Doc's Update

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Doc's Update: The Delray Beach City Commission voted 3-2 on first reading this month in support of an application to rezone and add an overlay to the two properties immediately west of Doc’s All American. Such a move not only would allow for taller buildings in the Old School Square Historic District, but would threaten Doc’s with demolition since it is not listed on the city’s Historic Registe

The good news: Commissioner Ryan Boylston made it quite clear that he would not even consider the application on second and final reading until Doc’s has been listed. The ball is now in the applicant’s court and he has to balance the preservation of Doc’s with his desire to secure his overlay and rezoning request.

The Delray Beach Preservation Trust enthusiastically supports having Doc’s listed on the Historic Register.

Commissioner Boylston was joined by commissioners Adam Frankel and Shirley Johnson in supporting the privately initiated request.

Mayor Shelly Petrolia and Commissioner Juli Casale opposed, arguing that we should not diminish the character of our historic districts through rezoning or commercial overlays.

Doc’s sits in the heart of the city’s most important historic district and on the city’s most historic corner. It dates to 1951 when Dr. Paul Krall, a retired dentist, built a Dairy Queen on the site. Since he was a dentist, it came to be known as "Doc's" and the nickname stuck. When it opened, a frosty cone cost 6 cents.

 Doc’s architecture is mid-century modern and distinctive and echos shades of McDonald’s Golden Arches of the ‘50s and ‘60s. In the ‘50s, when Delray Beach still was segregated, it was the one place in town where parents, Black and white, brought their children to reward them for good grades or good behavior. Or just for a special treat. You could say Doc’s was the first integrated establishment in the city.

 Stay tuned to more updates on Doc’s fate.