Photo, Print, Drawing U.S. Coast Guard Lake Worth Inlet Station, Peanut Island, Riviera Beach, Palm Beach County, FL Photos from Survey HABS FL-390

About this Item

About this Item

Title

  • U.S. Coast Guard Lake Worth Inlet Station, Peanut Island, Riviera Beach, Palm Beach County, FL

Other Title

  • Lake Worth Inlet Lifeboat Station

Names

  • Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
  • U.S. Coast Guard, Civil Engineer's Office
  • Latham, P. Julian
  • Goethals, George Washington
  • Waesche, Russell Randolf
  • Kennedy, John Fitzgerald
  • U.S. Coast Guard
  • Divoll, Leslie, historian
  • Walker, C. J., photographer

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1933

Headings

  • -  lifeboat stations
  • -  search & rescue operations
  • -  war (World War II)
  • -  Cuban Missile Crisis
  • -  maritime
  • -  Florida--Palm Beach County--Riviera Beach

Notes

  • -  Significance: The U.S. Coast Guard Lake Worth Inlet Station is architecturally significant as an intact and typical example of the Coast Guard's many lifeboat stations built or improved in the 1930s and 1940s. It is historically significant for its role in coastal defense and rescue activities during the early months of World War II, and for its involvement in the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Station is associated with three people whose work changed our Nation: General George W. Goethals, engineer; Admiral Russell Randolf Waesche, Commandant of the Coast Guard; and President John F. Kennedy. The Lake Worth Inlet Station exemplifies the Coast Guard's new and upgraded lifeboat stations built throughout the United States from about 1931 until about 1941. The network of lifeboat stations was part of Admiral Waesche's transformation of the Coast Guard into today's modern force. The new and upgraded lifeboat stations built in that decade used some combination of plans prepared for the "Standard Dwelling," "Standard Launchway," or "Standard Boathouse." This Stations' Dwelling and Boathouse, the two buildings dating from establishment of the Station, retain their architectural integrity. The early character of the site and surroundings is intact, and the Dwelling's cupola watch house still commands panoramic views of the surrounding waterways. The Station is built on a spoil island created by General Goethals as part of his last work, the enlargement of Lake Worth Inlet and the Port of Palm Beach. Goethals achieved renown as Chief Engineer for construction of the Panama Canal and the Holland Tunnel. The Station's strategic defensive importance was realized during World War II, with beach patrols and ocean search and rescue activities launched from this station. The station is closely associated with President John F. Kennedy and the tensions of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1961 and 1962. An abandoned fallout shelter is located on a contiguous parcel of property that was part of the Lake Worth Inlet Station for ten years. The parcel was permitted to the United States of America in 1961, and reverted to the Port of Palm Beach District in May 1971. The fallout shelter, built in secrecy by the Navy Seabees, was to serve as a command center for President John F. Kennedy, should there have been a nuclear attack while he was visiting his family's nearby Palm Beach home.
  • -  Survey number: HABS FL-390
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1931-1937 Initial Construction
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1937 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1952-1957 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1961 Subsequent Work

Medium

  • Photo(s): 1
  • Data Page(s): 23
  • Photo Caption Page(s): 1

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HABS FLA,50-RIVI.V,1-

Source Collection

  • Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • fl0349

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HABS FLA,50-RIVI.V,1-
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

  • Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
    • If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
  • Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
    • If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
  • Data Pages
    • Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
    • Make note of the Call Number listed above.
    • Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
      • The entire group can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.
      • All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.
  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, Civil Engineer'S Office U.S. Coast Guard, P. Julian Latham, George Washington Goethals, Russell Randolf Waesche, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, U.S. Coast Guard, and Leslie Divoll, Walker, C. J, photographer. U.S. Coast Guard Lake Worth Inlet Station, Peanut Island, Riviera Beach, Palm Beach County, FL. Palm Beach County Florida Riviera Beach, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/fl0349/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, C., U.S. Coast Guard, C. E. O., Latham, P. J., Goethals, G. W., Waesche, R. R., Kennedy, J. F. [...] Divoll, L., Walker, C. J., photographer. (1933) U.S. Coast Guard Lake Worth Inlet Station, Peanut Island, Riviera Beach, Palm Beach County, FL. Palm Beach County Florida Riviera Beach, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/fl0349/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, et al., photographer by Walker, C. J. U.S. Coast Guard Lake Worth Inlet Station, Peanut Island, Riviera Beach, Palm Beach County, FL. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/fl0349/>.