View of East Atlantic Avenue in old downtown Delray Beach, FL
1904 Historic Chapel at Trinity Lutheran Church built by German settlers to Delray Beach
1950s Priscilla Hotel located in the Frog Alley neighborhood. This hotel was built by Bahamian settlers to Delray Beach
1936 Sandoway House that was built as a private residence and designed by architect Samuel Ogren
Sponsors (to date):
Patricia Ann Ravo Fund
Boris & Edith Rueger Fund
561-638-8277
Overview of History and Historic Preservation highlighted during Narrated Bus Tour
The
Narrated Bus Tours of Historic Delray Beach are held on the 4th
Saturday of each month, year-round. These tours allow people to
discover historic sites through public access as part of the tours’
visits to historic buildings in Delray Beach, Florida ( Palm Beach
County). The importance of historic preservation is evident and
emphasized during the tours.
In addition to local history and the
origins of Palm Beach County, the history of the State of Florida is
also included in the narration during the tour with information about
the arrival of Spaniards in the 1500s as well as the migration of
runaway African slaves and Creek Native American slaves who came to
Florida together from the late 1600s to 1800s. The narrated local
history is told as the bus travels through historic areas such as
Swinton Avenue which was na med for one of Delray Beach’s early white
settlers named David Swinton, from Saginaw , Michigan who owned a book
store in Saginaw. He came to this area in 1894 on a trip with his
friend named William S. Linton, a Michigan Congressman. In 1894, Mr.
Linton purchased 160 acres of land and made a down payment on 640 more
acres in this area and he named the town after himself and called it
the Town of Linton which later was named Delray Beach. Soon after his
purchase, Mr. Linton began recruiting others from Michigan who began
the task of settling and laying out the town. The tour information
explains more about other tidbits of facts about the people, places
& lifestyles of Delray Beach in the early years. The tour also
highlights the Historic West Settlers District which is the African
American historic district in Delray Beach that recognizes the early
African American settlers of Delray Beach who were already in Delray
Beach before the white settlers arrived. African Americans lived in the
area West of what is now called Swinton Avenue. Other historical facts
that are featured as a part of the tour are about the Japanese settlers
who were recruited to Delray Beach in the early 1900s by railroad
tycoon Henry Flagler.
There are
10 historic sites for tour stops which are visited on a
rotating schedule where the bus makes stops so that
passengers are allowed to get off the bus and go inside to
view the inside of that particular historic building and
learn more about its history and its important role in the history of the settlement
of the community of Delray Beach, Florida:
Accolades for Narrated Bus Tour of Historic Delray Beach
In
year 2006, AAA Travel Mid-America Home & Away Magazine designated
the MLFH Delray Beach bus tours as the “Most Unique Travel Gem”. Some
of the other prestigious national accolades that the Museum’s bus tour
program has received include being selected as the “Best” by the Guest
Informant Magazine-Gold Coast edition; the Palm Beach Post,
Sun-Sentinel, the Boca News and the Delray Forum, to name a few. The
Museum’s bus tours also received an “A+” rating by the San Antonio
Press newspaper of San Antonio, Texas in a December 24, 2007 travel
column blog. The Narrated Bus Tours of Historic Delray Beach was voted
for a second time, as the 2008 Best Tour of The Town by Gulfstream
Media Group who are publishers of Boca Life Magazine, The Palm Beacher
Magazine and Gold Coast Magazine. The first recognition from the
Gulfstream Media Group for the Museum’s bus tours as being the “Best”
was in year 2006.
Access Accommodations for Wheelchair Access& hearing Impaired
If
you require wheelchair access for the bus/or sign-language interpreter
for the hearing impaired, a minimum 2 months notice is required so that
a wheelchair access bus can be reserved and/or a sign-language
interpreter scheduled. No additional fees are charged for this
service.
1896 Historic Delray Beach
Train Depot
Built by railroad tycoon Henry Flagler
in Delray Beach
More about the bus tours.
In
addition to local history and the origins of Palm Beach County, the
history of the State of Florida is also included in the narration
during the tour with information about the arrival of Spaniards in the
1500s as well as the migration of runaway African slaves and Creek
Native American slaves who came to Florida together from the late 1600s
to 1800s. The narrated local history is told as the bus travels through
historic areas such as Swinton Avenue which was named for one of Delray
Beach's early white settlers named David Swinton, from Saginaw,
Michigan who owned a book store in Saginaw. He came to this area in
1894 on a trip with his friend named William S. Linton, a Michigan
Congressman. In 1894, Mr. Linton purchased 160 acres of land and made
a down payment on 640 more acres in this area and he named the town
after himself and called it the Town of Linton which later was named
Delray Beach. Soon after his purchase, Mr. Linton began recruiting
others from Michigan who began the task of settling and laying out the
town. The tour information explains more about other tidbits of facts
about the people, places & lifestyles of Delray Beach in the early
years. The tour also highlights the Historic West Settlers District
which is the African American historic district in Delray Beach that
recognizes the early African American settlers of Delray Beach who were
already in Delray Beach before the white settlers arrived. African
Americans lived in the area West of what is now called Swinton Avenue.
Other historical facts that are featured as a part of the tour are
about the Japanese settlers who were recruited to Delray Beach in the
early 1900s by railroad tycoon Henry Flagler.
Accolades for Narrated Bus Tour of Historic Delray Beach
The Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History’s Narrated Bus Tours of Historic Delray Beach were selected for the 2nd consecutive year as one of the Best Bets in Palm Beach County in the 2006 Guest Informant Magazine for the Gold Coast Edition of Fort Lauderdale and the Palm Beaches. The Guest Informant is a hard-cover magazine distributed to hotel rooms in major hotels. When the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History tours began in 2004, they were the only tours of historic Delray Beach conducted on an on-going, year-round basis and they are still the only tour series conducted 12 months a-year. In 2006, the Museum’s tours were also selected as Best Tour of The Town in the June 2006 issue of The Palm Beacher & Gold Coast Magazines; in 2005 and 2006, these bus tours were selected as Best Bets in all of Palm Beach County in the Gold Coast Edition of the Guest Informant. The Narrated Bus Tours of Historic Delray Beach were also selected in 2006 as one of the “Unique Travel Gems” by AAA Home & Away Magazine Mid-America publication for the States from Ohio to Alaska and the tours were profiled in the January/February 2006 issue of Home & Away AAA Magazine of Mid-America. A certificate for this honor was sent to the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History for its bus tour program. These monthly bus tours are hugely popular.
Financial Sponsors for Narrated Bus Tour of Historic Delray Beach Patricia Ann Ravo Fund Boris & Edith Rueger Fund
