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.
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 âÂÂkiddiesâ 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 SubdivisionâÂÂs 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.
Several architectural styles are present throughout the district, including Contemporary, Minimal Traditional, Minimal Ranch, Mediterranean Revival, Mission Revival, Monterey, Ranch, Split Level, and Vernacular.
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: