Editing Palm Beach, Florida (section)

=== 1940–1960 ===
[[File:The old Biltmore on Palm Beach, Lake Worth , West Palm Beach, Florida - panoramio (1).jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The Biltmore Hotel (now the Palm Beach Biltmore Condominiums), converted into a U.S. Naval Special Hospital and [[SPARS]] training school during [[World War II]]]]
Palm Beach's population grew from 1,707 in 1930 to 3,747 in 1940, a 119.5% increase. The Royal Poinciana Hotel, damaged heavily in the 1928 hurricane, also suffered greatly during the [[Great Depression]], and was demolished in 1935. Around 4,000&nbsp;people purchased the salvageable remains of the hotel. ''The Palm Beach-Post Times'' estimated some 500&nbsp;homes could be built from the scraps of the hotel.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49494078/the-palm-beach-post/ |title=Profiting from failure |first=Julie |last=Waresh |date=May 30, 1999 |newspaper=The Palm Beach Post |page=1F |access-date=April 24, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806071002/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49494078/the-palm-beach-post/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Residents of Palm Beach established the [[Society of the Four Arts]] on January&nbsp;14, 1936, with Hugh Dillman as the first president.<ref name="timeline3">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49495407/palm-beach-daily-news/ |title=Timeline |page=B7 |newspaper=Palm Beach Daily News |date=February 9, 1997 |access-date=June 5, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=June 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606033000/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49495407/palm-beach-daily-news/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The 1930s decade also saw the construction of the Flagler Memorial Bridge, the northernmost bridge linking Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, completed on July&nbsp;1, 1938.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88611550/the-palm-beach-post/ |title=This week in history: Flagler Memorial Bridge opens |date=June 27, 2011 |page=1B |newspaper=The Palm Beach Post |access-date=November 9, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=November 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109085946/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88611550/the-palm-beach-post/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Palm Beach mayor James M. Owens acted as master of ceremonies for the bridge's opening, while then–U.S. senator [[Charles O. Andrews]] and former U.S. senator [[Scott Loftin]] gave speeches during the event.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49347370/the-palm-beach-post/ |title=Flagler Bridge Dedication Program Will Open Formally Memorial Span To Traffic |date=July 1, 1938 |newspaper=The Palm Beach Post |page=1 |access-date=May 13, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806115535/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49347370/the-palm-beach-post/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Early in [[World War II]], the [[United States Army]] established a Ranger camp at the northern tip of the island, which could accommodate 200&nbsp;men.<ref name="USM in PB">{{cite web |url=http://www.pbchistoryonline.org/page/us-military-in-palm-beach |title=U.S. Military in Palm Beach |publisher=Historical Society of Palm Beach |access-date=October 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405165658/https://www.pbchistoryonline.org/page/us-military-in-palm-beach |archive-date=April 5, 2023 }}</ref> The Palm Beach Civilian Defense Council ordered blackouts in Palm Beach beginning on April&nbsp;11, 1942.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pbchistoryonline.org/page/local-response-blackout-restrictions |title=Local Response: Blackout Restrictions |publisher=Historical Society of Palm Beach County |access-date=October 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405094803/https://www.pbchistoryonline.org/page/local-response-blackout-restrictions |archive-date=April 5, 2023 }}</ref> Throughout the war, German U-boats sank 24 ships off Florida, with eight capsized off Palm Beach County between February and May 1942.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pbchistoryonline.org/page/the-enemy-presence-german-u-boats |title=The Enemy Presence: German U-Boats |publisher=Historical Society of Palm Beach County |access-date=October 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405221010/https://www.pbchistoryonline.org/page/the-enemy-presence-german-u-boats |archive-date=April 5, 2023 }}</ref> The Army converted The Breakers into the Ream General Army Hospital, while the [[United States Navy|Navy]] converted the Palm Beach Biltmore Hotel into a U.S. Naval Special Hospital. The Biltmore Hotel would also become a training school for [[SPARS]], the [[United States Coast Guard]] Women's Reserve.<ref name="USM in PB"/>

On September&nbsp;15, 1950, the Southern Boulevard Bridge opened,<ref name="timeline3" /> the third and southernmost bridge linking Palm Beach and West Palm Beach.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88611562/the-palm-beach-post/ |title=Flagler Bridge: Sunday's breakdown caused by loose bolt |date=August 7, 2018 |first=Joe |last=Capozzi |newspaper=The Palm Beach Post |access-date=November 9, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=November 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109085946/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88611562/the-palm-beach-post/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Palm Beach residents elected Claude Dimick Reese (son of former mayor T.T. Reese and grandson of Dimick) as mayor in 1953. He became the only native-born mayor of Palm Beach in its history. In the 1950s, the town's population grew around 56%, from 3,866 in 1950 to 6,055 in 1960.<ref name="timeline3" />