Editing Lake Worth Beach, Florida (section)

===World War II to present===

[[File:Lakeworthcasino1953.jpg|thumb|right|A postcard ({{c.|1953|lk=no}}) showing the shoebox-style Lake Worth Casino built following the [[1947 Fort Lauderdale hurricane|1947 hurricane]]]]
Although no military installations were located in Lake Worth, the presence of military bases and repair facilities in nearby towns led to a significant increase in the city's population during [[World War II]], from 7,406&nbsp;in 1940 to 10,615&nbsp;about five years later.<ref name="old town"/>{{rp|27}} Development started again after World War II, especially due to the approval of the [[G.I. Bill]], allowing new homes to become affordable. Many veterans who trained in South Florida also returned to the area, leading to a population boom.<ref name="facts">{{cite web|url=https://lakeworthbeachfl.gov/our-city/facts-and-information/|title=Facts and Information|publisher=City of Lake Worth Beach, Florida|accessdate=November 24, 2021|archive-date=November 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124063232/https://lakeworthbeachfl.gov/our-city/facts-and-information/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The city also saw a wave of immigrants, especially from [[Finland]]. These Finnish immigrants established three churches in Lake Worth to preserve their heritage while also benefiting the local economy,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pbchistory.blogspot.com/2017/03/local-church-has-roots-in-arctic-sami.html|title=Local Church Has Its Roots in Arctic 'Saami' Ministry|author=Robert I. Davidsson|date=March 9, 2017|accessdate=November 24, 2021}}</ref> which returned to a state of stability in the post-war years.<ref name="facts"/>

Two hurricanes impacted Lake Worth later in the 1940s, [[1947 Fort Lauderdale hurricane|one in 1947]] and [[1949 Florida hurricane|the other in 1949]]. Although the former damaged nearly all businesses and about half of homes, few structures suffered serious damage.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89467306/the-palm-beach-post/|title=L. W. Reports Few Hardships|page=4|date=September 19, 1947|newspaper=The Palm Beach Post|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=November 24, 2021}}</ref> However, among the structures experiencing substantial impact was the Lake Worth Casino, which was repaired and reopened in the 1950s with a [[shoebox style]] architectural design.<ref name="100th jewels1"/> Although the 1949&nbsp;hurricane made landfall in Lake Worth,{{Atlantic hurricane best track}} the cyclone caused less impact than the 1947&nbsp;storm. Around 300&ndash;400&nbsp;homes were damaged, with one destroyed, while the storm deroofed many homes in the Osborne Colored Addition. Winds also destroyed a filling station and shattered many windows at downtown businesses.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17858050/the_palm_beach_post/|title=Lake Worth Reports Damage is Less Than in 1947 Storm|date=August 28, 1949|newspaper=The Palm Beach Post|page=10|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 24, 2021}}</ref>

