Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

, United States. The population was 11,539 at the 2018 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The first non-native settlement in the area was by a family of freed slaves following the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

. In 1888, a group of men from

Cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

bought the entire tract of land, which went undeveloped until it was bought out in 1923 by a member of the group—Gus Edwards, Cocoa's city attorney. At that time, Edwards' total holdings included approximately . He stopped practicing law to devote all his efforts to developing the area.City History
City of Cocoa Beach - Official Site. Retrieved on June 26, 2009.
City of Cocoa Beach - Official Site. Retrieved on June 26, 2009. Prior to incorporation, the area was known as Oceanus. The Town of Cocoa Beach was established on June 5, 1925. Cocoa Beach's first official meeting was held at the Cocoa Beach Casino on July 27, 1925, and adopted the City Seal.Meeting Minutes for July 27, 1925
City of Cocoa Beach - Official Site. Retrieved on June 26, 2009. Gus C. Edwards was elected as mayor and served as a commissioner along with J.A. Haisten, and R.Z. Grabel. A little less than a month later, plans for a pier became official. In 1935, the FDOT opened up what is now State Road A1A as a one-lane dirt road to

Eau Gallie Eau Gallie () is a section of the city of Melbourne, Florida, located on the city's northern side. It was an independent city in Brevard County from 1860 until 1969. That year residents of Eau Gallie and Melbourne voted to merge their governmen ...

. In 1938, a Deputy Marshal was appointed "to act in emergencies at night or at other times" for $.25/hour. By 1939, the town had 49 residents. In 1940, the town requested that State Road 140 (now A1A) be routed on Orlando Avenue instead of Atlantic Avenue. In 1942, the town prepared to receive men assigned to the newly opened Naval Air Station Banana River. Establishing regular garbage collection was discussed when the town discovered that the Air Station was having theirs collected. On May 1, 1942, the German submarine torpedoed the ''La Paz'' off the shore of Cocoa Beach. The crew was able to beach it with the help of tugs. Eventually it was returned to shipping. On May 3, the same

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

sank the SS ''Laertes'' near the same spot. Local boys were recruited for salvaging efforts and to rid the beach of subsequent debris. Shortly thereafter, the federal government realized the danger of back-lighting from the coast making easy targets of passing ships and ordered a blackout for the remainder of the war. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Cocoa Beach experienced money shortages to pay employees or to fix roads. In 1944, the town successfully fought a bill introduced in the Florida legislature which would have dissolved the city government. In 1947 a single police officer was hired for $1/hour. The same year, the city constructed works for the distribution of potable water. In 1950, a volunteer fire department was created which used a second-hand vehicle. In 1950, a proposal to prevent people from driving on the beach was defeated. In 1951, the city sought to place a stoplight, the city's first, at the intersection of what is now A1A and Minutemen Causeway. In 1953, the city decided to mark the names of all streets. That same year, the city planned to pave A1A south from 520 down Orlando Avenue. The city intended to bear 1/3 of the costs, the adjacent property owners, 2/3. In 1954, the Women's Club opened a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

in the building used by the Fire Department. In 1955, the speed limit in most of the town was raised to . In 1955, the city prepared to house the people who were going to be launching missiles from what is now Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. In 1956, the city attorney warned the council that blacks might attempt to use the beach. If they did, he recommended clearing the beach of all persons, both white and black. The 1954 decision, '' Brown v. Board of Education'', had, in theory at least, integrated all general public facilities. Actual

integration Integration may refer to: Biology * Multisensory integration * Path integration * Pre-integration complex, viral genetic material used to insert a viral genome into a host genome *DNA integration, by means of site-specific recombinase technolo ...

came later. The city proposed selling the town dump to the school board for a junior high school, in order to keep students from being bused to Merritt Island. On June 29, 1957, the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

of Cocoa Beach incorporated into a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...

. It sold its water system to Cocoa, Florida and contracted with them to furnish water. In September 1959, the city voted to add more sidewalks, improve the streets in residential areas as well as the main streets, and to pave more roads. In 1961, Ron-Jon opened their first store locally. In 1965, Cocoa Beach High School requested that Cocoa Avenue, the street that the school was located on, be renamed Minutemen Boulevard, in honor of the school's mascot, the Minuteman. Cocoa Beach started its major growth during the 1960s. There was a 1000% population increase from 1950 to 1960, mainly as a result of the U.S. space program.

