About West Palm Beach, FL - Metropolitan

Sapodilla @ Fern Street in West Palm Beach

About West Palm Beach, FL

West Palm Beach, a city in Florida and the seat of Palm Beach county, located on the east coast of Florida, on Lake Worth. It lies across from the resort town of Palm Beach and is 68 miles (109 km) north of Miami on a federal highway and the Intracoastal Waterway, at an elevation of 15 feet (5 meters).

West Palm Beach is served by railroads, the Palm Beach International Airport, and the Port of Palm Beach and is a commercial center for Everglades agricultural products.

The city's economy includes commercial fishing, research, and diversified industries, including the manufacture of aeronautical and electronic equipment.

A tourist center as well as a trade center, West Palm Beach has many golf courses, swimming pools, and parks. Swimming, fishing (both fresh- and saltwater), and boating are possible during the entire year.

The city is a center for boat derbies and regattas. For cultural and intellectual activities, there is a public library, the South Florida Science Museum, and the Norton Museum of Art, noted for its collection of Chinese jade. Other attractions include the Dreher Park Zoo, greyhound racing at the Palm Beach Kennel Club, and the Lion Country Safari, the nation's first "cageless zoo." A national wildlife refuge is nearby. The city is home to Palm Beach Atlantic College and Northwood University.

Founded in 1893 by Henry M. Flagler as a trade and industrial center for Palm Beach, the city was incorporated the following year. West Palm Beach experienced a burst of rapid economic and population growth in the 1920s and again after 1970. Population: 82,103.