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Vero Beach, Florida

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Vero Beach, Florida
City
Location in Indian River County and the state of Florida
Location in Indian River County and the state of Florida
Country United States
State Florida
CountyIndian River
Settledc. 1847
Incorporated (Vero)1919
Incorporated (Vero Beach)1925
Government
 • TypeCommission-Manager
 • MayorThomas P. White 
 • City ManagerJames M. Gabbard 
Area
[1]
 • City12.93 sq mi (33.5 km2)
 • Land11.07 sq mi (28.7 km2)
 • Water1.85 sq mi (4.8 km2)  14.31%
Elevation
13 ft (4 m)
Population
 (1 July 2006)[2]
 • City16,939
 • Metro
130,100
 Census Bureau estimate
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
32960, 32961, 32962, 32963, 32964, 32965, 32966, 32967, 32968, 32969
Area code772
FIPS code12-74150Template:GR
GNIS feature ID0292760Template:GR
Websitehttp://www.covb.org
Vero Beach had been the Spring training home of the Los Angeles Dodgers since 1948. The Dodgers left Vero Beach in 2008 for Glendale, AZ.

Vero Beach is a city in Indian River County, Florida, USA. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 estimates, the city had a population of 16,939.[2] It is the county seat of Indian River CountyTemplate:GR. Vero Beach is a Principal City of the Sebastian–Vero Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is home to 130,100 people.[3]

Vero Beach may be best known as the location of Dodgertown, where the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team held their spring training camp from 1948 until 2008 when it moved to a new facility in Glendale, Arizona. The stadium was also the home to the minor league Vero Beach Devil Rays; however, in August 2008 the franchise was sold to the Ripken Baseball Group and will not return to Vero Beach for the 2009 season.

Piper Aircraft Inc. builds aircraft here. Major industries include citrus fruit packing and tourism.

Geography and Climate

Vero Beach is located at 27°38′31″N 80°23′28″W / 27.64194°N 80.39111°W / 27.64194; -80.39111Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (27.641817, -80.391105)Template:GR. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.93 square miles (33.5 km2). 11.07 square miles (28.7 km2) of it is land and 1.85 square miles (4.8 km2) of it (14.31%) is water.

The city is divided by the Indian River Lagoon into the mainland on one side and Orchid Island, the oceanfront barrier island on the other. The island's population consists of wealthy vacation dwellers and well-to-do year-round residents. Restrictive zoning has allowed the island to repel attempts to develop high-rise hotels and large commercial centers, so it maintains a quiet, residential atmosphere.

According to the World Almanac and Book of Facts, Vero Beach is at the eastern end of a demarcation line that separates Florida's climate into two zones, to the north of the town has a humid subtropical climate and a tropical climate to the south. From Vero Beach, this line stretches straight across the state, with Bradenton, FL on the western end of the demarcation line.[citation needed]

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Rec High °F 88 89 93 94 99 99 99 98 98 94 92 87
Norm High °F 73.3 74.1 77.6 81.4 85.2 89 90.4 90.2 88.7 84.3 79.1 74.7
Norm Low °F 52.7 53.6 57.8 61.6 67.2 71.8 73 72.9 72.7 68.5 61.9 54.7
Rec Low °F 21 28 32 42 47 57 67 64 64 46 38 23
Precip (in) 2.89 2.45 4.2 2.88 3.8 6.03 6.53 6.04 6.84 5.04 3.04 2.19
Source: USTravelWeather.com [1]

Hurricane Frances

Hurricane Frances was the sixth named storm, the fourth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. The system crossing the open Atlantic during mid to late August, moving to the north of the Lesser Antilles while strengthening. Its outer bands affected Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands while passing north of the Caribbean sea. The storm's maximum sustained wind speeds peaked at 145 miles per hour (233 km/h), achieving Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. As the system slowed down its forward motion, the eye passed over San Salvador Island and very close to Cat Island in the Bahamas. Frances was the first hurricane to impact the entrie Bahamian archipelago since 1866, and led to the nearly complete destruction of their agricultural economy.

Frances then passed over the central sections of the state of Florida in the U.S. only three weeks after Hurricane Charley, causing significant damage to the state's citrus crop, closing schools and canceling a football game. The storm then moved briefly offshore Florida into the northeast Gulf of Mexico and made a second U.S. landfall at the Florida Panhandle before accelerating northeast through the eastern United States near the Appalachians into Atlantic Canada while weakening. A significant tornado outbreak accompanied the storm across the eastern United States, nearly equaling the outbreak from Hurricane Beulah. Very heavy rains fell in association with this slow moving and relatively large hurricane, which led to floods in Florida and North Carolina. A total of 49 lives were lost from the cyclone. Damages totaled US$12 billion (2004 dollars).

