NPB Unique In U.S. (Post-Times); U.S. magazines, papers praise N. Palm BeachN
Palm Beach
PIJ* Magazines,
.�
l 'firs r aiL iq.ue
In U.0 S___
IN.'Palm
It is very rare in the highly eom-, By- HENRY J. CONNOR
petitive home building field that a Post-Times Real Estate Editor
caxnn�ltzaiity tlevelopnler t roaect• Eighteell moliths ago A was an -expanse of cut-
causPs nAuch a�ot°e t.�an raised eye over swamp land bordered on. the nog~til by a� urused
Country Club on the east 'by l� S � on tb e �out� bya,,
; � v y i c6z:cat��r " trickle of water. known. only to� natives of the area, aus
trade joarilais anthe Farman Raver, and on 0e west by nc o e undeveloped
However, North Palm Beach vil- y11 acreW.
gage has already had. plenty of'' Today -'it is one of the most talked.-about and
space in such publications dedicat- written-about plann+ed corr�,munities-. in the world - a.
fed to its progress- report Follow - dream takingshape; ' '
p , a tribute to elle with which ch. R�.cl��-�
iaig are some quotes from sueb arta i a �.
a�„ d E. and Herbert A. Ross h;ii e in Pale. Beach. County..,
,ticles: North Palms Beach village -has* -
From tfie Christian ScienceMon-,been praised by experts on thel
itoa of Friday, �1�1ay 24, 1957. Thr. staffs of the National Assn. of
is the story of a town which start- .[Tome Builder's Journal, the !
ed with. a $125,000 village hall, a� A erican 'Builder, the Florida Op-1
j city manager, mayor, town county ► portUD.ity Journal, . and the Chris-�
cil, police and fire protection fie- tian Science Monitor. r
fore it had a, single resident. a �_ _�
But, :Dices. •a•nd Bob` doss ,must
'The Rotis brothers turned four have .wondered. back in 1955 when
square miles of sand and swamp they bought the four-square-mile
i into$ a subdivision conforming to
area for their dream town dust I
strict codes of '�ieauty and sanita- ` what would be written about thein
I tion A system of 42-inch cul- I
and said about them in the months,
veru preclude ary standing water ahead`
in the streets .. a . Modern water Thomas Adams, p' roininent Brit-
,and sewage disposal plants are au- ish architect who died in 1940,
tomatic . The well area from pretty well summed up the Ross
which the water upply is pumped.;
brothers idea of what North Palm
is bulkheaded a.gz4nst. saltwater in- Beach village should be like in a'
triasior� ." R statements he made that is nowt.
National Assn. Home Buildina F o '
ZnR,on the cover page of the Pi otective F
JoL�7°pial ; ' �Pe►�ple tido, want morel Covenant booklet for the village:
1 than a hoose whe they buy --- I
I, - "'A home is .not a detached unit
they want a new,, ani better :anode I but a part of a neighborhood,of living. And they fl�gtaentlyF Look" v hiclf in turn :is part of a town;
to the community anc its facilities and the good quality of the homes
even more than to l ..h
touse for usually depends at least: as much
what they want . e R Florida's aon its surroundings as on its de-
east coast, a few n111 north of b
fashionable Palm Beacl` Herbert ' s3gn and. construction. ::fence the
vital importance of ground plan-
A. and Richard Eo Ross nd their- � Hing wand, control of the d.evelop-
associates are shaping a eomlx�.un- � �n.ent of neighborhoods."
of liom.esites which, when cotn. Basically, the- one item above all
pleted, will provide some �,�2,700
: �,
others that makes North Palm
residents with the ultimate iingri o
:Beach `pillage a unique commu-,
'ciovis living at prices'. ranging rrol
1$.16,500 to $30,000. wti nit, is the `aground planning" re:
ferred to by Adams m re, than 201
The American Builder, a �byskir�e � �
article by editor Walter RR4,e years ago:
Browder: "Bob arid. , blfk. ,Ross � So strongly did tsae. Ross brothers
o l believe m round planning that
n well point ash prldt,. ' i) the g l
they actually, created a town with.
