Palm Beach Gardens in Palm Beach County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Historic Banyan Trees
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, July 13, 2016
1. Historic Banyan Trees Marker
Inscription.
Historic Banyan Trees. . These two Banyan trees (Ficus benghalensis), with a combined limb spread encompassing one-half acre, form the entrance to the City of Palm Beach Gardens. Palm Beach Gardens was developed by insurance magnate and philanthropist John D. MacArthur. He envisioned his 4,000-acre development as a “garden city” for 55,000 people and chose the name Palm Beach Gardens after his initial choice, Palm Beach City, was denied by the Florida Legislature because of its similarity to nearby Palm Beach. The city was incorporated on June 20, 1959, as a “paper town,” meaning that at that point it existed only on paper. To showcase his new community, in 1960 MacArthur purchased an 80-year-old Banyan tree in nearby Lake Park that was threatened with destruction. The tree, weighing 75 tons and with a limb spread of 125 feet, required 1,008 hours of labor and $30,000 to move it to its new home in Palm Beach Gardens. A second, smaller Banyan tree weighing 40 tons, also threatened with destruction, was moved from Lake Park by MacArthur the following year. The trees are featured on the Palm Beach Gardens city shield and stand proudly today at the citys entrance.
These two Banyan trees (Ficus benghalensis), with a combined limb spread encompassing one-half acre, form the entrance to the City of Palm Beach Gardens. Palm Beach Gardens was developed by insurance magnate and philanthropist John D. MacArthur. He envisioned his 4,000-acre development as a “garden city” for 55,000 people and chose the name Palm Beach Gardens after his initial choice, Palm Beach City, was denied by the Florida Legislature because of its similarity to nearby Palm Beach. The city was incorporated on June 20, 1959, as a “paper town,” meaning that at that point it existed only on paper. To showcase his new community, in 1960 MacArthur purchased an 80-year-old Banyan tree in nearby Lake Park that was threatened with destruction. The tree, weighing 75 tons and with a limb spread of 125 feet, required 1,008 hours of labor and $30,000 to move it to its new home in Palm Beach Gardens. A second, smaller Banyan tree weighing 40 tons, also threatened with destruction, was moved from Lake Park by MacArthur the following year. The trees are featured on the Palm Beach Gardens city shield and stand proudly today at the citys entrance.
Erected 2011 by Seminole Chapter, NSDAR and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-720.)
Location. 26° 48.542′ N, 80° 5.257′ W. Marker is in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, in Palm Beach County. It is on MacArthur Boulevard just north of Northlake Boulevard, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: West Palm Beach FL 33403, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in South Florida, on the Gold Coast, on the Treasure Coast, and in Greater Miami. It is also in the American South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
2. Historic Banyan Trees Marker with tree in background looking west across MacArthur Boulevard
Credits. This page was last revised on March 5, 2018. It was originally submitted on August 20, 2016, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 2,585 times since then and 121 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on August 20, 2016, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