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 17,705 people, 8,516 households, and 4,777 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,598.9/mi² (617.5/km²). There were 10,286 housing units at an average density of 928.9/mi² (358.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.73% White, 3.42% African American, 0.20% Native American, 1.24% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.40% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.79% of the population.

There were 8,516 households out of which 17.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.9% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.02 and the average family size was 2.59.

In the city the population was spread out with 16.0% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 29.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,427, and the median income for a family was $50,260. Males had a median income of $31,217 versus $24,022 for females. The per capita income for the city was $30,940. About 6.4% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

Vero Beach is home to more retired Fortune 500 CEO's than any other location in the world and has the fourth highest concentration of wealthy households in the country.[4] Most of these residents live on the exclusive barrier island that is divided from the mainland by the Indian River.

Transportation

Vero Beach Municipal Airport is located one mile northwest of the one central business district.

John F. Kennedy Jr. received his flight certification at Vero Beach Municipal Airport and spent much of his leisure time in the oceanside resort town.[5]

Industry

Vero Beach is home to general aviation manufacturer Piper Aircraft [2], which is the largest private employer in Indian River County. Aside from Piper, the bulk of commercial activity in Vero Beach centers around tourism, particularly in the high season months of December through April; the citrus industry (Vero Beach is well-known for Indian River Grapefruit); and professional and service activities, particularly those catering the area's large senior citizen population.

Rail

The Florida East Coast Railway's mainline bisects Vero Beach. The old passenger depot was relocated next to the trackage to its current location, though there is no regularly scheduled passenger service to Vero Beach at present, but serves as a museum. FEC serves a local lumber/building materials customer in Vero Beach itself that receives boxcars and flatcars, and a sand/aggregate customer just to the north of Vero that receives hopper cars, including FEC's signature Ortner aggregate hoppers. These are visible to railfans when they travel on the roadway that parallels the FEC right-of-way. Most FEC trains, and NS run-throughs with trackage rights, pass through Vero under cover of darkness. FEC is fully-CTC, and extremely well-maintained. Indeed, employment with FEC is one of the most coveted railroad industry jobs in the South-east United States. Just to the north of Vero, in the vicinity of the sand/aggregate customer, the now-disconnected spurs that once served citrus-packing companies in the area can be seen. These companies now ship their product by truck. It is unknown, at present, if FEC intends to try to recapture this business by reconnecting the various spurs and offering regular local service that can move the product to market faster.[citation needed]

Points of interest

Restaurants

Costa d' Este: Vero Beach FL Resorts Hotels Spas Ocean Drive Vero Beach, FL 32963 (772) 562-9919

“Oriente”. Designed to be a destination dining and entertainment experience, “Oriente” specializes in Cuban cuisine, with the influence of Spanish, Latin, and Creole traditions as interpreted by the Oriente region of Cuba. Owned by famous Gloria and Emilio Estefan.

Ocean Grill 1050 Beachland Blvd, Vero Beach - (772) 231-5409 Seafood log lounge built on the beach, you can watch the space shuttle launch.

River side café theatre 1 Beachland Blvd Vero Beach, FL 32960 (772) 234-5550...big night life area. Seafoods , salads, burgers, deserts.

The patio (772) 569-3751 1103 21st St Vero Beach, FL 32960-5319 (772) 563-2844By Sam Wolfe

Jack Baker's Lobster Shanty. 1 Royal Palm Pt Vero Beach, FL 32960-5237 (772) 562-1941

Beaches

Vero Beach is known for its outstanding beaches. Part of Florida's Treasure Coast, the beaches combine excellent sand quality with significant surf and tidal action. Vero's main public beach is known as South Beach, accessible at the eastern end of Causeway Boulevard, State Road 656. It is a very large, guarded beach that is great for sports. There are two volleyball courts and plenty of space to play other sports. There are two pavillions with barbeques and a bathroom with vending machines. Another public beach is Humiston Park, in Vero's Central Beach Business District. Humiston is a guarded beach that is perfect for families with small children. They have a big playground for the kids to play on and boardwalks for parents to roam. Jaycee Beach Park is guarded and has an adjacent boardwalk extending southward approximately 2/3 of a mile along Ocean Drive. It has about 15 pavillions all with barbeques. It has a small playground for kids and a long boardwalk that is perfect for exercise. Vero Beach also has numerous other public access trails and walkways permitting beach access. There are two beaches that are great for both surfing and skim boarding. They are Conn Beach, located just south of Jaycee Beach, and Mulligan's that is located at the intersection of Ocean Drive and Barber Street.

