University Colloquium Blogs 1-10: Field Trip #5-Urban Area or Local Museum-Boca Raton's Historical Society Museum

During the course of the class, you will embark on self-guided field experiences. Each field trip has specific objectives, read through them before embarking on your self-guided trip and comment on what you learned. Provide a reflection of your experience for each field trip. This entry is a personal reflection that should capture how you felt, what you enjoyed, what you may not have enjoyed, etc. What were your impressions of the downtown area and the museum? What impacted you the most during the field experience? How would you redesign the urban area and encourage more community engagement? Reflect on your experiences.

Boca Raton Town Hall Taken By: Casey Gates

The Boca Raton Historical Museum was very interesting. I have only lived in Boca Raton for five years, so it was nice to finally get a sense of where I lived. Due to my amazing Spanish, I always thought Boca Raton meant Rat’s Mouth, however, I found out that it refers to a rocky or jagged inlet. The present day Boca Raton actually used to be located near Miami Beach, what we know today as Biscayne Bay. I learned a lot about the city in which I live in, such as the first inhabitants, Tequesta Indians, and the most famous architect, Addison Mizner. There was an entire exhibit dedicated to Addison Mizner, which included artifacts from his home and a forty minute video which was showing.

The Historical museum was small and quaint, containing only one hallway with six rooms off of it. To one side of the museum there was a room which was the gift shop, the other an office for people working for the Historical Museum. Going down the hall was a time line from the 1920’s explaining about life in Boca Raton and the formation of it. It was neat to see the mayor’s office, and the library which contained older books. Addison Mizner’s artifacts were amazing to see, and surprisingly in great condition. In the front room was a picture of Boca Raton in 1920 and next to it was a picture taken at the end of 2009. It was amazing to see the farm land gone, and buildings everywhere.

I have been to downtown Boca Raton many times; it is usually the route I take to the beach. However, the museum is hidden between banks and restaurants; I never knew it was there. I found out that there are other museums in the area such as the Boca Express Train Museum. Inside the museum were little cards explaining what everything was, such as axe, or bed table, but it would have been helpful to understand the meaning behind what I was looking at. There was no one inside the museum, it was like having the whole place for me, except for the fact, the questions I had were unanswered. I think Boca Raton is designed very well and has easy access for everyone. I think it is ashamed many people do not know about this museum, or the train one. It is small, but could be a nice place for field trips and a great place for visitors to see. The Historical Society is trying to get more people involved by their events, such as the Boca Bacchanal.