East Coast Railway progressed
southward to Miami. The town was first named Oaklawn, but prominent resident
Judge Allen Heyser, whose wife Mattie ran the post office, changed its name in 1893. He
had read a news piece by a visiting reporter refer to Oaklawn and its surrounds
as the “Riviera of America.” According to a 1934 Palm Beach Post article,
Heyser was able to get the name changed to “Riviera“ before other towns could
pick it up.
Two years later, Bahamians looking for work boated 60-120
miles to the peninsula (or barrier island) to help build the Poinciana Hotel in
Palm Beach. That part of the coast is the closest point to the Gulfstream than
any other place in North America. Bahamian fishermen were familiar with the
barrier island because they often stopped there to dry out their nets. A squatter’s
community of Bahamians grew there as construction jobs did; the new residents
called it “Inlet City.” Today, many
Riviera Beach residents can trace their roots to these Bahamians.
Interest about the area grew among prospective landowners and fishermen. George N. Newcomb bought the Riviera Hotel in 1901. Visitors included Henry Flagler and members of the Vanderbilt family. Inspired by growing interest in the area and prospects for the new railway, Newcomb bought 200 acres to plat the town as a resort community.
Riviera was incorporated as a town in 1922. “Beach” was added to its name in 1941 and it incorporated as a city in 1959. The Florida land rush of the 1920s benefited Riviera but not to the extent of other towns such as Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Paris Singer attempted to build his idea of a Coney Island on the peninsula but real estate crashed by 1926. His longest-lived legacy there is the name, Singer Island (the southern end falls within the municipality of Palm Beach Shores).
In 1959 a film was made by the Riviera Beach Chamber of
Commerce to promote the city. The nearly 14-minute film, Treasures of
Riviera Beach, was to be distributed to TV stations across the country,
though it seems to have been shown at local civic events more than anywhere else. "Treasures" refer to possible pirate loot in nearby waters.
It wasn’t until the 1950s that the Black population increased in Riviera Beach, growing to 40 percent by the end of the decade. The city made news in 1962. F.
Malcolm Cunningham, Sr. was the first Black in the South since the post-Civil
War days of Reconstruction to win a city-wide election. He was elected to the City
Council of Riviera Beach.
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| Singer Island in Riviera Beach |
Since the 1980s, Riviera Beach has sought the attention of
developers. Florida’s current status as the fastest growing state in the nation
may serve as impetus for new interest, growth and redevelopment. Perhaps an
updated version of the Treasures of Riviera Beach, will help seal the deal. Riviera Beach has a lot to offer: its Palm
Beach County location, the Port of Palm Beach, nearby Palm Beach International
Airport and…its people.
* For more on Singer Island, see:
https://janeshistorynook.blogspot.com/2021/02/paris-singer-singer-island-and-failed.html
Sources:
Miami News, Dec. 1, 1904
Miami Herald, Sept. 17, 1919
Palm Beach Post, Nov. 22, 1922
Palm Beach Post, Nov. 25, 1934
Palm Beach Post, March 3, 1959
Palm Beach Post, April 10, 1959
Palm Beach Post, Nov. 24, 1986
Palm Beach, Nov. 23, 1986
Palm Beach County Historical Society
https://cunninghambar.org/
Tags: Riviera Beach history, Palm Beach County history, Singer Island