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

's John F. Kennedy Space Center is located approximately north of town. Many people moved to Cocoa Beach due to jobs connected to the space program and in search of new opportunities. After crewed space flights, the town held parades in honor of the astronauts. After NASA's Apollo program came to an end, and before the Space Shuttle program was in full swing, the town's economy reflected the resulting layoffs. At one point, in 1975, unemployment was 14.3%. Many families lost their jobs or simply moved away. The housing market plummeted and some people unable to sell their homes simply abandoned them. Cocoa Beach was the setting for the 1960s sitcom '' I Dream of Jeannie'', although no episodes were actually filmed there, and star Barbara Eden only made two visits during the show's production—both in 1969, for publicity. Cocoa Beach High School was used as the school in the 2002 movie '' Race to Space''. In 2002, 69% of the voters capped building height to . Prior construction and later

variance In probability theory and statistics, variance is the expectation of the squared deviation of a random variable from its population mean or sample mean. Variance is a measure of dispersion, meaning it is a measure of how far a set of number ...

s, resulted in about 80 buildings between high, as of 2018. The 2010 Nebula Awards were held in the city. In 2016, the largest mansion in the city was destroyed by fire. It had been built on the beach by Al Neuharth in 1975. It contained of living space, 11 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms. It was valued at several million dollars.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy An economy is an area of th ...

, the city has a total area of . of it is land and of it (67.49%) is water. Bordering the city on the north is Cape Canaveral; on the south is Crescent Beach; on the east is the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

( of oceanfront); on the west is the Banana River. Propelled by a powerful hurricane, the ocean pushed its way through the barrier islands centuries ago and formed the Thousand Islands in the Banana River. There are a number of boating channels dredged in the area: the 0–99 Channel, the 100 Channel, the 200 Channel for houseboats, the 300 Channel, the 400 Channel near housing for private boats, the 500 Channel and the 600 Channel. Dredged material is placed on one of the Thousand Islands, but is now controlled. Many of the homes in Cocoa Beach are built on dredged mud and sand from the Banana River.

Surrounding areas

* Merritt Island *

* Cape Canaveral * Crescent Beach

Climate

Cocoa Beach's has a humid subtropical climate

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

of Cfa. This climate features hot and humid summers with frequent tropical downpours and daily thundershowers, and warm, dry, and sunny winters. The average high temperature in the warmest month (July) in Cocoa Beach is and the average high in the coolest month (January) is .

Government

Cocoa Beach is run by a Commission-Manager government, agreed to by its citizens in 1958. The City Commission acts as the legislative branch of the city government, guided by the provisions of the Charter of the City of Cocoa Beach. The City Commission enacts ordinances and resolutions that the City Manager administers as the appointed executive officer of the city government.Elected Officials
City of Cocoa Beach - Official Site. Retrieved on June 26, 2009. The city owns and runs the Cocoa Beach Country Club, a golf course on the Banana River. In 2007, the city had a taxable real estate base of $2.09 billion. In 2011, the city photographed more than 20,000 instances of vehicles running red lights by the use of automatic cameras. A total of 6,595 violations were prosecuted. In 2012, the police force consisted of 36 officers. In 2014, the city grossed $1.1 million for over 9.000 red light violations. Over 24,000 violations were captured on film. All could not be prosecuted for various reasons. The city netted over $249,000. The remainder went for licensing fees to the installing vendor; over half was remitted to the state. Cameras were sited at four locations on state road A1A, including the intersection with state road 520. Intersection crashes dropped from 88 in 2009 to 30 in 2014. The City Commission is made up of five members, one of whom is the Mayor. Historically, the commissioners were elected at-large to three-year terms but with a successful referendum on the 2010 ballot to hold elections on even-numbered years, the terms were extended to four years. Following an election, a Vice Mayor is then selected from the commission members at an organizational meeting. The Mayor presides over all meetings and performs duties as delegated by the City Commission. Seats affected by the 2010 referendum included Seat #1, Seat #4 and Seat #5. The November 6, 2012 election results were:

City Commission

*Mayor/Commissioner, Seat #1 – Robert C. Genaro jr (term expires 2022) *Commissioner, Seat #2 – Ed Martinez (term expires 2020) *Commissioner, Seat #3 – Karalyn Woulas (term expires 2020) *Commissioner, Seat #4 – Skip Williams (term expires 2018) *Vice Mayor/Commissioner, Seat #5 – Mike Miller (term expires 2018)

City Manager

The City Manager is appointed by the City Commission and is responsible for the city's day-to-day operations. The city's charter has established a separation of powers and responsibility between the Commission and the Manager; the elected commission establishes policy that the manager and staff carry out. The City Manager conducts day-to-day operations through four city departments: Administrative, Public Safety, Utilities, and Recreation. Charles Billias was the City Manager from 1998 until October 2012. Bob Majka was the City Manager from 2012 until 2015. Jim McKnight is the current city manager.

Crime Rate

In 2016, the crime index for the Cocoa Beach is 14 in 100. Where 100 is safest and 0 is most unsafe. Cocoa beach is safer than 14% of cities in the United States. The crime rate of Cocoa Beach is higher than Florida where chances of becoming a victim is 1 in 264, while in Cocoa Beach it is 1 in 183 people. Below is the chart for the crime rate of violent nature in Cocoa beach. It is important to note that this is a single year and may not represent the municipality as a whole, over a broader period of time.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 11,231 people, while estimated population as per 2017 is 11733 6,529 households, and 3,532 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 2,552.1 inhabitants per square mile (985.5 per km²). There were 8,709 housing units at an average density of 1,780.6 per square mile (687.6 per km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.64%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 0.62%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, 0.22% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 2.52% of the population. There were 6,529 households, 12.9% of which had children under the age of 18 residing; 45.5% were married couples living together; 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.9% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.7% were households of persons 65 years of age or older living alone. The average household size was 1.91 and the average family size was 2.47. The city's population was divided into the following age groups: 12.2% under the age of 18; 3.8% between 18 and 24; 22.0% between 25 and 44,; 27.6% between 45 and 64, and 34.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 54 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females aged 18 years and older, there were 96.4 males. Cocoa Beach is a retirement area, with an average age of 56.5.

Economy

Personal income

According to the census, the median income for a single household in the city was $42,372, and the median income for a family was $51,795. Males had a median income of $39,418 versus $27,113 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $28,968. About 3.7% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 9.8% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.

Tourism

Ron Jon Surf Shop (Cocoa Beach, Florida) 001 crop

Ron Jon's, a surf shop, receives 2 million visitors a year. Cocoa Beach is home to the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame. The Cocoa Beach Pier, formerly known as the Cape Canaveral Pier, was built in 1962. An annual Easter Surfing Festival began in 1964. An estimated 100,000 spectators attend annually. An air show in 2009 drew a crowd estimated at 30,000. The

Ron Jon Ron Jon Surf Shop is a surfer-style retail store chain founded in 1959 in Ship Bottom, New Jersey by Ron DiMenna. The store specializes in surfing and bodyboarding equipment, and their Cocoa Beach, Florida, store is currently the largest surf ...

Easter Surfing Festival drew 50,000 visitors in 2009, while around 10,000 visitors attend the

Surfing Santas Surfing Santas is an annual festival held in Cocoa Beach, Florida, on Christmas Eve. Participants dress up as Santa Claus and surf, while thousands of spectators watch from the beach, which hosts a costume competition and live music. Event Surf ...

festival each year at Christmas. The largest charity surfing festival, National Kidney Foundation Pro-Am Surfing Festival, has been held every

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United ...

Weekend in Cocoa Beach since 1985. In 2015 businesses in the city collected $5.6 million in tourist tax, over half the tourist tax collected in the county and more than any other municipality, $1.4 million.

Workforce

In 2007, Cocoa Beach's median labor force was 6,344. Of that group, 6,006 were employed and 338 were unemployed, for an unemployment rate of 5.3%.Cocoa Beach Community Data Sheet
Economic Development Council of Florida's Space Coast. Retrieved on June 26, 2009. The median home price in 2007 was $409,000.

Health

The disability rate for the people under age of 65 is 7.6%. The number of people who do not have insurance policies on the Cocoa beach is 20.8%.

Language

The primary language spoken in Cocoa Beach is English, with 9.8% of the population speaking languages other than English at home.

Travel time to work

Mean travel time to the work is 25.4 minutes from home to work.

Education

The city has three public schools: *Freedom 7 Elementary *Theodore Roosevelt Elementary * Cocoa Beach High School Freedom 7 Elementary school and Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr High School both are certified International Baccalaureate schools. Freedom 7 Elementary has a primary years program, and Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr High has both a middle years program and a diploma program. 96.1% of all residents 25 years or older are high school graduates. 42.3% have a

Bachelor's Degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

or higher.

