Clearwater, Florida


Clearwater is a city in and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa and north of St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 117,292. It is the smallest of the three principal cities in the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metropolitan area, most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay area.
Clearwater Beach is part of the city of Clearwater, but is separated from it by the Intracoastal Waterway. Cleveland Street is one of the city's historic avenues, and the city includes BayCare Ballpark and Coachman Park.
The Church of Scientology owns the majority of property in the Clearwater downtown core district.

History

Present-day Clearwater was originally the home of the Tocobaga people. Around 1835, the United States Army began construction of Fort Harrison, named after William Henry Harrison, as an outpost during the Seminole Wars. The fort was located on a bluff overlooking Clearwater Harbor, which later became part of an early 20th-century residential development called Harbor Oaks. University of South Florida archaeologists excavated the site in 1962 after Mark Wyllie discovered an underground ammunition bunker while planting a tree in his yard.
The area's population grew after the Federal Armed Occupation Act of 1842 offered to anyone who would bear arms and cultivate the land. Early settlers included the Stevens, Stevenson, Sever and McMullen families, who claimed and farmed large tracts of land. Prior to 1906, the area was known as Clear Water Harbor. The name "Clear Water" is thought to have come from a fresh water spring flowing from near where the old City Hall building was located. There were many other freshwater springs that dotted the bluff, many in the bay or harbor itself.
Originally part of Hillsborough County, the first road joining Clearwater and Tampa was built in 1849, which dramatically reduced the prior day-long commute between the cities.
During the American Civil War, Union gunboats repeatedly raided the community's supplies, as most of the able-bodied men were away fighting for the Confederate Army. The town began developing in the late nineteenth century, prompted by Peter Demens' completion of the first passenger railroad line into the city in 1888. Clearwater was incorporated in 1891, with James E. Crane becoming the first mayor. The area's popularity as a vacation destination grew after railroad magnate Henry B. Plant built a sprawling Victorian resort hotel named Belleview Biltmore just south of Clearwater in 1897.
By the early 1900s, Clearwater's population had grown to around 400, ballooning to nearly 1,000 in the winter. Clearwater's oldest existing newspaper, the Clearwater Sun, was first published on March 14, 1914. Clearwater was reincorporated, this time as a city, on May 27, 1915, and was designated the county seat for Pinellas County, which broke from Hillsborough County in 1912. In 1915, a bridge was built across Clearwater Harbor, joining the city with Clearwater Beach to the west. Clearwater Beach, although located on a separate barrier island, belongs to the city of Clearwater and fronts the Gulf of Mexico. A new, much higher bridge now arcs over the bay, replacing the former drawbridge; the connecting road is part of State Road 60 and is called Clearwater Memorial Causeway.
During World War II, Clearwater became a major training base for US troops destined for Europe and the Pacific. Virtually every hotel in the area, including the Belleview Biltmore and the Fort Harrison Hotel, was used as a barracks for new recruits. Vehicle traffic was regularly stopped for companies of soldiers marching through downtown, and nighttime blackouts to confuse potential enemy bombers were common practice. Pre-development Sand Key was used as a target by U.S. Army Air Corps fighter-bombers for strafing and bombing practice.

Timeline

  • 1888
  • * Settlement of Clear Water Harbor founded.
  • * "Narrow-gauge railroad" begins operating.
  • 1891 – Town of Clear Water Harbor incorporated.
  • 1894 – Orange Belt Railroad begins operating.
  • 1897 – Belleview Hotel in business in nearby Belleair.
  • 1900 – Population: 343.
  • 1905 – Population: 610.
  • 1906 – Clear Water Harbor renamed "Clearwater".
  • 1911 – Clearwater Yacht Club formed.
  • 1912 – Clearwater designated seat of newly created Pinellas County.
  • 1914
  • * Clearwater Evening Sun newspaper begins publication.
  • * Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad begins operating.
  • 1915 – City of Clearwater incorporated.
  • 1916 – Public library and bridge to Clearwater Beach built.
  • 1918 – Pinellas County Courthouse built.
  • 1920 – Population: 2,427.
  • 1921 – Capitol Theatre in business.
  • 1923 – Peace Memorial Church built.
  • 1926 – Fort Harrison Hotel rebuilt.
  • 1930 – Population: 7,607.
  • 1948 – WTAN radio begins broadcasting.
  • 1950 – Population: 15,581.
  • 1953 – Palm Drive-In cinema in business.
  • 1959 – WAZE radio begins broadcasting.
  • 1970 – Population: 52,074.
  • 1972 – Marine Science Center established.
  • 1976
  • * Church of Scientology headquartered in Clearwater.
  • * Countryside Six cinema in business.
  • 1978 – May 4: Tornado occurs.
  • 1980 – Population: 85,170.
  • 1984 – Regional Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority formed.
  • 1998 – City website online.
  • 2004 – Clearwater Public Library new building opens.
  • 2005 – Clearwater Memorial Causeway opens.
  • 2010 – Population: 107,685.
  • 2012 – George Cretekos becomes mayor.
  • 2013 – Church of Scientology's Super Power Building dedicated.
  • 2017 – Charlie Crist becomes U.S. representative for Florida's 13th congressional district.
  • 2018 – The shooting of Markeis McGlockton receives national attention and triggers a debate regarding stand-your-ground laws.