Water Recreation in the Indian River Lagoon

The Indian River Lagoon, passing through Vero Beach, forms a significant portion of the Intracoastal Waterway, and is a hub for boating, fishing, water skiing, and other small-craft waterborne activities. Sheltered from the open ocean, the Indian River area of Vero has a number of public and private marinas and boat launch facilities.


Golf

Vero Beach is home to some of Florida's most exclusive private clubs. They include The Moorings, Red Stick, John's Island West, Bent Pine, Hawk's Nest, Windsor, Vero Beach Country Club, Grand Harbor, Quail Valley and others. [citation needed]

National Register of Historic Places

Vero Railroad Station
McKee Jungle Gardens

Historic Events

1891 - Henry T. Gifford applied to build a post office in the area. He began to call the area Vero.

1893 - Henry Flagler’s Florida’s East Coast Railroad began operation through Indian River County, allowing fishermen and small fruit and vegetable growers to ship their products in the north.

1903 - After Henry Flagler opened access to south Florida with his railway, the small community of Vero built their first railway station.

1911 - Herman Zeuch, born in Iowa in 1867, began to buy 48,000 acres of land for growing citrus after twelve trips to Florida and three years of planning. After this purchase, Zeuch began draining the land for development.

1912 - Zeuch formed the Indian River Farms Co. and hired a civil engineer from Iowa, William H. Kimball to continue the draining the land. Zeuch and his assistant, Col. R. D. Carter laid out a town site and built the town of Vero over the next few years. The two later unofficially changed the name to Vero Beach. They named the streets after Native Americans.

1919 - Vero became chartered as an official town and built the first bridge that connected the mainland to the barrier islands. Also during this year, the first newspaper, the Vero Press, was birthed.

1925 - Until this time Vero was part of St. Lucie County. A local group of Vero Beach citizens desired to form a new county seperate of St. Lucie County. In May, Indian River County was formed, and Vero Beach became the county seat. Vero’s name was officially changed to "Vero Beach" in 1925. In October of this year, The Dixie Highway was officially open for traffic. This new highway ran from the Canadian border at the northern tip of Michigan to Tallahassee and Jacksonville, and proceeded south along the east coast through Vero Beach to Miami. Gifford and Hughes built the section of this highway between Sebastian and Fort Pierce. In December, the "Vero Beach Journal" newspaper began publication.

1926 - A large Electrical Power Plant was built on the south side of 19th Pl., between 12th Ct. and the railroad tracks.

1927 - The Vero Beach Journal purchased the Vero Press, becoming the Vero Beach Press Journal, produced by the Schumann family.

1942 - During WWII, the U.S. Navy purchased 1,500 acres surrounding the Vero Beach Municipal Airport as the site for a Naval Air Station. The base was formally commissioned before year's end.

1948 - Major league baseball came to Vero Beach when local buisnessman, Bud Holman, invited the Brooklyn Dodgers' to take over an unused Naval air station following WW II. The Dodgers fancied the area, thus Dodgertown was born as their winter training grounds.

1957 - Piper Aircraft began research an development in Vero Beach which was built on part of the grounds of the former naval air station.

1961 - Piper moved its administrative and manufacturing operations here after completing building additions.

1967 - Piper expanded its facility to eleven acres and its work force to over 2,000 employees.

1965 – In February, the A1A bridge over the Sebastian Inlet was opened connecting the barrier islands.

Recent Years – There have been increasing cultural opportunities in Vero Beach. The Vero Beach Theatre Guild started in 1958. The Vero Beach Concert Association began presenting concerts in 1966. Riverside Theatre opened in 1974, and the Center for the Arts in 1986.

