MLFH

 

The Narrated Bus Tours of Historic Delray Beach are held on the 4th Saturday of each month, year-round. These tours allow people to discover historic sites through public access as part of the tour visits to historic buildings in Delray Beach, Florida ( Palm Beach County). The importance of historic preservation is evident and emphasized during the tours.

In addition to local history and the origins of Palm Beach County, the history of the State of Florida is also included in the narration during the tour with information about the arrival of Spaniards in the 1500s as well as the migration of runaway African slaves  and Creek Native American slaves who came to Florida together from the late 1600s to 1800s. The narrated local history is told as the bus travels through historic areas such as Swinton Avenue which was named for one of Delray Beach's early white settlers named David Swinton, from Saginaw , Michigan who owned a book store in Saginaw. He came to this area in 1894 on a trip with his friend named William S. Linton, a Michigan Congressman. In 1894, Mr. Linton purchased 160 acres of land and made a down payment on 640 more acres in this area and he named the town after himself and called it the Town of Linton which later was named Delray Beach. Soon after his purchase, Mr. Linton began recruiting others from Michigan who began the task of settling and laying out the town. The tour information explains more about other tidbits of facts about the people, places & lifestyles of Delray Beach in the early years. The tour also highlights the Historic West Settlers District which is the African American historic district in Delray Beach that recognizes the early African American settlers of Delray Beach who were already in Delray Beach before the white settlers arrived. African Americans lived in the area West of what is now called Swinton Avenue. Other historical facts that are featured as a part of the tour are about the Japanese settlers who were recruited to Delray Beach in the early 1900s by railroad tycoon Henry Flagler.

 

	1951 former Priscilla Hotel established by Bahamians of Delray Beach
Fees for Tour: $15 per person
The Narrated Bus Tours of Historic Delray Beach are held on the 4th Saturday of each month, year-round. The tours are now a 2-hours excursion and include visits to historic districts, historic buildings   and include information about the Seminole Native American, African American, Bahamian, German and other White European settlers to Delray Beach, FL.    The fee for the history bus tour is $15.00 per person for adults and free for children and teens under age 18 when accompanying their family (maximum 5 children free per family). Discounted rates are available for members. The tour departs at 11:00am. Please arrive by 10:45am for the 11am tour. Pre-paid advance reservations are highly recommended. For more information, visit the website address for the bus tours at http://www. DelrayBeachBusTours.org or  e-mail: tour@DelrayBeachBusTours.org or call (561) 243-2662.    Private group tours are also offered and available. Call the Museum for information about special rates for private group tours. Payment options via mail:  Check payments payable to the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History should be mailed to P.O. Box 6127; Delray Beach, FL  33482   Payment options done on-site and in-person:  At the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History located INSIDE the Boynton Beach Mall at 801 N. Congress Avenue, Suite 483, Boynton Beach, FL  (Near the Sears wing).  Do not mail payments to the Boynton Beach address.  Only on-site, in-person cash or check payments can be made at the Museum location in Boynton Beach.  On-site/in-person payments are accepted during Museum hours which are Tue-Sat.; 11am-4pm; Sun; 1-4pm. On the day of the tour the Museum opens at 10am and any available seats are sold on a first-come first-serve basis. Payment options via credit card done on the internet/on-line: All major credit cards (American Express, Visa, Master Card, Discover) are accepted with on-line payments/ticket purchases.  On-line payments must be made PRIOR to the date of your selected tour date.  On-line payments are not accepted on the same day as your tour date.  Please call in advance to verify that seats are available for your selected tour date.
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Tours for Schools/Children Groups:

The Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History offers Historic Preservation tours with mathematics and geometric shapes infused for children and school groups. The tours are available for all age groups. Please contact the Museum for more about subsidized rates for these group tours. Sponsorship opportunities are available and are much needed to help support the cost of the bus rental and the activity workbooks that are provided for the children.

In the Frog Alley district is the newly designed sidewalk/streetscape by Miami artist Gary Moore.

In year 2006, AAA Travel Mid-America Home & Away Magazine designated the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History (MLFH) Delray Beach bus tours as the Most Unique Travel Gem. Some of the other prestigious national accolades that the MLFH bus tour program has received include being selected as the Best by the Guest Informant Magazine-Gold Coast edition; the Palm Beach Post, Sun-Sentinel, the Boca News and the Delray Forum, to name a few.  The MLFH bus tours also received an A+ rating by the San Antonio Press newspaper of San Antonio, Texas in a December 24, 2007 travel column blog.  The Narrated Bus Tours of Historic Delray Beach was voted for a second time, as the 2008 Best Tour of The Town by Gulfstream Media Group who are publishers of Boca Life Magazine, The Palm Beacher Magazine and Gold Coast Magazine.  The first recognition from the Gulfstream Media Group for the MLFH bus tours as being the Best was in year 2006.

  

Access Accommodations for Wheelchair Access& hearing Impaired

 

If you require wheelchair access for the bus/or sign-language interpreter for the hearing impaired, a minimum 2 months notice is required so that a wheelchair access bus can be reserved and/or a sign-language interpreter scheduled. No additional fees are charged for this service.
Year 2011 Narrated Bus Tours of Historic Delray Beach, Florida
Fourth Saturday Dates (please arrive no later than 10:45am) Saturday, January 22, 2011 at 11am Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 11am Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 11am Saturday, April 23, 2011 at 11am Saturday, May 28, 2011 at 11am Saturday, June 25, 2011 at 11am Saturday, July 23, 2011 at 11am Saturday, August 27, 2011 at 11am Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 11am Saturday, October 22, 2011 at 11am Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 11am Saturday, December 17, 2011 at 11am (3rd Saturday due to Christmas Eve being on the 4th Saturday in December)	1896 Historic Delray Beach Train Depot Built by railroad tycoon Henry Flagler in Delray Beach
Narrated Bus Tours of Historic Delray Beach, Florida
	1920 Villa Abrigo on Historic Bankers Row in Delray Beach
Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 6127, Delray Beach, FL  33482 Phone: 561-243-2662  / Fax: 561-243-9916 www.DelrayBeachBusTours.org