Taking A Walk Through CityPlace

I was in West Palm Beach, Florida last week and took a walk through CityPlace, described as "an upscale lifestyle center" near downtown with over 60 stores and restaurants, as well as apartments, condos, and offices. It first opened in October 2000 and is credited for the "urban renaissance" of West Palm Beach. Back in the 1980s and 90s, West Palm Beach was, according to Wikipedia, "plagued by crime, poverty, and vacant and dilapidated homes and businesses." I remember that back then there was an exodus of residents to the north, to places like Jupiter, Hobe Sound, and Stuart. CityPlace helped to turn things around. And the city began to attract many new projects that turned it into a very desirable place to live. I visited CityPlace when it first opened, and there were a Barnes and Noble Bookstore, a Macy's, and two movie theaters, all of which are sadly now gone. In their place, there are restaurants, shops, and apartments for the affluent. Which is probably why I have never dined or purchased anything there. In the photograph on the left is the center's main square, with a fountain for the kids and a stage for free concerts on the weekends.

The latest big name to open at CityPlace is Eataly, which is about all things Italian, and seen in the photograph on the right. It combines retail, dining, and education and occupies what used to be the Harriet Himmel Theater. The building was originally a Methodist Church built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. When the theater closed, the owners of CityPlace said they were going to spend 20 million dollars to restore it to its original condition, only later revealing that after that renovation it would become an Eataly. But no matter. Most people seem happy with the tradeoff.

What really makes CityPlace special is the lush landscaping and Mediterranean and Venetian architecture. It is like walking through a tropical paradise. And happily, the developers left a number of old, historic homes standing, which blend in well with the rest of the development. They even incorporated the Hotel Evernia, built in 1925, into the complex, and it remains a family run hotel. Clematis Street is the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, with many dining and entertainment options, and since CityPlace was built, the western part of that street has undergone a revival, and the two districts are now connected, making for a pleasant walk from Lake Worth all the way to the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, located at the southern edge of Cityplace. And these days there are high rises going up both within CityPlace and along its borders, which will make the area even more vibrant. It is a very fun place to explore. If you ever happen to be in the West Palm Beach area, you should definitely check it out.

Surprise! Vero Beach DOES Have a Downtown!

For the past year and a half or so I have been periodically looking for downtown Vero Beach, Florida. Most of the time when I visit that city, I stick to the areas around the beach, which has a quaint business district parallelling the ocean on North Hutchinson Island. Sometimes I would veer over to the mainland and head down what looks like the main drag, to no avail. It was just a bunch of restaurants, fast food joints, and strip malls, eventually leading out of town. Then a few weeks ago I read an article on the TCPalm website by Laurence Reisman about how downtown Vero Beach has gone downhill over the past few years, which caught my attention. What downtown? In the article, Reisman mentions the Pocahontas Apartments, a mixed-use early 20th Century building located on 14th Avenue, and finally, I now had a clue. That day I made my way along a street in Vero Beach which I had driven down many times before, spotting a blue sign saying "Downtown" right before I reached 14th Avenue. Significantly, that sign did NOT have an arrow pointing right. Making that right turn anyway, I found downtown Vero Beach at last, where I took the photograph on the left of the Pocahontas Apartments building.

In addition to the Pocahontas Apartments, there were other early 20th Century buildings on 14th Avenue, including the Theater Building seen in the photograph on the right. Reisman's point in the article was that not too many years ago, the area had blooming flowers in planters and quaint benches on which people could sit and enjoy the ambiance. The flowers are all gone now, and the benches were removed to discourage the homeless. Plus, back in the 1950s, the long-gone Hotel Del Mar was the hub of downtown activity and attracted many visitors to the area. Also, many homes near downtown were knocked down to make way for churches and public buildings, reducing the number of people living in the area. I myself thought the downtown area was still pretty nice, and bringing back those planters, benches, adding a new hotel, and promoting more downtown housing would only make it that much better. But first, I think they should put up a new "Downtown" sign with an arrow pointing to where that downtown actually is located.

