Bradenton Beach

History

The City of Bradenton Beach was settled in 1893, Construction on a wooden bridge to the mainland began in the summer of 1921. The 1921 Tampa Bay hurricane that October destroyed 80% of the bridge that was built up to that point. Despite a majority of the bridge being destroyed, it was completed sometime in June 1922, eight months later. A two-story pavilion at the end of Bridge Street was built that same year. It had 100 lockers along with a dance hall and dining room located in the center of the building. On the second floor, the owners of the pavilion had their apartments. It would burn down after a fire and was later rebuilt. The pavilion was destroyed by fire for a second time in 1929 and was never rebuilt. The name "Bradenton Beach" began being used during the mid 1920s as the Florida land boom was occurring. Real estate developers saw this as a way to convince possible buyers that it was closer to Bradenton. Sometime in early 1926, a county bond was approved to build a wooden bridge linking Bradenton Beach to Longboat Key; the bridge was finished in August. However, the bridge was only open until October, when a hurricane damaged it. On March 6, 1932, the bridge was swept away during a high tide. It would not be replaced until 1957. The Regina, a tanker barge with over 350,000 gallons of molasses onboard and eight crew, sank 200 yards offshore on a sandbar on March 8, 1940. Regina was under tow by a tugboat, Minima and the line that was towing it had broken near Egmont Key. Both vessels had decided to try and go into Tampa Bay seeking shelter because of the weather conditions. One of the crew members, its cook and a German Shepherd onboard the ship would die during an attempt to leave the ship. All seven other crew members were rescued. A post office called…

Geography

Bradenton Beach occupies the southern part of Anna Maria Island, between the Gulf of Mexico to the west and Anna Maria Sound to the east. The city is bordered to the north by Holmes Beach and to the south, across Longboat Pass, by Longboat Key. To the east, across Anna Maria Sound, is the unincorporated community of Cortez, connected to Bradenton Beach by the Cortez Bridge. The city of Bradenton is to the east. According to the United States Census Bureau, Bradenton Beach has a total area of , of which are land and , or 56.55%, are water. --> The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild winters. According to the Köppen climate classification, the City of Bradenton Beach has a humid subtropical climate zone (Cfa).

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Fish Crow

  Corvus ossifragus A.Wilson, 1812 · Aves
  23,673
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  23,203
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,350
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  19,967
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  19,682
• Osprey

  Pandion haliaetus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  19,597
• Laughing Gull

  Leucophaeus atricilla (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  19,327
• White Ibis

  Eudocimus albus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  19,106