Notable Residents

Riverside Theatre

Built in 1973 on a 54-acre tract of land desingnated by the city of Vero Beach as a cultural, Riverside Theatre was erected with $1.5 million raised soley from private donations. In its first few years of existence, the Riverside Theatre served primarily as the home to the Vero Beach Theatre Guild, the local community group, and occasional bus & truck tours. In 1980, the Riverside Children Theatre added eduacation and programming for children to these activities, though it wasn't until 1985, with the hiring of a full-time education director that classes and productions starring local children truly began. In 1983. the Friends of Riverside Theatre, a fundraising group, started the Celebrity Series with an appearance by Ray Charles, and this series, and appearances by celebrities, became an intergal part of the Theatre's progamming.

As Riverside grew, so did its facilites. In 1986, a rehearsal hall was added to the west of the Theatre proper. In 1991, the Agnes Wahstrom Youth Playhouse became the home of Riverside Children's Theatre and additionalfunds helped break groud for a scene shop adjacent to the northeast corner of the main Theatre building. In 1998, the Anne Morton Theatre, Riverside'second stage opened. Built primarily as the home RCT productions. the AMT also serves as the site for Riverside 2, the Acting Company's second stage series, and the Actors' Cabaret. In 1999, still more construction renovated the backstage areas and original dressing rooms and moved all the administrative offices out the Theatre and into the Leonhardt Administration Wing.

All these additions pale however in comparison with what's to come. In 1999, a Long Range Facilites Planning Committee surveyed staff, patrons and the Board as the Theatre's long term facility needs. This survey found that renovation of the audience chamber and the addition of a lobby were the primary concerns of the Riverside faithful. In the summer of 1999, architects were hired to address these concerns. Feasibility studies, three different schematic designs, and fundraising ensued.

Finally on September 1 of 2005, a Building Permit for the all new Riverside Theatre was granted. The new Riverside Theatre opened on schedule in March, 2007, to carry Riverside Theatre to even greater heights, with a permanent home for the Second Stage, a renovated lobby and mainstage audience chamber.

High Schools

public · 9-12 · 422 students 1707 16th St Vero Beach, FL 32960 (772) 564-4620 District: Indian River County Public Schools

  • Indian River Charter High School Established in 1998.

charter · 9-12 · 975 students 6055 College Lane Vero Beach, FL 32966 (772) 567-6600 District: Indian River County Public Schools

  • St. Edward's School

private · PK-12 · 876 students 1895 Saint Edwards Dr Vero Beach, FL 32963 (772) 231-4136]]

  • Alternative Center for Education

public · 5-12 · 32 students 4680 28th Court Vero Beach, FL 32967 (772) 564-6240 District: Indian River County Public Schools

  • Anderson Academy

private · 8-12 · 31 students 801 154th Ave Vero Beach, FL 32966 (772) 978-4164

  • Masters Academy

private · PK-10 · 291 students 1105 58th Ave Vero Beach, FL 32966 (772) 794-4655

  • Tabernacle Baptist Christian School

private · K-12 · 46 students 51 Old Dixie Hwy Vero Beach, FL 32962 (772) 562-0723

Colleges

  • Indian River State College – Mueller Campus

6155 College Lane Vero Beach, FL 772-569-0333 http://www.irsc.edu/

  • Florida Institute of Technology(772) 231-9161
  • University of Florida(772) 778-7200

Retirement

Vero Beach is a retirement hot spot. It was rated three times as a top ten city. Vero Beach Florida is apart of Florida’s “Treasure Coast”. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean, so the water is warmed by the Gulf streams. Vero Beach has an average of 74 degree weather. This a major reason as to why Vero Beach retirement can be so relaxing and beneficial.

Retirement Benefits

  • 23 miles of beach
  • No state income tax
  • State sales tax rate of only six percent
  • Relatively low property taxes
  • Anticipated housing rate of return of 64 percent within the next five years
  • State-of-the-art medical facility
  • Variety of helpful senior services
  • recreation: surfing, hiking, swimming, fishing, boating, kayaking, golfing,etc.

Retirement Housing

The median home price of a single-family home in 2006 was approximately $235,000.

There are also many retirement communities with a host of amenities, including:

The Isles of Vero Beach, one of many communities, combines the advantages of an independent lifestyle with congregate living. A minimum monthly price of $2,225 includes main meal and snacks, entertainment, pools, services, activities, accessible medical assistance, and home options ranging from private rooms to two-bedroom apartments.