Right across the street from the Pocahontas Apartments Building is Pocahontas Park, another really nice amenity and seen in the photograph on the left. In that park is located the Heritage Center and the Pocahontas Park playground, which is a very impressive playground indeed. All in all, I think Vero Beach's downtown is very nice, and city leaders and Main Street Vero Beach, a non-profit dedicated to making the downtown more vibrant, really have a chance to make it a much more interesting and happening place.  But, as Reiser mentions in the article, it all takes money, and possibly even a public vote to fund it all. And so, who knows what the outcome will be? But first, how expensive could a new "Downtown" sign possibly cost?

Coyote Hills

I just finished reading Coyote Hills, Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman's latest Clay Edison private detective novel. Jonathan Kellerman is best known for his Alex Delaware series, which features a child psychologist who works as a consultant for the Los Angeles Police Department. I read a few of those novels a long time ago, but lost interest in the series. Then, a few years ago, I picked up a copy of The Lost Coast, the fifth book in Clay Edison series, which Kellerman co-writes with his son, and liked it so much I decided to read the first four books in the series. I have been looking forward to this latest release ever since. Clay Edison is a former deputy coroner turned private investigator working in the San Francisco Bay Area. In this latest novel, fellow PI Regina Klein brings in Edison to help her with a case involving a possible homicide. Klein has been hired by a wealthy couple to investigate the death of their son, who was found dead on the shore of San Francisco Bay with drugs in his system and a head injury. The police rule it an accident, but his parents insist it was anything but. Edison and Klein investigate and find that not only was it not an accident, but one of a number of similar deaths. I found this to be an absorbing and fast paced novel, and I really enjoyed it. I strongly recommend you pick up a copy at your local library today.

The 2nd Annual Boca Street Fest

I attended the 2nd annual Boca Street Fest at Mizner Park in Boca Raton, Florida this past Saturday, and I must say, this was a very well attended event. I have visited this park-like retail complex a number of times, but this was the first festival I have ever attended there. Which meant finding the parking garage instead of just parking on the street, which turned out to be easy to find and free. Free! My favorite price point! There were over 100 vendors and food booths there, in additional to two music stages, one of which was featuring the group Wolfhawk. All I can say is that they were loud - very loud indeed - and I didn't even go into the amphitheater where they were playing. The other stage was much smaller and featured more eclectic music, such as the Miami Klezmer Band, a Jewish and Yiddish group, which was much easier to listen to.

Mizner Park consists mainly of upscale shops and restaurants and is much more like a park than an outdoor shopping mall. In the center area between the rows of shops are fountains, gazebos, and very lush landscaping, as seen in the photograph on the right. I circled around the festival twice, but it was the experience of just walking around that pleasant plaza that I really liked best. Mizner Park is a great place to visit, whether there is a festival with hundreds of people, or it is just a normal, quiet weekday.

Boca Raton, by the way, has been at the center of a controversy concerning a potential downtown development called One Boca, which would have added thousands of housing units, retail, office space, and a hotel to city-owned land. Residents were concerned about the loss of green space, traffic congestion, and the use of public land for private development. Voters rejected the project just last week, although the Boca Raton Planning and Zoning Board did approve the construction of a 12-story hotel at Mizner Plaza, a shopping center just south of Mizner Park. Win some, lose some. The battle between developers and concerned residents in Florida is not a new story and will continue well into the future. In any case, definitely check out Mizner Park if you happen to be in the Boca Raton area. You'll like it.

No Kings For Stuart, Florida

I drove past the intersection of South Kanner Highway and Southeast Federal Highway here in Stuart, Florida yesterday afternoon and was surprised to see so many people at the "No Kings" protest. I later learned from an online article in the Stuart News that over 2,000 people were in attendance, some of whom can be seen in the photograph above. This is Florida, after all, and I am pretty sure you can be arrested in this state if you are a registered Democrat. And watching the local news last night, it appears there were a lot of other "No Kings" protests throughout Florida, not to mention throughout the entire country. I was especially happy to see that there was a "No Kings" march across the Southern Boulevard Bridge over Lake Worth to Mar-a -Lago, where President Trump is currently spending the weekend. Hopefully he invited everyone in to talk things over and listen to their input. Makes sense, after all, as long as they happened to be in the neighborhood, right? Right?

