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Financier-developer John D. MacArthur announces on Thursday, April 5, 1973, that he will sell all his holdings in Palm Beach County and Florida and return to Illinois. The first sale was WEAT-TV (Channel 12) in West Palm Beach to Photo Electronics…

John D. MacArthur, founder of the city of Palm Beach Gardens, seen here with his dog Zeck in the mid-1960s, was born poor, the son of a Scottish preacher in rural Pennsylvania. After dropping out of high school, he became a self-made…

MacArthur and his second wife, Catherine, pose in 1965 with their poodle, Lulu Belle. Catherine became MacArthur's business partner and helped him in his upward climb.

The city's first hotel, a six-story, 126-room Holiday Inn, opened for business in 1970 on PGA Boulevard. For a brief time, as seen in this brochure, the hotel was referred to as MacArthur's Holiday Inn, after John D. MacArthur, the city's founder.

John D. MacArthur was instrumental in obtaining a Sunshine State Parkway exit into the City of Palm Beach Gardens. He financed the interchange project, and the opening of the exit was dedicated in 1965. The parkway was renamed the Florida Turnpike in…

John D. MacArthur, founder of the City of Palm Beach Gardens, took great strides to uphold the "garden theme" and the beauty of his new community. He envisioned winding streets without sidewalks named after flowers and trees and lush native and…

In 1959, the main entrance to Palm Beach Gardens was north of Northlake and Garden (now MacArthur) Boulevards. In 1961, MacArthur transplanted a banyan tree to that site, and the tree became the city's symbol. MacArthur had heard about a resident in…

Early residents of Palm Beach Gardens, including John D. MacArthur, break ground on the PGA National Golf Course. Eventually, the name was changed from PGA to JDM, but the final name to which the site is known today is Ballen Isles.

The 2nd Annual Parade of Homes in 1962 was meant to attract many contractors to the Palm Beach Gardens area and promote John D. MacArthur's vision of a "garden city." This photograph shows one of the flyers that was passed around the community,…

Arline Kiselewski, the 1976 Woman's Club president, presented this needlepoint, handcrafted crest to the city as part of the country's bicentennial. It is currently located in the city council chambers. Every member of the club participated in…