WEST PALM BEACH

city, seat (1909) of Palm Beach county, southeastern Florida, U.S. It lies along Lake Worth (a lagoon, part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway), opposite Palm Beach. The area, homesteaded in 1880 by Irving Henry, was developed after the arrival in 1894 of Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. Using the town as a workers' base and transfer point, Flagler developed a winter resort across the lagoon at Palm Beach (q.v.). With increased transport facilities, West Palm Beach also became a tourist centre, as well as the commercial and financial hub of the area, acquiring diversified industries and commercial fishing. The city is the home of the University of Palm Beach (1926), a business college, and Palm Beach Atlantic College (1968). Port Palm Beach, one of the busiest ports in the state, is immediately to the north. To the west is Lion Country Safari, a 640-acre (260-hectare) preserve where African animals roam freely amid surroundings similar to their native habitats. Inc. 1894. Pop. (1990) city, 67,643; West Palm BeachBoca RatonDelray Beach MSA, 863,518.