In 1954, a concrete wall was erected at the Osborne Colored Addition to separate it from the white Whispering Palms neighborhood. Although the city officially integrated in 1969,<ref name="kerr">{{cite web|url=https://lakeworthbeachfl.gov/press-release-lake-worth-beach-unity-wall-unveiling-road-closure/|title=Press Release: Lake Worth Beach Unity Wall Unveiling Road Closure|date=July 13, 2021|publisher=City of Lake Worth Beach, Florida|author=Ben Kerr|accessdate=November 24, 2021}}</ref> the neighborhood retained the name Osborne Colored Addition until 1994.<ref name="hspbc"/> Today, the remnants of the wall is referred to as the Unity Wall and is instead used for [[mural]]s.<ref name="kerr"/> Despite the ''[[Brown vs. Board of Education]]'' decision by the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] in 1954, Palm Beach County schools only slowly integrated. John Green and Theresa Jakes Kanu became among the first black students to attend a formerly whites-only high school in Palm Beach County when they arrived at Lake Worth High Community High School in 1961. Little further progress on the racial integration of schools in the county occurred until a court order in 1970.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2004-05-09-0405090206-story.html|title=Brown vs. Board of Education|date=May 9, 2004|author=Scott Travis|newspaper=Sun-Sentinel|accessdate=November 24, 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Lake Worth Florida City Hall 200612231634.jpg|left|thumb|The building that has served as the Lake Worth City Hall since the 1970s]]
The 1960s and 1970s also brought the construction of many apartments, condominiums, and larger commercial buildings, which often resulted in the demolition of older structures.<ref name="facts"/> During a period of neglect and decline between the 1970s and 1990s, Lake Worth, in the words of then-city commissioner Dennis Dorsey, "had become known as the [[Pornographic film|skin-flick]] capital of the country". The venue now known as the Lake Worth Playhouse was the Playtoy, and was well known in Palm Beach County as the theater that showed [[X-rated]] movies; ''[[Deep Throat (film)|Deep Throat]]'' was shown there, motivating a police raid in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite news|author=Frank Cerabino|author2=Laura Lordi|title=Our (se)X-rated history: A titillating tour of nudity in Palm Beach County|url=http://projects.mypalmbeachpost.com/nakedpalmbeachcounty/|accessdate=November 4, 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131230652/http://projects.mypalmbeachpost.com/nakedpalmbeachcounty/|archivedate=January 31, 2018}}</ref> The decade also saw the construction of the current bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway. Opening in 1973, the Robert A. Harris Bridge is two lanes wider and higher than the previous bridge, built in 1938.<ref name="timeline1940-2013">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89081577/the-palm-beach-post/|title=Lake Worth: Growth of a Beach Town|author=J.D. Vivian|date=June 27, 2013|page=S5|newspaper=The Palm Beach Post|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=November 24, 2021}}</ref> Also during 1973, the Lake Worth City Hall moved from 414 Lake Avenue to 7 North Dixie Highway, its current location. The building at the former address has been listed in the NRHP since 1989 and is also often referred to as City Hall Annex.<ref name="100th jewels1"/>

Foreign political turmoil and the South Florida construction boom have brought another wave of immigrants from [[Central America]] and the [[Caribbean people|Caribbean]], especially since the 1980s. Included in the immigration wave of that decade were many Guatemalan-[[Mayan people|Mayans]], who consider themselves [[indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous people]] rather than "Hispanic" or "Latino", and some may not speak [[Spanish language|Spanish]]. Many Guatemalan-Maya people migrated to Lake Worth Beach to seek refuge from the [[Guatemalan genocide]] being committed against the indigenous Maya people in Guatemala, often referred to as the Silent Holocaust. The Maya mostly converse in [[Mam language|Mam]], [[Q'anjob'al language|Q'anjob'al]], or any [[List of Mayan languages|one of 22]] existing [[Mayan language]]s spoken in Guatemala.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2009-08-16-0908150258-story.html|title=The Mayans of Lake Worth|author=Alexia Campbell|author2=Carey Wagner|date=August 16, 2009|newspaper=Sun-Sentinel|accessdate=November 9, 2021}}</ref> Adding to the racial and linguistic mix of the city is a large [[Haitian people|Haitian population]], many of whom speak [[Haitian Creole|Creole]]. Most immigrants from Haiti have also arrived in the United States since the early 1980s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1988-02-07-8801080546-story.html|title=Learning to Cope Haitian Population Places Burden on Community Services|author=Sandra Jacobs|date=February 7, 1988|newspaper=Sun-Sentinel|accessdate=November 9, 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Lake Worth Pier.jpg|right|thumb|The Lake Worth Pier, damaged by hurricanes [[Hurricane Frances|Frances]] and [[Hurricane Jeanne|Jeanne]] in 2004]]
The downtown area underwent restoration efforts in the late 1990s. The [[Florida Department of Transportation]] spent $3.9&nbsp;million to improve sidewalks and streets, while the city of Lake Worth contributed over $670,000 for benches, landscaping, planters, trash cans, and new lights and sidewalk pavers. As a result, downtown property values increased in 1997 for the first time since the late 1980s.<ref name="downtown1998">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90025698/the-palm-beach-post/|title=Property values grew downtown in 1997, the first time in years|date=February 15, 1998|page=7B|newspaper=The Palm Beach Post|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=December 7, 2021}}</ref> The area then saw a huge resurgence in interest and now sports an array of art galleries, sidewalk cafés, and night clubs.<ref name="DYK"/> The city's main street, Lake Avenue, contains some of the oldest commercial structures in South Florida. Lake Avenue, along with the parallel street of Lucerne Avenue, include most of the structures constituting the [[Historic Old Town Commercial District]], which has been listed in the NRHP since 2001.<ref name="old town"/>{{rp|4–5}}