    Geography

The approximate coordinate for the City of Clearwater is located at.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Downtown

Clearwater's downtown has been undergoing major redevelopment in recent years. General beautification has been done along with completion of several high-rise condos and a large marina. New bars, restaurants, and other amenities are coming to the area, renamed the "Cleveland Street District". Royalty Theatre is also slated to be renovated.

Climate

Clearwater has a humid subtropical climate. Clearwater is far enough south that it lies in the broad transition zone from subtropical to tropical climates. As such, Clearwater is mostly warm to hot year round, with few nights of frost. Most of the annual rainfall comes in the wet season, when daily thundershowers erupt due to the strong solar heating. The dry season starts in October and runs through May, at which time the weather is sunny, dry, and there is little change in daily weather.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 117,292 people, 48,211 households, and 27,233 families residing in the city.
In 2019, the city's population was spread out, with 18.7% under the age of 18, 59.4% between the age of 18 and 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older.
Between 2014 and 2018, the median income for a household in the city was $47,070, and the median income for a family was $46,228. 15.9% of the population fell below the poverty line.
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 107,685 people, 46,264 households, and 26,317 families residing in the city.

Languages

As of 2000, speakers of English as their first language were 84.43% of residents, Spanish as a mother tongue was 8.55%, Greek accounted for 1.16%, French made up 1.00% of speakers, German at 0.97%, and Italian speakers comprised 0.85% of the population.

Economy

Clearwater's economy employs nearly 50,400 people. Major employers include Morton Plant Hospital, Tech Data, and Honeywell. Employment in Clearwater grew 1.84% from 2015 to 2016 with 50,345 people in the workforce. The most common job groups include Service, Sales & Office, Science, and Business. As of 2020, the median household income for Clearwater was $50,335, which is below the average for both the United States as well as the state of Florida.

Art and culture

In 2012, the city was listed among the 10 best places to retire in the U.S. by CBS Money Watch.

Tourism

Clearwater Public Art and Design Program

The Clearwater Public Art and Design Program, adopted by City Council in 2005, is funded through a 1% allocation on all city capital improvement projects valued at more than $500,000. The program commissions an average of 2–3 new projects per year.

Capitol and Royalty Theatre

Pre-Capitol Theatre, a bandstand stood at 405 Cleveland Street in Downtown Clearwater, where the community gathered to listen to music. The names of locals serving in World War I were etched on the wall of the adjacent Clearwater Sun building; this "Panel of Honor" was obscured when the original Capitol Theatre was built but uncovered when the newspaper building was torn down in 2013.
The Capitol Theatre opened March 21, 1921. It was built by Senator-elect John Stansel Taylor. The theater's architect was Lester Avery and the contractor was John D. Phillipoff. Avery is known for his architecture in Miami. Philipoff also built the Coachman Building, the Donald Roebling Estate in Belleair, the old Pinellas County Courthouse, other historical homes which have been saved, and did work at the Belleview Hotel.
Groundbreaking was December 6, 1920. The "New Capitol Theatre" was damaged in a storm on October 26, 1921. A theatre organ was installed in 1922, to accompany silent films with music. The organ was made and installed by the Robert Morton Organ Company.
Donald Roebling was a frequent patron, having his own double seat installed at the theatre.
The theatre was managed by various movie companies and played the most recent movies of the day. The theatre also offered vaudeville on Friday nights in the 1930s. Headliners included Sally Rand, Fred Stone and his daughter, and Lum and Abner. The theatre was renovated in 1962. The Morton theatre organ was most likely removed during this renovation. When Plitt Southern did not renew their contract in 1979, Bill Neville and Jerry Strain tried to save the theatre with film classics and reduced prices. However, the theatre closed its doors on October 28, 1980.
Royalty Theater Company signed leases with the Taylor family in February 1981, when it then became known as the Royalty Theater. The building was renovated with Ron Winter of Winter Associates as the contractor and Scott Musheff as the architect.
During the renovations, Bill Neville's murdered body was found in the balcony.
The theatre remained in the Taylor family estate until it was sold in 1996. In July 2008, the building went into foreclosure.
In January 2009, the City of Clearwater and Ruth Eckerd Hall joined forces to purchase the theatre as well as the neighboring Pat Lokey building as part of a renovation and revitalization of the historic Capitol Theater. Fowler Associates Architects, Inc. was selected for the renovation of the Capitol Theatre. The $10 million renovation and expansion began in 2012 and was completed in 2013. In 2019, a $2.5 million donation renamed the building the Nancy and David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre.