Worth Avenue

Worth Avenue is four blocks of luxury retail running from the Lake Worth Lagoon to the ocean, lined with couture boutiques, art galleries, jewellery shops, and restaurants. The brands are international (Hermès, Cartier, Tiffany, Chanel), the prices are unambiguous, and the setting — low Mediterranean-style buildings with tiled roofs and bougainvillea — is genuinely attractive.

The most interesting thing about Worth Avenue is not the shops but the vias: narrow arcaded lanes that run off the main street into small courtyards, connecting to parking lots and back streets. Mizner designed them as shopping passages, but they have become quiet, shaded retreats full of small galleries, boutiques, and art studios operating at a different pace from the main street. Via Mizner, the oldest, has a small fountain and a maze of small spaces. Via Parigi and the others reward unhurried exploration. The vias are freely accessible and completely free to walk through — the best thing about Worth Avenue for a visitor on any budget.

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A story
Worth Avenue was largely the creation of architect Addison Mizner, who designed the buildings in the 1920s in his invented Mediterranean Revival style. Mizner had no formal architectural training — he had spent time in Guatemala and conceived his style from memory and imagination, mixing Spanish, Moorish, and Italian elements. The result was something new: not authentic Mediterranean architecture but a convincing, highly liveable invented tradition that became Palm Beach's defining aesthetic. The street's success helped make Mizner one of the most sought-after architects in 1920s America.

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