The ACTS Retirement Life Community maintains two properties in Vero Beach. Occupants pay an entrance fee to cover access to medical services plus a monthly housing fee, based on the type of unit and number of occupants. Units vary from studio apartments to three-bedroom, two bath condos. Main meals, snacks, pools, services, entertainment, and other amenities are just a few of the options

Vero Man

Vero Beach was the site of a major archaeological discovery in 1915. Starting in 1913 vertebrate fossils were uncovered during the construction of a drainage canal from the Indian River westward, between Vero Beach and Gifford. Samples of the fossils were sent by Isaac M. Weills and Frank Ayers to the state geologist of Florida, Dr. E. H. Sellards, who recognized the finds as Pleistocene animals and asked the two men to watch out for human remains. In 1915 fossilized human bones from at least five individuals were found in the banks of the canal. One skeleton, consisting of 44 bones, became known as 'Vero Man'. As some of the human fossils and stone tool artifacts (including a incised Proboscidean tusk) appeared to be associated with the fossils of Pleistocene animals, the find created an international controversy over whether it provided the first evidence that human beings had inhabited the 'new world' prior to the end of the Wisconsin glaciation (c. 10,000 BCE). Half of the experts who examined the material concluded that humans coexisted with Pleistocene animals at the Vero site, and the other half concluded that any human remains or artifacts associated with Pleistocene fossils had been intruded from more recent deposits by intentional burial or by natural processes. Because the dates to which Pleistocene animals survived and the development of material cultures (tool styles) in North America were poorly understood at time, because there was no way to date archaeological finds at the time other than by comparison with similar finds from a known sequence, and because the idea that humans had been in America before Pleistocene animals had died out was considered very unlikely, the skeptics won out. Over the next thirty years, the remains were shuffled back and forth between the Smithsonian Institution and the Florida State Museum of History in Tallahassee. Experts could never reach an agreement and the remains were eventually lost just prior to the invention of Carbon-14 dating in 1947. Interest in Vero Man gradually waned, though more recently there was some renewed interest in finding the remains.[10][11] In 2009 scientists announced that a carving of a mammoth or mastodon on a piece of ivory found north of Vero Beach (the general area in which Vero Man was found) dated to 12,000 to 14,000 years ago, establishing that humans did live in the area contemporaneous with Pleistocene animals.[12] Similar human remains, Pleistocene animals and Paleo-Indian artefacts were found in Melbourne, 30 miles to the north of Vero Beach, and similar Paleo-Indian artefacts were found at Helen Blazes, ten miles to the southwest of Melbourne.

Fun Facts

-Waldo Sexton is a pioneer of Vero Beach and developer of the local landmark, The Driftwood Inn.

-Vero Beach was the spring training home for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1948-2008

-Vero Beach is home to the nation’s first wildlife Refuge, Pelican Island (1903).

-Vero Beach is well-known for its famous Indian River citrus.

-The Indian River Lagoon divides the city of Vero Beach.

-Frank Ayers is known as the “Vero Man”.

-Carl Hiassen, famous novelist and author of the book, Strip Tease, lives in Vero Beach.

-The Vero Beach Hotel & Spa's décor is inspired by the West Indies.

- The Vero Beach Hotel & Spa is situated on the Atlantic Ocean.

References

  1. ^ "Florida by Place. Population, Housing, Area, and Density: 2000". Retrieved 2007-10-14. {{cite web}}: Text "publisher-US Census Bureau" ignored (help)
  2. ^ a b "Annual Estimates of the population for the Incorporated Places of Florida" (XLS). US Census Bureau. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  3. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006" (XLS). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  4. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMP574cRf5o
  5. ^ a b http://books.google.com/books?id=KqNU8dwWlhQC&pg=PA487&lpg=PA487&dq=%22Pete+Peterson%22+%22Vero+Beach%22&source=bl&ots=s7E17whGCX&sig=9cIdt2SvvmTuQRdG8Oz_uPcvp-g&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result
  6. ^ http://www.newshounds.us/2005/08/30/fred_barnes_to_katrina_victims_drop_dead.php
  7. ^ http://www.sorensenrealestate.com/idx_site/vero_beach.html
  8. ^ a b http://www.answers.com/topic/vero-beach-florida
  9. ^ http://www.americanwaymag.com/tabid/2855/tabidext/4229/default.aspx
  10. ^ Vero Beach Magazine "How Vero Man was lost - and found again" September/October 1998.
  11. ^ Purdy, Barbara A. (2008). Florida's People During the Last Ice Age. University Press of Florida. Pp. 13-23, 36-43
  12. ^ University of Florida: Epic carving on fossil bone found in Vero Beach
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