Boca Raton

History

* 1890 – Bocaratone settled. * 1896 – Florida East Coast Railway begins operating. * 1909 – Bocaratone becomes part of newly created Palm Beach County. * 1923 – Boca Raton Inlet bridge constructed. * 1924 ** Town of "Boca Ratone" incorporated. * 1925 ** Town of "Boca Raton" incorporated. * 1926 ** Cloister resort built. ** Chamber of Commerce founded. * 1928 – Water plant built. * 1930 ** Railroad station built. * 1964 – Boca Raton Theatre in business. * 1980 ** Pope John Paul II High School established. ** Town Center at Boca Raton opens. * 1981 – August: "IBM (International Business Machines) introduces the IBM PC from its Boca Raton factory." ** Population: 61,492. * 1991 – W.R. Grace & Co. headquarters relocated to Boca Raton from New York. * 1999 – W.R. Grace & Co. headquarters moves away from Boca Raton. * 2000 ** Muvico cinema in business. ** Population: 83,255 * 2001 – Anthrax attack; Robert Stevens dies. * 2004 – September: Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Jeanne occur. * 2012 ** October 22: United States presidential debate held in Boca Raton. * 2014 – Susan Haynie elected mayor. * 2017 ** Ted Deutch becomes U.S. representative for Florida's 22nd congressional district. ** September: Hurricane Irma occurs. The area where Boca Raton is now located was originally occupied by the Glades culture, a Native American tribe of hunter-gatherers who relocated seasonally and between shellfish sources, distinct from the Tequesta to the south and the Jaega to the north. When Spain surrendered Florida to Britain in 1763, the remaining Tequestas, along with other Indians who had taken refuge in the Florida Keys, were evacuated to Cuba. In the 1770s, Bernard Romans reported seeing both abandoned villages and no native population in the area. The area remained largely…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which of this is land and of it (6.63%) is water. Boca Raton is a "principal city" (as defined by the Census Bureau) of the Miami Metropolitan Area. Approximately 1 square mile is on the barrier island Deerfield Beach Island ([http://dbi.rocks/ DBI]), also colloquially known as Deerfield Cay. Like other South Florida cities, Boca Raton has a water table that does not permit building basements, however plumbing and sewage is constructed underneath the homes and streets, in addition to electrical systems in some areas. There are several high points in the city, such as 4th Avenue which is aptly named "High Street". The highest point in this area is the guard shack at Camino Gardens, which is above sea level. The Boca Raton Hotel's Beach Club rests at above sea level. Several small tunnels run under roads in Boca, but the roads are built up several feet at these locations, or are on dunes. Several of these tunnels are under State Road A1A at Spanish River Park, from the west side of the road where parking is available to beachgoers, to the east side of the road, which is where the beach is located. State Road A1A is already higher than the surrounding land here due to sand dunes formed by erosion and other natural features. Boca Raton has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af), as its driest month (December) averages of rainfall, narrowly meeting the minimum standard of during the driest month to qualify for that designation. In general the climate is very warm to hot and sunny much of the year, although daily thundershowers occur in the hot season from June through September. Boca Raton is frost free. The warm tropical climate in South Florida supports the growth…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,976
• Boat-tailed Grackle

  Quiscalus major Vieillot, 1819 · Aves
  20,475
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,277
• White Ibis

  Eudocimus albus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  19,016
• Anhinga

  Anhinga anhinga (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  18,013
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  17,970
• Eurasian Moorhen

  Gallinula chloropus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  17,945
• Fish Crow

  Corvus ossifragus A.Wilson, 1812 · Aves
  16,127