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BOCA RATON (literally "the mouth of the rat"), twenty
miles north of Fort Lauderdale, is noteworthy mostly for its abundance
of Mediterranean Revival architecture , a style prevalent here since
the 1920s and kept alive in the downtown area by strict building
codes. New structures must incorporate arched entranceways, fake
bell towers and red-tiled roofs whenever possible, ensuring a consistent
and distinctive "look." It all goes back to Addison Mizner
, the "Aladdin of architects", who swept in to Boca Raton
on the tide of the Florida property boom and bought up 1600 acres
of farmland. Mizner's vision of gondola-filled canals, luxury hotels
and even a great cathedral never came to fruition, but the few buildings
he completed left an indelible mark. His million-dollar Cloister
Inn , for example, grew into the present $200-a-night Boca Raton
Resort and Club , 501 E Camino Real, a pink palace of marble columns,
sculptured fountains and carefully aged wood (tel 561/447-3000 or
1-888/491-BOCA; $130-250+). In its legendary confines at Mizner
Park , off US-1 between Palmetto Park Road and Glades Road, the
open-air plaza is adorned with palm trees and waterfalls. The park
is also home to the International Museum of Cartoon Art , 201 Plaza
Real (Tues-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun noon-6pm; $6; tel 561/391-2200), worth
a stop for its expensive collection of political cartoons and comic
strip exhibits. The collection has an interactive area geared toward
kids.
A mile north of Hwy-798 (which links downtown with the beach) at
1801 N Ocean Blvd/Hwy-A1A, the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center (Mon-Sat
9am-4pm, Sun noon-4pm; $2 donation) covers twenty acres inhabited
by osprey, brown pelicans and sea turtles. Night turtle-watching
tours are offered between May and July; book well in advance (tel
561/338-1473).
Boca Raton's most explorable beachside area is Spanish River Park
(daily 8am-dusk; cars $8 Mon-Fri, $10 Sat, Sun & hols, pedestrians
and cyclists free), a couple of miles north of downtown. Most of
these fifty acres of vivid vegetation and high-rise greenery are
only penetrable on trails through shady thickets.
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