Seaside is an unincorporated

master-planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

on the

Florida Panhandle The Florida panhandle (also known as West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long, bordered by Alabama on the west and north, Georgia (U.S. state ...

in Walton County, between Panama City Beach and Destin. One of the first communities in America designed on the principles of

New Urbanism New Urbanism is an urban design movement that promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating Walkability, walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has ...

, which promotes walkability and mixed-use developments, the town has become the topic of slide lectures in architectural schools and in housing-industry magazines, and is visited by design professionals from all over the United States. It has been featured in multiple documentaries for its urban design.

History

Beach of Seaside in Walton County in Florida Panhandle

The community was first constructed in 1981. The idea behind Seaside came in 1946, when the grandfather of future founder Robert S. Davis bought of land along the shore of Northwest Florida as a summer retreat for his family. In 1978, Davis inherited the parcel from his grandfather, and aimed to transform it into an old-fashioned beach town, with traditional wood-framed cottages of the Florida Panhandle. Davis, his wife Daryl and, the architectural partners and Driehaus Prize winners,

Andrés Duany Andrés Duany (born September 7, 1949) is an American architect, urban planner, and a founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Early life and education Duany was born in New York City but grew up in Cuba until 1960. He attended The Choat ...

and

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk (born December 20, 1950) is a professor at the University of Miami's School of Architecture and an architect and urban planner in Miami, Florida. Plater-Zyberk is considered to be a representative of the New Urbanism scho ...

of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company toured the south studying small towns as a basis for planning Seaside. The final plan was complete around 1985. The town was used as the main filming location of the 1998 film ''

The Truman Show ''The Truman Show'' is a 1998 American Psychological film, psychological comedy-drama film written and co-produced by Andrew Niccol, and directed by Peter Weir. The film depicts the story of Truman Burbank (played by Jim Carrey), a man who is un ...

''.

Location

Seaside is located along County Road 30A immediately adjacent to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. Via County Road 30A, Rosemary Beach is 8 mi (13 km) to the southeast, and Miramar Beach is 16 mi (26 km) to the northwest (via County Road 30A to US 98).

Design

Seaside is one of three planned communities on Florida's Gulf coast designed by Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. The other two are Rosemary Beach and Alys Beach. The three are examples of a style of urban planning known as

. As Seaside is privately owned, no other municipal governments had planning jurisdiction over Seaside, and therefore the developers were able to write their own zoning codes. Individual housing units in Seaside are required to be different from other buildings, with designs ranging from styles such as Victorian,

New Classical New classical macroeconomics, sometimes simply called new classical economics, is a school of thought in macroeconomics that builds its analysis entirely on a neoclassical economics, neoclassical framework. Specifically, it emphasizes the import ...

, Modern,

Postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

, and

Deconstructivism Deconstructivism is a postmodern architecture, postmodern architectural movement which appeared in the 1980s. It gives the impression of the fragmentation of the constructed building, commonly characterised by an absence of obvious harmony, ...

. Seaside includes buildings by architects such as Léon Krier, Robert A. M. Stern, (Gary Brewer, Partner in Charge), Steven Holl, Machado and Silvetti Associates, Ernesto Buch, Teofilio Victoria, Derrick Smith, Richard Gibbs and Randy Harelson, Vic Bowman, Stuart Cohen and Anders Nereim, Peter Horn, Deborah Berke, Leo Casas, Nonya Gernader and Rafael Pelli, John Massengale, Don Cooper, Carey McWhorter, Robert Lamar, Pam Bullock, Suellen Hudson, Melanie Taylor, Victoria Casasco, Gordon Burns & Associates, Thomas Christ, Walter Chatham, Daniel Solomon, Ronnie Holstead, Jeff Margaretten, Alex Gorlin,

Aldo Rossi Aldo Rossi (3 May 1931 – 4 September 1997) was an Italian architect and designer who achieved international recognition in four distinct areas: architectural theory, drawing and design and also product design. He was one of the leading propone ...