Landmarks

Cocoa Beach Pier (Cocoa Beach, Florida) 002 crop

*Cocoa Beach Pier *Alan Shepard Beachfront Park *Thousand Islands Conservation Area *Cocoa Beach Aquatic Center and Pool Complex * I Dream of Jeannie Lane

Former

* Cocoa Beach Glass Bank

Infrastructure

Roads

The following roads are usually called by their numbers when spoken: * SR A1A – This is the main road through the city. From north to south, SR A1A enters Cocoa Beach from Cape Canaveral as Atlantic Avenue. After passing the downtown area and resort area, the road splits into a one-way pair of roads, southbound being named Orlando Avenue, with northbound keeping the name Atlantic Avenue. The route continues in this manner until the southbound town limits. Major intersections include SR 520, 4th Street, and Minutemen Causeway. * SR 520 – This is the main way to access the city from the mainland. It enters the city from the unincorporated community of Merritt Island, and the route terminates at SR A1A. Major intersections include the Cape Canaveral Hospital entrance, Banana River Boulevard, and SR A1A. It is estimated that there are 2.4 million

day trippers A day trip is a visit to a tourist destination or visitor attraction from a person's home, hotel, or hostel in the morning, returning to the same lodging in the evening. The day trip is a form of recreational travel and leisure to a location ...

to the city annually. While businesses appreciate the tourism, it creates a parking problem for the city. There are 1,780 paved parking spaces and 607 spaces on the streets downtown, near the beach.

Public transportation

Public transportation in Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, and surrounding Brevard County is provided by Space Coast Area Transit.

Utilities

The city contracted directly with Florida Power & Light for electricity, paying 10.689 cents per kilowatt hour in 2010.

Canals

The city has 37

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface fl ...

s, totaling , serving residential homes, plus of channels. These are maintained by the city.

Notable people

* Kim Adler, professional bowler and USBC Hall of Famer, 5th Street * Allison Anders, raised in the city. Filmed '' Things Behind the Sun'' in the county in 2001 * Emanne Beasha, singer * Willam Belli, a drag queen, actor, recording artist, and YouTuber raised in the city *

Dana Brown Dana Brown is the name of: *Dana Brown (baseball) (born 1967), baseball executive *Dana Brown (filmmaker), (born 1959), American filmmaker and surfer *Dana Rosemary Scallon (born Rosemary Brown, born 1951), Irish singer ("Dana"), turned politician ...

, iconic surfing legend, 16th Street * Cullen Douglas, television and movie actor, director, screenwriter *

James Folston James Edward Folston (born August 14, 1971) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Los Angeles/ Oakland Raiders and the Arizona Cardinals. Early years Folston attended Cocoa High Schoo ...

professional football player for the Oakland Raiders #55 * Ashlyn Harris, professional soccer player *

Jay F. Honeycutt Jay F. Honeycutt (born 7 May 1937) is an American engineer. He served as the director of NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center from 1995 to 1997. Early life and education Honeycutt was born in Jena in La Salle Parish in North Louisiana. He gradu ...

, former director of the Kennedy Space Center * Zora Neale Hurston, author * Rick Martel, former professional wrestler * Bubba McDowell, professional football player with the Houston Oilers #25 * Allen Neuharth, CEO of Gannett and columnist. Founder of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...

'' * Kelly Slater, professional surfer, 11-time World Champion * George Steele, professional wrestler a.k.a. George "The Animal" Steele *

Carrot Top Scott Thompson (born February 25, 1965), known professionally as Carrot Top, is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Early life Thompson was born in Rockledge, Florida, and grew up in Cocoa. He is the youngest son of a NASA engineer. He ...

, comedian, actor, was born in the city * Lori Wilson, Florida state legislator and lawyer *

Melissa Witek Melissa Ann Witek (born April 9, 1981) is an American actress, model, television personality, and beauty queen who competed in the Miss USA pageant and appeared on the reality television show ''Treasure Hunters''. Biography Witek was born in Ro ...

, Miss Florida USA 2005 and contestant on NBC's ''

Treasure Hunters Treasure hunter is the physical search for treasure. For example, treasure hunters try to find sunken shipwrecks and retrieve artifacts with market value. This industry is generally fueled by the market for antiquities. The practice of treasur ...

'' *

Nancy Yasecko Nancy Yasecko is a media artist and educator who grew up and is still living on the Space Coast of Florida. She graduated from Cocoa Beach High School in 1972 and received her B.A. from the University of South Florida in 1975, and her M.A. in In ...

, filmmaker and videographer

References

External links

* * {{authority control 1925 establishments in Florida Beaches of Brevard County, Florida Beaches of Florida Cities in Brevard County, Florida Cities in Florida Populated coastal places in Florida on the Atlantic Ocean Populated places established in 1925