Daytona Beach, Florida


Daytona Beach is a coastal resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropolitan area, and is a principal city of the Fun Coast region of Florida.
Daytona Beach is historically known for its beach, where motorized vehicles are permitted on some hard-packed sand beaches. Motorsports on the beach became popular, and the Daytona Beach and Road Course hosted races for over 50 years, replaced in 1959 by Daytona International Speedway. The city is the headquarters of NASCAR.

History

At the time of European contact, the area where Daytona Beach is located was inhabited by the Freshwater people, a branch of the Timucua. The town of Nocoroco in what is now Tomoka State Park was the most important in the region. The villages of Caçaroy and Cicale were a short distance south of there. The southernmost Timucua town was Caparaca, in present-day New Smyrna Beach. There were only small hamlets between Cicale and Caparaca. Turtle Mound, south of New Smyrna Beach, was the site of the town of Surruque, belonging to the Surruque people, whose territory extended south to Cape Canaveral. Like other Indigenous peoples in Florida, the Freshwater Timucua and Surruque were nearly exterminated by contact with Europeans through war, enslavement, and disease and became extinct as racial entities through assimilation of Native Americans|assimilation] and attrition during the 18th century. The Seminole Indians, descendants of Creek Indians from Georgia and Alabama, frequented the area prior to the Second [Seminole War].
During the era of British rule of Florida between 1763 and 1783, the King's Road passed through present-day Daytona Beach. The road extended from Saint Augustine, the capital of East Florida, to Andrew Turnbull's experimental colony in New Smyrna. In 1804, Samuel Williams received a land grant of from the Spanish Crown, which had regained Florida from the British after the American Revolutionary War. This land grant encompassed the area that would become Daytona Beach. Williams built a slave labor-based plantation to grow cotton, rice, and sugar cane. His son Samuel Hill Williams abandoned the plantation during the Second Seminole War, when the Seminoles burned it to the ground.
The area now known as the Daytona Beach Historical District was once the Orange Grove Plantation, a citrus and sugarcane plantation granted to Samuel Williams in 1787. The plantation was situated on the west bank of the tidal channel known as the Halifax River, 12 miles north of Mosquito Inlet. Williams was a British loyalist from North Carolina who fled to the Bahamas with his family until the Spanish reopened Florida to non-Spanish immigration. After his death in 1810, the plantation was run by his family until it was burned down in 1835. In 1871, Mathias Day Jr. of Mansfield, Ohio, purchased the 3,200-acre tract of the former Orange Grove Plantation. He built a hotel around which the initial section of town arose. In 1872, due to financial troubles, Day lost title to his land; nonetheless, residents decided to name the city Daytona in his honor, and incorporated the town in 1876.
In 1886, the St. Johns & Halifax River Railway arrived in Daytona. The line was purchased in 1889 by Henry M. Flagler, who made it part of his Florida East Coast Railway. The separate towns of Daytona, Daytona Beach, Kingston, and Seabreeze merged as "Daytona Beach" in 1926, at the urging of civic leader J. B. Kahn and others. By the 1920s, it was dubbed "the World's Most Famous Beach".
Daytona's wide beach of smooth, compacted sand attracted automobile and motorcycle races beginning in 1902, as pioneers in the industry tested their inventions. It hosted land speed record attempts beginning in 1904, when William K. Vanderbilt set an unofficial record of. Land speed racers from Barney Oldfield to Henry Segrave to Malcolm Campbell would visit Daytona repeatedly and make the beach course famous. Record attempts, including numerous fatal endeavors such as Frank Lockhart and Lee Bible, would continue until Campbell's March 7, 1935 effort, which set the record at and marked the end of Daytona's land speed racing days.
On March 8, 1936, the first stock car race was held on the Daytona Beach Road Course, located in the present-day Town of Ponce Inlet. In 1958, William France Sr. and NASCAR created the Daytona International Speedway to replace the beach course. Automobiles are still permitted on most areas of the beach, at a maximum speed of.
Daytona Beach was severely damaged during the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season, especially by Hurricane Charley. In 2005, the city designated the several–mile radius around Main Street on the barrier island portion of the city as a blighted area and has targeted it for redevelopment by private developers. This follows the Supreme Court decision of the eminent domain case in Kelo v. City of New London, which upheld the right of municipalities to use eminent domain to take private property for redevelopment by private entities.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which are covered by water.
The city of Daytona Beach is split in two by the Halifax River lagoon, part of the Intracoastal Waterway, and sits on the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered on the north by Holly Hill and Ormond Beach and on the south by Daytona Beach Shores, South Daytona, and Port Orange.
Notable weather events that have caused damage or injury in Daytona Beach include Hurricane Donna in 1960, the 1998 Kissimmee tornado outbreak, and Hurricane Charley in 2004. In 1992, a long rogue wave with a high crest hit Daytona Beach, causing property damage and 75 reported injuries.

