Palm Beach’s Worth Avenue Historic Walking Tour returns on November 20

Join an award-winning local history guide and learn more about the island’s iconic shopping district on the Worth Avenue Association’s award-winning historic walking tour.

Led by Rick Rose, association historian and author of a local travel blog and Palm Beach travel guide, tours begin November 20 and are scheduled every Wednesday except Christmas and New Year’s until April 30.

During the 75-minute tour, guests will visit several locations on the avenue as Rose details the origins and history of this over 100-year-old shopping district.

The tour will cover three main themes, starting with the history of Worth Avenue and its importance as the early birthplace of famed Palm Beach architect Addison Mizner’s Early Mediterranean Revival style, Rose told the Daily News on Monday.

A second aspect added by Rose when he took over as tour director in 2011 will be the importance of the avenue as it relates to the history of luxury fashion. As a place historically surrounded by wealthy socialites and frequented by popular icons, Worth Avenue is home to many designers looking to make their mark in the world of luxury clothing, Rose said.

“People know about Worth Avenue in London and Paris,” Rose said, noting the avenue’s role as an “incubator” for up-and-coming luxury designers such as Lilly Pulitzer.

Finally, Rose will detail fun and interesting anecdotes about the people who shopped, lived and worked on Worth Avenue.

One unusual example, which Rose mentions on most tours, is Mizner’s pet monkey, Johnny Brown, whose tombstone stands in a courtyard on Via Mizner.

Rose spent three years as backup to former association historian James Pons before he took the tour.

At the beginning of this year his efforts earned him the Providencia Award from Discover the Palm Beaches, district tourism marketing agency. It was the first time the award went to an individual rather than an organization since Ponce received the award 10 years ago.

Tours begin at 10:30 a.m. at Via Amore at 256 Worth Ave. Parking options include two-hour metered parking on Worth Avenue and four-hour metered parking on Peruvian Avenue using the ParkMobile app. Both places cost $5 an hour. Guests may also park in the Apollo parking lot at 405 Hibiscus Ave.

The event is wheelchair accessible as there are no stairs for three-quarters of a mile. Those with mobility issues are advised to bring a wheelchair or electric scooter.

Tours are limited to 40 participants, but guests can add their name to a waiting list if the date has sold out.

For the first time this year, all participants will receive a small gift from the Palm Beach Historical Society, Rose said, but he declined to provide details.

The tour costs $25 per person, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Historical Society of Palm Beach County. Register online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/worth-avenue-historic-walking-tour-tickets-739526372287?aff=oddtdtcreator.

Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist in Palm Beach Daily Newspart of the USA TODAY Florida network. You can contact him at [email protected].