FLORIDA
ATLANTIC BEACH
FLORIDA
The community of Atlantic Beach developed from a railway depot.
In Late 1900, when Henry M. Flagler took over the financially troubled Jacksonville and Atlantic Railway Company as part of the Florida East Coast Railway system, he extended the line to Mayport. Along the way he placed two depots. One of these was located at Atlantic Beach.
In 1901 the Florida East Coast Hotel Company, another of Henry M. Flagler's enterprises, built the Continental Hotel at Atlantic Beach. The hotel was a large wooden structure with two four - story wings extending from a six - story central rotunda. Originally the hotel could accommodate 186 guests. Its capacity was later expanded to sleep 220. The popularity of this luxury hotel influenced the growth of Atlantic Beach.
Another influence to the growth of the area was the completion of a road from south Jacksonville to Atlantic Beach. For several years the subject of a road to the beaches was brought before the Board of County Commissioners. Finally, with the advent of automobile races at Atlantic Beach in 1906, the importance of a road became obvious to many people. In May, 1908, work on the road was begun. Even before the work was finished, in December, 1908, the first automobiles traveled from South Jacksonville to the beach in a little less than two hours. In July, 1910, the highway , named Atlantic Boulevard, was formally opened with a gala parade ending in festivities at the Continental Hotel. Also in 1910, Atlantic Beach was incorporated.
In 1913 a group of northern financiers bought the Continental Hotel and changed the name to the Atlantic Beach Hotel. Financial difficulties brought the hotel to the public auction in 1917, and again came under the management of the Florida East Coast Hotel Company. The hotel, like so many of the similar wooden structures built at the beaches, burned to the ground in 1919.
In June of 1925, near the original site, a fifty - room stucco structure was built and called the Atlantic Beach Hotel. In 1929 the largest open - air swimming pool in North Florida was added to accommodate the hotel's guests. The hotel was demolished in the elate 60's and the site used for a condominium development.
Because of Atlantic Boulevard, commercial development grew rapidly on the eastern end of the highway. However, the greatest part of Atlantic Beach is a beautiful, quiet, tree-shaded community with a population in 1990 of 11,428. Many residents of Atlantic Beach work in Jacksonville and enjoy the recreational opportunities of the Beaches.
TOWN CENTER
ATLANTIC & NEPTUNE BEACH.
Where Atlantic Boulevard meets the Ocean. Stroll the
bricked lined paths of Town Center and enjoy the quaint shops, fine dining and
entertaining night life.
Click Here
Atlantic Beach Commerce http://www.atlanticbeachfla.com
