Historic Old Town Commercial District

The Historic Old Town Commercial District is located in Lake Worth Beach, Florida. According to the National Register of Historic Places registration form, the district covers approximately 16 acres (6.5 ha) of land, spanning westward to the Florida East Coast Railway, eastward to M Street, northward to Lucerne Avenue, and southward to 1st Avenue South.^[2] Dixie Highway (also known as U.S. Route 1) runs north-south through the western side of the district.^[3] Lucerne Avenue and Lake Avenue, which passes east-west between the former and 1st Avenue South, are both designated as Florida State Road 802.^[4] The city of Lake Worth Beach uses slightly different boundaries, with the east end located along Federal Highway (Florida State Road 5).^[5]

Archaeological evidence from burial mounds indicates the presence of the Jaega in the nearby present-day cities of Boynton Beach, Palm Beach, and South Palm Beach between 750 and 1500 CE.^[6] In 1885, Fannie and Samuel James became among the first non-indigenous settlers in modern-day Lake Worth Beach.^[7] They owned hundreds of acres of land, including 160 acres (65 ha) south of Lake Avenue (Florida State Road 802) between F and M Streets and 160 acres (65 ha) south of College Park Historic District from Dixie to Federal highways (designated as U.S. Route 1 and Florida State Road 5, respectively).^{[8]: 56–57, 82} The Palm Beach Farm Company platted and paved residential plots and roads between 1911 and 1912, among them Lake Avenue. In 1913, this settlement would be incorporated as Lake Worth.^[9] Around this time, a business district was developed in the vicinity of Dixie Highway and Lake Avenue.^[10]

The oldest surviving building in the Historic Old Town Commercial District, located at 609 Lake Avenue, opened in 1912. A frame vernacular structure, the building housed a bicycle shop for several decades.^[11]

The Historic Old Town Commercial District has 46 structures listed as contributing, including:^[12]