new bomesites g �� a .e �r�.;i 9 VD 3 ±+^E � 1. �y
r3i :iia' = ;} !►i �.¢ip r �� 1�1 s'sAE �:tfari2l ;e��± .i�f-es ��lgf�!ie they
ry s... ft
<cc�y,jt �+•ity.:.7, a.{a�a }}.t1tA�liyq.i�iY,Z�-C1k6a'�.a�:��.i Y�Y,�a�pp.'�,:S11�T If�'S !P•�.a �:iid: �. ��.��.���'�at�^ ��'`-"= Z37 K�y�.t!
,i. •.2�A.16.L 11-ihat 14 A6.aJ' Y Q,- il4A.V�.�i _�1� &�' ,..... .. _...zs-'•,... 'ra'nr,.-•r,.. _...,�,' l Thi^ "al i
ed is* a,model in laiad planning. 4 a A �laot tip went' a, $125,000 villcagell
slink it's a.motlel ®f nati�ual hall. A village manager was hired.'
ig��ificarace file basic idea is The Country Club was rebuilt. And
i adaptable anywhere, there is a :land all the time, the - "master plan"
shortage and it eats inean steady drawn. by Seward. H. Mott Associ-
profits -for. snmll, builders .and lig ates of Washington, D.C., was tak-
builders alike.3' ing shape and the State Legisla-11 the Flor (f a opportunity ture had created the village legal-
1 Journ� l ° f `This is the story of the lye
v:dlage of North Palm each.; an Sewer lines in Plat One, water
astonishing new city ansa, north of mains, excellent streets — all of
the fa&mous Palm .6eachczi -� beau.- these came into being before the
Itifua% r IaY,b;ed grid �i'du! _!►` looted► Home - Builders Assn. of Palm
on Florida"s fam
Beach. County bought the first lots
There is an ail` 011 busiw.ss a bout on which to stage' their gala 1956
t1w. palace from its attractive eft,
hall to its beautiful count.a.�y a�lii�; „ Parade of Horner.
And. now the building and., sales',
.. . The Ross bothers tuaployed � activity in North Palm Beach wed,-,
Seward H. �Uioti; Associates o sage is a constant thing. Tl�e�
r„ _
yyy�.••••��--.:shingtoo�n, D.+�,, �`a.al��nous COM-
homes are quality homes in the
mull .ta...y plaazner's- !„o 4.f.:.Yp1A7G 1,,hem fr. a 7 -a
designing ���9e o�' il.��� ��ac�at attrac� true sense of tie wwotdo There is
r 3 nothing crowded about North Palm
five, and Qes able plates one ccjidd Beach. The lots are spacious, -with
hope to (--hoose ''g ►° `place' 1"� 1�x"1X�.0,
to live.", sidewalks a n d. large boulevard
The editors orf' p-ubheatioas such areas between the sidewalk: and4:7,
the .street line a. municipal regula-
:.,. .w anis c�dyon- �_ �ginin_.,� overr�uird. for, tl.onn
�Sr V ea. i � L4 �+. 11d and �.l`'i Bob 6611d DAc.Ll. RVQ, til can walk
...
that �►� •'geaAt:s itself' aaa�'� ;lug �,.
elsewhere °' the united Rates, along the streets now and. mink
'
and officials oX ��ss ."a.a'i�! villa�'+e of � back, a. few, short .months when
North Palm Beach %_ < Q *-ie_ hstifi-they stood on the same sUot, knee-
1 � l q
ably proud of the fine things that: ` deep in. bull grass and soft sand,
l have been said about their �ox�i= �
r s wondering whether their six mil-
e 6
n upaii y in floe national �pp-iag lion dollardream"
would ever
come true.
:But, the experts all say that t'he,
"hump" has been scaled, and that
because of a good basic idea„ faith
and good workmanship, N o r t h
Palin .Beach village will soon be-
eome a full-fledged example of the
best: in municipal. planning.