Named after Palm Beach developer Paris Singer, a son of the Singer Sewing Machine magnate Isaac Singer, Singer Island has parks, marinas, hiking and bike paths, as well as 4.7 miles (7.6 km) of white sand beach[2] that has been considered one of the top five beaches in Palm Beach County.
Singer Island was originally planned by Paris Singer as a development called Palm Beach Ocean.[3] Along with Addison Mizner, Singer intended to build a luxury resort hotel called the Paris Singer Hotel on the south end of the island, and a more typical resort called the Blue Heron toward the north, with homes and a golf course in between.[4] Due to problems clearing titles, Singer's plans changed, and he decided to build only the luxury hotel on the island's south end and to call it the Blue Heron.[1] Virtually every home lot in Palm Beach Ocean was sold, and $2 million (the equivalent of approximately $28 million in 2018) was poured into the Blue Heron.[3] However, due to the abrupt end of the Florida land boom of the 1920s, not a single house was built on any of the lots, and the Blue Heron was left uncompleted.[3] Its shell was razed in 1940.[4] The Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Resort now stands in its place.
Singer Island is home to thousands of condos.[citation needed] The tallest building is the 42-story "Tiara", which was severely damaged by two hurricanes in 2004, with residents displaced from 2004 to 2008,[5][6][7][8] reportedly restored.[9]
John D. MacArthur Beach State Park, a coastal and tropical hammock and mangrove forest, this barrier island provides a haven for several rare or endangered native tropical and coastal plant species[12]
