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Seaplane base, Seaboard station and Morrison Field marked West Palm Beach’s early transport era
Summary
Janet Naughton described an early seaplane base from about 1911, a 1926 Seaboard Airline Railway station (the Tri-Rail station building), and Morrison Field, later Palm Beach International Airport, which served as an Army Air Force base in World War II and briefly housed Palm Beach Junior College.
Janet Naughton said West Palm Beach participated early in aviation and rail transport. "As early as 1911, there was a seaplane base here," she said, noting Curtiss seaplanes gave sightseeing flights, night flights and runs to Havana. "People would come out and just watch and wonder."
On rail, Naughton said the Seaboard Airline Railway Station (now associated with Tri-Rail service in the area) dates to 1926 and was designed by architects Harvey and Clark. "The train station there is from 1926. It's the original train station," she said.
Naughton also described Morrison Field as the precursor to Palm Beach International Airport. She said the field was named for a local aviator, Grace Morrison, and was used in World War II by the Army Air Force; afterward parts of the site temporarily housed Palm Beach Junior College and student life used former barracks and facilities.
The podcast did not provide archival citations for the early flight routes or exact dates of station renovations or airport transitions.