The 2026 Palm Beach International Boat Show

My sister Susan and I attended the Palm Beach International Boat Show this past Thursday afternoon. It takes place along Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach, Florida and features a vast number of boats and yachts, all docked along a network of piers on Lake Worth.  I decided to park at CityPlace, a number of blocks from the event, since I figured anything closer would be very expensive. As soon as I got to the parking garage, I saw a sign saying the lot was full and please try elsewhere. I decided to enter the garage anyway and keep circling until a space opened up, since I would be paying $30 whether I stayed 5 minutes or 5 hours. Happily, I found a spot almost immediately. In other words, they lied. But why? In any case, we walked to the show and made our way to the piers.

We started making our way past the various yachts on display. The vessels were docked by exhibitor, and there were plenty of salespeople on hand to greet potential buyers. A number of companies had an open-air reception center, where you met with the salespeople and then were taken to a private pier where the yachts were docked. Most exhibitors had the sterns of their yachts backed right up to the dock, with salespeople waiting on the stern to greet visitors. Others had a table with a sales rep right in front of each yacht. Since the vast majority of these boats were many millions over my budget, I didn't bother to tour the inside of any of these vessels.

The big attraction at this show are the superyachts, which are luxury vessels from 80 to almost 300 feet in length, such as the one in the photograph on the left. I assumed these would all be docked at the very end of the piers, but there seemed to be superyachts all over the place. And the exhibitors seemed to come from all over the world, as did many of the visitors. What I have a hard time getting my mind around was that there were a lot of people there who were really interested in buying one of these behemoths. 

I was especially stunned by yachts such as the one in the photograph on the right, which seem to tower over the people walking next to it. These vessels look like small ocean liners. It is hard to imagine the type of wealth required to buy one of these things. Of course, just across Lake Worth is Palm Beach, home to Donald Trump as well as many other billionaires. I can't help thinking that thanks to the tax cuts given to these people through the "One Big Beautiful Bill," all the rest of us are actually subsidizing the purchase of these boats. Not to mention the expense for a crew and the fuel to run it. One of the selling points for one of these superyachts was that it had enough space to hold 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel. At current prices, that means it would cost $27,500 every time you filled up. Will that be cash or credit?

Heading back to Flagler Drive and the exit, we passed the cocktail reception for the launch of the International Superyacht Alliance, dedicated to connecting the U.S. to global markets and new destinations for industry growth. I was tempted to stop, have a drink, and share my thoughts with them, but then thought again. Regardless of the ostentatiousness of the whole thing, I did enjoy walking around and looking at all these luxury vessels. The show continues both today and Sunday if you want to go. And if you do go, a warning. Parking garages close to the event cost $80. I myself would advise heading to CityPlace and walking to the show from there. Just ignore the "garage full" sign.

Opening Day Has Come And Gone - What A Difference A Day Makes...

Yesterday was Opening Day for both my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, and their North Side rivals, the Chicago Cubs. The White Sox were opening the season against the Brewers up in Milwaukee, while the Cubs were playing their home opener against the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field. Yesterday, both teams were in first place, not having lost a single game. The Cubs are the odds-on favorite to win the National League Central, while the White Sox have undergone a major rebuilding with a group of young promising players. I have been looking forward to the White Sox finally turning the corner at last, and at the very least, not setting still another Major League baseball record by tying the Washington Senators by having four 100-loss seasons in a row. A very modest goal, right?

At the beginning of the White Sox television broadcast yesterday afternoon, both Steve Stone, seen on the left in the photograph on the right, and John Schriffen were very upbeat, expecting great things from this team. Shane Smith was the starting pitcher for the White Sox and went 1.2 innings, giving up 4 runs on 3 hits, followed by 4 relievers who gave up an additional 10 runs, with the Milwaukee Brewers winning by a score of 14-2. Not only that, but the Brewers starting pitcher, Jacob Misiorowski, fanned 11 White Sox hitters to set a franchise record, with 4 relievers bringing the strikeout total to 20, tying a modern Major League record for strikeouts in a 9-inning game since 1900. How about those White Sox - still setting Major League records, even on Opening Day. Their North Side rivals, the Chicago Cubs, lost to the Washington Nationals 10-4 in their home opener at Wrigley Field. And so, I ask you - was I wrong to bet my entire life savings on a White Sox-Cubs World Series this year, which would be the first subway series in Chicago since 1906? Of course, yesterday could have just been a fluke. There is still hope, right? Right?