Later in the 2000s decade, the city was hit especially hard by hurricanes [[Hurricane Frances|Frances]] and [[Hurricane Jeanne|Jeanne]] in 2004 and [[Hurricane Wilma|Wilma]] in 2005. Wilma alone destroyed 27&nbsp;homes and 7&nbsp;businesses and damaged 2,491&nbsp;homes and 93&nbsp;businesses to some degree.<ref name="chapter5">{{cite report|url=http://pbcgov.com/DES/affordable-housing/pdf/Chapter5.pdf|title=Palm Beach County Affordable Housing Study|publisher=Palm Beach County Department of Economic Sustainability|page=5 - 3|access-date=November 24, 2021|location=West Palm Beach, Florida|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222081757/http://pbcgov.com/DES/affordable-housing/pdf/Chapter5.pdf|archive-date=December 22, 2015}}</ref> Damage to businesses, government properties, and residences combined from Wilma totaled approximately $28.3&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news|title=Adding Up Wilma's Fury: $2.9 Billion Countywide - More than 55,000 Homes, 3,600 Businesses Damaged|author1=Luis F. Perez |author2=Angel Streeter |author3=Ushma Patel |date=December 18, 2005|newspaper=Sun-Sentinel|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33187506/south-florida-sun-sentinel/|page=16A|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 24, 2021}}</ref> The William O. Lockhart Municipal Pier, constructed in 1954, suffered significant damage from the hurricanes, especially due to Frances and Jeanne, requiring $3.4&nbsp;million to be repaired.<ref name="timeline1940-2013"/> The pier is home to a [[tide gauge]] with a sporadic history, showing an above average rate of [[sea level rise]].<ref name="lakeworthSLT">{{cite web|url=https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_station.shtml?stnid=8722670 |title=Mean Sea Level Trend 8722670 Lake Worth Pier |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|accessdate=December 30, 2016}}</ref>

In 2015, the city was accused of asking for business licenses from surrounding churches. Then-City Manager Michael Bornstein described the controversy as a "dust-up" that became politicized, while the accuser, Pastor Mike Olive of Common Ground Church, later stated that the "problems are behind us now."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89469811/the-palm-beach-post/|author=Kevin D. Thompson|title=Pastor set to take over Bamboo Room club|page=B5|date=April 15, 2016|newspaper=The Palm Beach Post|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=November 24, 2021}}</ref>

A ballot initiative to change the name of the city to Lake Worth Beach in 2019, passed by a narrow margin.<ref name="thompson"/> The city stated that the name change "will be implemented slowly". One of the main reasons cited for the proposal was to distinguish the city from its suburbs to the west, which have a reputation for higher crime rates.<ref name=LW2LWB>{{Cite news|url=https://www.local10.com/news/florida/palm-beach-county/lake-worth-changes-its-name-to-lake-worth-beach|title=Lake Worth changes its name to Lake Worth Beach|author=Tom Swift|date=March 12, 2019|newspaper=Local10.com|access-date=March 13, 2019}}</ref> Another factor motivating support for the name change was that tourism could increase as the city would have an opportunity to rebrand itself as a beach town.<ref name=LW2LWB2>{{cite news|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-ne-lake-worth-beach-20190313-story.html|title='We are unique': How this city's new name, Lake Worth Beach, is making waves|author=Linda Trischitta|date=March 14, 2019|newspaper=Sun-Sentinel|accessdate=January 17, 2022}}</ref>

The city government became embroiled in another controversy that garnered national headlines in March 2020. Then-Mayor Pam Triolo and then-Lake Worth Beach Commissioner [[Omari Hardy]] became involved in a heated discussion over the potential for shutting off electrical services due to non-payment in the midst of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns]].<ref name=Omari>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/03/22/omari-hardy-video/|title=Video shows official confronting mayor over utility shut-offs amid coronavirus outbreak|date=March 22, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|author=Lori Rozsa|accessdate=November 24, 2021}}</ref> In response, the city government allowed electrical service to residents to remain uninterrupted for the next few months, with or without payment, before city commissioners unanimously voted to resume power shutoffs in July&nbsp;2020.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://cbs12.com/news/local/utility-shutoffs-to-resume-in-lake-worth-beach|title=Utility shutoffs to resume in Lake Worth Beach|author=Danielle Waugh|date=July 3, 2020|newspaper=WPEC|accessdate=November 24, 2021}}</ref>