OLYMPIA
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OLYMPIA |
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NAME: Olympia COUNTY: Martin ROADS: 2WD GRID: 4 CLIMATE: warm most of the year, moderate to cold in winter BEST TIME TO VISIT: anytime |
COMMENTS:
The Olympia area is now part of Hobe Sound. The original site includes the section south of Bridge Road, east of Federal Highway. Take Bridge Road to Hercules Street and turn south. The old Picture City School is on nearby Apollo Street. The town area still has the original street names of Greek Gods and heroic mythical figures, and several original 8 foot cement light posts still line the west side of Dixie Highway. REMAINS: Olympia Picture City School, portions of original sidewalk, street signs names based on Greek mythology |
| During the land boom of the 1920’s elaborate plans were announced for the Hobe Sound area by the Olympia Improvement Corporation. Their goal was to create a town, in Greek style, where motion pictures could be produced. This group planned two subdivisions for the area. The first was designated Olympia Beach, and it included the land from the Gomez-Beach Road fork to Bridge Road and divided the parcel into lots 100 feet in width. The second was called Bon Air Beach. It included the area along what is now North Beach Road (the name proposed by Olympia Improvement was “ Royal Palm Boulevard ”). For a brief time Hobe Sound was renamed ‘Picture City’ and plans were presented for a movie picture production center. The Picture city vision for the Jupiter island and Hobe Sound area was that of an east coast Hollywood. Their plans for the mainland parcel called for a Grecian-style town named Picture City . The concept was to bring production companies and movie stars to Picture City, and encourage them to make their homes on Jupiter island in Olympia Beach and Bon Air Beach (South Island and North Island). Olympia street names bore the Greek theme with names such as Zeus, Saturn, Mercury, Mars, Olympus, and Athena. In 1924 a building constructed by the Picture City Corporation was secured for use by The Martin County Board of Public Instruction, and in October 1925, the Olympia School opened. The school was designated the “Picture City School” of Martin County. In 1926 the Florida land boom collapsed, followed two years later by a devastating hurricane in 1928. Picture City decided to abandon their development plans, and their property, interests and holdings in Hobe Sound / Jupiter Island were sold at a bankruptcy sale. The Olympia Picture City School was known for a time after as The Hobe Sound White School, then later renamed the Apollo School. It remained in use until 1962. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, and is now undergoing renovation. The ! old school, the Greek street names, and some cement light posts along Dixie Highway, are all that remain of that period in time. Submitted by: Jim Pike |
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