Singer Island - Riviera Beach, Florida USA - "Front Door to Paradise"

Singer Island history begins with Paris Eugene Singer, the famous developer of Palm Beach and 23rd child of Isaac Singer, the sewing machine magnate. In 1920, he visited Palm Beach and met Addison Mizner. He agreed to pay the architect a $6,000 a year retainer for life if his work was confined exclusively to the Palm Beach area. With Mizner, he created the Palm Beach we know today with its Spanish architecture, picturesque streets and exclusive shops. Singer often took his friends on picnics to the beautiful island directly north of Palm Beach. In anticipation of the Florida real estate boom, he and Mizner planned to develop a luxurious resort (the Paris Singer Hotel) on the south end of the island and a modest hotel (the Blue Heron) on the north end with a 36 hole golf course between the two structures. The estimated price was four million dollars – a fantastic amount in those years. Mizner was to design the hotels, but it is said Singer was so eager to start, construction of the Blue Heron was begun before the drawings were started. The opening date was set for 1926. The hotel’s service wing was the first and the last to be completed. Singer’s original plan was to finance the building from the sale of lots throughout the island. The Florida land boom was already slowing down in 1925, and the combination of 1928 hurricane and 1929 stock market crash dealt a mortal blow to Singer’s finances. The shell of the Blue Heron (pictured below) remained for 14 years, until Paris Singer’s dream finally came to an end when the the abandoned, incomplete hotel was razed in 1940 (the Hilton Hotel stands there now). In 1940, the City of Riviera purchased 1,000 feet of beach on the Island for $40,000. This led to the growth of tourism in Riviera and eventual incorporation of the island north of Palm Beach Shores. In 1941, the City of Riviera changed its name to Riviera Beach. The Town of Palm Beach Shores was developed in 1947 when A. O. Edwards, a railroad and hotel tycoon, bought 240 acres on Singer Island for $240,000 and invested $500,000 in improvements. He laid out a city plan with parks, walkways and roadways. In 1948 Edwards built the Inlet Court Hotel which was later renamed The Colonnades. A year later the wooden Sherman’s Point Bridge was replaced with a steel and concrete two lane structure with a drawbridge which permitted passage through the Intracoastal Waterway. The first Sebring style race was held on the island in 1950 and ended at the Colonnades. Edwards became the Singer Island’s first mayor in 1952. When he died in 1960, his estate sold the Colonnades Hotel to John D. MacArthur in 1963. The hotel had had many famous guests, including movie and television stars, politicians, and musical entertainers, including the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, and Jackie Gleason.The sixth floor penthouse was named the Bob Hope Suite. Paul Harvey's radio show was aired periodically from the hotel, as well as the television game show "Treasure Isle." In later years, Burt Reynolds used the Tiki Bar for his television show "B.L. Stryker." References: https://www.singerisland.com/the-history-of-singer-island/ https://www.scvpalmbeach.com/sub-colonnades Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/bring-the-fun License code: VBXTYYKRWZOFOSDG