Cocoa Beach is a city in

Brevard County Brevard County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county seat is located in ...

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, and ...

, 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 Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

following the

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

. 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 an ...

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 A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality. Unlike a district attorney or public defender, who usually handles criminal cases, a city att ...

. 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 The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of t ...

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 Waste collection is a part of the process of waste management. It is the transfer of solid waste from the point of use and disposal to the point of treatment or landfill. Waste collection also includes the curbside collection of recyclabl ...

was discussed when the town discovered that the Air Station was having theirs collected. On May 1, 1942, the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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 Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic light ...

, 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 Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the statio ...

. 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 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 cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

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 def ...

. It sold its water system to

Cocoa, Florida Cocoa is a city in Brevard County, Florida. The population was 19,041 at the 2020 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne– Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Etymology Several stories circulate amon ...

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 Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School (formerly Cocoa Beach High School) is a public junior/senior high school that is a part of the Brevard County Public School System with students in grades seven through twelfth located in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Fou ...

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, succeedin ...

John F. Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968, ...

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 The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program n ...

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 ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually mar ...

'', 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 numbe ...

s, resulted in about 80 buildings between high, as of 2018. The 2010

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of prof ...

s 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. The Census Bureau is part 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 , image = cape canaveral.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991 , map = Florida#USA , map_width = 300 , type = Cape , map_caption = Location in Florida , location ...

; 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's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

( of oceanfront); on the west is the

Banana River The Banana River is a lagoon that lies between Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island in Brevard County, Florida in the United States. It is part of the Indian River Lagoon system, and connects at its south end to the Indian River; it is the only ...

. Propelled by a powerful hurricane, the ocean pushed its way through the barrier islands centuries ago and formed the

Thousand Islands The Thousand Islands (french: Mille-Îles) constitute a North American archipelago of 1,864 islands that straddles the Canada–US border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for abo ...

in the

. 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 *

* Crescent Beach

Climate

Cocoa Beach's has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

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 A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief exec ...

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

. 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 In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. Historically, the commissioners were elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

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 The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments. Duties and functions Many elected depu ...

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 inc ...

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: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

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 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 reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 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 Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 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 Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

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 Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

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

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 Real estate appraisal, property valuation or land valuation is the process of developing an opinion of value for real property (usually market value). Real estate transactions often require appraisals because they occur infrequently and every prop ...

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 *

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 si ...

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 *

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 that ...

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 A kilowatt-hour ( unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common b ...

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 f ...

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

Notable people

Kim Adler Kim Adler is an American Ten-pin bowling professional who was a member of the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA). The right-hander is considered one of the top female bowling players of all time, competing professionally from 1991–2 ...

, professional bowler and USBC Hall of Famer, 5th Street *

Allison Anders Allison Anders (born November 16, 1954) is an American independent film director whose films include '' Gas Food Lodging'', ''Mi Vida Loca'' and ''Grace of My Heart''. Anders has collaborated with fellow UCLA School of Theater, Film and Televis ...

, raised in the city. Filmed ''

Things Behind the Sun ''Things Behind the Sun'' is a 2001 drama film directed by Allison Anders and starring Kim Dickens and Gabriel Mann. It premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and was later aired on television by Showtime on August 18, 2001. The film is ba ...

'' in the county in 2001 *

Emanne Beasha Emanne Beasha ( ar, إيمان بيشة; born 18 September 2008) is a Circassian American classically-trained singer. She is the winner of the fifth season of the program ''Arabs Got Talent'' and finished in 9th place on fourteenth Season of ' ...

, singer * Willam Belli, a drag queen, actor, recording artist, and YouTuber raised in the city * Dana Brown, iconic surfing legend, 16th Street * Cullen Douglas, television and movie actor, director, screenwriter * James Folston professional football player for the Oakland Raiders #55 *

Ashlyn Harris Ashlyn Michelle Harris (born October 19, 1985) is a former American soccer player for Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division of women's professional soccer in the United States, and the United States wom ...

, professional soccer player * Jay F. Honeycutt, former director of the

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 196 ...

Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on hoodoo. The most popular of her four n ...

, 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, Virgini ...

'' *

Kelly Slater Robert Kelly Slater (born February 11, 1972) is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time. Slater is also ...

, 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. ...

, 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 Roc ...

, 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 treasure ...

'' * Nancy Yasecko, 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