With a quickly growing population in the 1910s, the city of
Lake Worth recognized the need for a school. After the Palm Beach Farms Company donated land to the Palm Beach County Board of Public Instruction, a small, wood-frame schoolhouse was built in 1912, with Lucerne Avenue located to the north,
Lake Avenue to the south, and
Federal Highway to the east. Upon opening on October 20, 1912, 24 students were enrolled, which nearly doubled by the end of the school year. The expanding population soon necessitated the need for a larger schoolhouse, with the school board commissioning design plans and construction in 1914, to be funded by an approved $25,000 bond. The new, two story schoolhouse included 12 classrooms, each of which contained either 36 large desks or 45 small desks. After the construction of other schools, such as
Lake Worth Community High School in 1922, the city government purchased the building in August 1926 due to its need for space for administrative functions. The building was renovated after being sold to the city government, with classrooms being converted into offices and a telephone being installed. In July 1927, the former schoolhouse was rededicated as city hall. Lake Worth was devastated by the
effects of the
1928 Okeechobee hurricane, including city hall. Along the northwest corner of the building, the exterior wall in its entirety collapsed, while the north tower was destroyed and the bay at the northeastern side of the building was removed. The roof suffered complete destruction. As a result, Lake Worth was without a functional center for city government. In late 1928, architect Floyd King drew up plans for restoring city hall. Upon completion of restoration in 1929, the building featured a
Mission–
Spanish Revival design, a radical change from the previous architectural style. In 1980, the
Lake Worth Historical Museum opened on the second floor; it features antiques, tools, clothing, photographs, and other local artifacts relating to the history of Lake Worth. The building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places on May 18, 1989. ==See also==