Boynton Beach Boulevard and Seacrest Boulevard
Location
The junction of Boynton Beach Boulevard and Seacrest Boulevard is one of the most important intersections in the city as it provides access from Interstate 95 to the downtown area and to the many municipal, cultural, and religious buildings located there.
Boynton Beach Boulevard was originally named Lake Avenue. All of the streets in the city were named until the introduction of the current street numbering system in the 1950s, which was requested by the Post Office to help with mail delivery.
Seacrest Boulevard, named Green Street until 19541, originally stretched only as far as Woolbright Road. In 19502, it was extended to Swinton Avenue in Delray Beach.
The following map shows the intersection of Boynton Beach Boulevard (Lake Avenue) and Seacrest Boulevard (Green Street) marked with a red dot and the original names of the streets in the downtown area. The only street which retains its original name is Ocean Avenue. City Hall is located on the block named “Boynton Center”.

City Hall

The current City Hall was completed in 1958 and was built without incurring any debt due to money being set aside for the new building in previous years. The building originally had an area 14,000 square feet and was planned to allow future expansion on three sides3. The photograph below shows the 1958 City Hall building viewed from Boynton Beach Boulevard. The 1958 building was significantly altered and expanded between 1987 and 1990. As the photographs show, the only recognizable remaining feature from the 1958 building is the setback in the façade.

First Baptist Church of Boynton Beach
The First Baptist Church of Boynton Beach was constituted in 1925. Records indicate that services originally took place in a church on Palmetto Avenue until 1926 when they were moved to a church on Green Street. In 1929, a new church was erected at the southeast corner of Boynton Beach Boulevard and Seacrest Boulevard where City Hall is now located. This building was a rectangular stucco and wood structure which was painted a cream color4.
The church was moved to its new location in 1947 when a new structure was built in the Neoclassical Revival style. This style, also known as Classical Revival, resulted from an adaptation of the Greek temple front.


The Post Office
Boynton’s first post office was established on April 28, 1896, with William H. Cox as the postmaster. In 1900, after Cullen Pence and Ira Butler had served as postmaster, Charles W. Pierce took over the position and put the post office in his general store6. Pierce was a significant figure in the history of the Boynton Beach Post Office.




First United Methodist Church

The church is built in the Gothic Revival style which achieved popularity in the United States between 1840 and 1870 and remained a favored style for religious and educational


- 1. Boynton Beach City Commission Minutes, December 6, 1954.
- 2. Boynton Beach City Council Minutes, November 6, 1950.
- 3. Farace V.K. et. al., Boynton Beach, The First 100 Years, Boynton Beach Historical Society & Friends of the Boynton Beach City Library, 1995, p.28.
- 4. Florida Memory image number 1301020
- 5. Simons G.W., Comprehensive Plan, Boynton Beach Florida, May, 1962
- 6. “Boynton Opens New Post Office”, The Boynton Beach News, December 1, 1949.
- 7. “From Fourth Class to First Class: Boynton Beach Post Office: 1900-1974”, The Examiner, July 25, 1974.
- 8. “Boynton Opens New Post Office”, The Boynton Beach News, December 1, 1949.
- 9. Farace V.K. et. al., Boynton Beach, The First 100 Years, Boynton Beach Historical Society & Friends of the Boynton Beach City Library, 1995, p.17.
- 10. “From Fourth Class to First Class: Boynton Beach Post Office: 1900-1974”, The Examiner, July 25, 1974.
- 11. Boynton Beach City Council Minutes, December 5, 1949.
- 12. Research Atlantica, Inc. City of Boynton Beach, Florida, Historic Sites Survey. Coral Springs: 1996, p.20.
- 13. DeVries J., Around Boynton Beach. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2006, p.89.
- 14. First United Methodist Church, A People Persevering. Boynton Beach, 1990.