, Michael McDonough, Samuel Mockbee, David Mohney, Mabry & Porter, Ty Nunn, Steve Badanes, Walker Candler, Charles Warren, Gary Justiss, and David Coleman. Another Driehaus Prize winner, the architect Scott Merrill designed the Seaside Chapel, an interfaith chapel and local landmark, along with a number of homes. Seaside has no private front lawns, and only native plants are used in front yards.

Events

During the Annual 30A Songwriters Festival, produced by the Cultural Arts Association of Walton County, singer-songwriters from all over the U.S. perform in venues along Scenic Highway 30A and at a few venues in Seaside itself. The Seaside

Half Marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

and 5K Race is held each year in March, and attracts runners from all across the U.S. This is quickly becoming one of the region's premier running events. The 5K Run is limited to the first 800 people that register and the Half Marathon is limited to the first 2200 that register. The top three runners from each age group receive a prize, and every runner in the half marathon receives a medal upon completing the race. Participants are allowed to walk in either race. The Seaside Central Square offers a variety of events including movie nights at the Central Square Cinema. Other events include the Seeing Red Wine Festival, a dance festival, a farmers market, and holiday events such as an annual production of ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

''.

Organizations and institutions

Escape to Create

Escape to Create aims to celebrate artists and serve the community through Multi-Disciplinary Artist Residencies, Visiting Artists and Scholars, Arts and Cultural Programs, and Educational outreach.

Seaside Farmers Market

On Saturday mornings the Seaside Farmers Market offers fresh local produce, dairy products, baked goods, and native plants. Demonstrations in cooking and gardening are also held on a regular basis.

Repertory Theater

The Repertory Theater (REP) was founded in the spring of 2001, and serves more than 25,000 people every year. The plays are performed by the only professional theater company on the

Emerald Coast The Emerald Coast is an unofficial name for the coastal area in the US state of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico that stretches about through five counties—Escambia County, Florida, Escambia, Santa Rosa County, Florida, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa Co ...

, and includes everything from family shows to sophisticated adult content shows. High school students who live in the area can intern at the Seaside Repertory Theater. The program is intended to teach practical knowledge by working with the staff and get to be in charge of their own production.

SEASIDE Institute

The SEASIDE Institute is a 501c3 non-profit organization located in Seaside, Florida. The organization hosts educational programs throughout the year centered around sustainability, connectivity, and adaptability.

Seaside Neighborhood School

In 1995 a group of parents and other community members from towns in Walton County, met and discussed how they could improve education within the county. Their discussions focused on making a densely populated school with grades five to eight. In 1996 Seaside Neighborhood School was established. It was Florida's first charter school. The school initially consisted of 50 students and one classroom. In 1998, architect Richard Gibbs designed three white buildings which became the school's site. In order to maintain the small enrollment of children that attend the school, a limited number of students are accepted into each grade. If enrollment exceeds the limit, students names are drawn randomly from a lottery. After the limit has been reached, they continue to pull out names which then creates a school year waiting list. If someone withdraws from the school then the first on the waiting list will be accepted. Children of employees, Board Members, or siblings of current attendees of the school are automatically admitted. In 2013, Seaside Neighborhood School founded a collegiate high school, called Seacoast Collegiate High School. In its inaugural year, it served 80 students in grades 9 and 10. Grade 11 was added in 2014 and grade 12 was added in the fall of 2015. In August 2014, Seaside Neighborhood School also introduced a fifth grade class.

Notable residents

* Don Gaetz, Florida State Senator * Matt Gaetz, Congressman for

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

References

External links

*
Seaside Institute
{{Authority control New Urbanism communities Populated places established in 1979 Unincorporated communities in Walton County, Florida Unincorporated communities in Florida Populated coastal places in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico Planned communities in Florida Beaches of Walton County, Florida New Classical architecture in the United States Beaches of Florida 1979 establishments in Florida