Climate

Daytona Beach has a humid subtropical climate, which is typical of the Gulf and South Atlantic states. As is typical of much of Florida, two seasons are seen in Daytona Beach - the warmer, wetter season and the cooler and drier season.
In summer, temperatures are relatively stable with an average of only 8 days annually with a maximum at or above ; the last reading was seen on August 2, 1999. The Bermuda High pumps hot and unstable tropical air from the Bahamas and Gulf of America, resulting in daily, but brief thundershowers. This results in the months of June through September accounting for most of the average annual rainfall of.
In winter, Daytona Beach has weather conditions typical of other cities on the Florida peninsula. On average, the coolest month is January, with a normal monthly mean temperature of. It is the only month where the average high temperature falls below. Occasional cold fronts can bring freezes, which from 1991 to 2020 were seen on an average of 3.0 nights annually; however, minima below are very rare, and were last seen on December 28, 2010. Like much of Florida, Daytona Beach often can be very dry in late winter and early spring, and brush fires and water restrictions can be an issue.
Official record temperatures range from on January 21, 1985, up to on July 15, 1981, and June 24, 1944; the record cold daily maximum is on Christmas Day 1983, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is on September 1 and 10–11, 2008, and August 25, 2020. Annual rainfall has ranged from in 2006 and 1956, up to in 1953. The most rainfall to have occurred in a calendar day was on October 10, 1924, which contributed to of rain that fell that month, the most of any calendar month.
Climate data for Daytona Beach-------------
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Average sea temperature °F 61.0
59.0
64.9
71.4
76.5
79.5
80.1
80.4
82.6
77.5
71.1
64.9
72.4
Mean daily daylight hours11.011.012.013.014.014.014.013.012.011.011.010.012.2
Average Ultraviolet index468101011111097547.9
Source #1: NOAA Coastal Water Temperature Guide-------------
Source #2: Weather Atlas-------------

Demographics

2010 and 2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, 72,647 people, 28,763 households, and 14,607 families resided in the city.
As of the 2010 United States census, 61,005 people, 25,093 households, and 12,234 families lived in the city.

2000 census

As of 2000, 18.0% had children under 18 living with them, 30.1% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.6% were not families. Of all households, 39.4% were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.77.
In 2000, 17.6% of the population was under 18, 16.6% was from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% was 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.5 males.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $25,439, and for a family was $33,514. Males had a median income of $25,705 versus $20,261 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,530. 23.6% of the population and 16.9% of families were below the poverty line. Of the total population, 34.9% of those under 18 and 12.1% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Languages

As of 2000, English spoken as a first language accounted for 90.37% of all residents, and 9.62% spoke other languages as their first language. Spanish speakers made up 4.01% of the population; French was the third-most spoken language, which made up 0.90%; German was at 0.86%; and Arabic was at 0.66% of the population.

Economy

Tourism is a major part of the Daytona Beach economy, with over 8 million visitors in 2004. Other sources of revenue include manufacturing, and Daytona Beach has industrial sites within an enterprise zone and sites within a foreign trade zone adjacent to Daytona Beach International Airport.
Companies and organizations that have their corporate headquarters or a major presence in the area include:

Shopping

Top employers

According to the City's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
#Employer# of Employees
1Volusia County School District7,623
2Halifax Health4,050
3Volusia County, Florida3,408
4AdventHealth Daytona Beach2,288
5Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University2,003
6Daytona State College1,250
7The City of Daytona Beach, Florida921
8Bethune–Cookman University843
9Florida Hospital Healthcare Partner697
10SMA Healthcare677

Arts and culture

The Museum of Arts and Sciences is the primary cultural facility for Daytona Beach and Volusia County. Other museums located in the city include the Southeast Museum of Photography and the Halifax Historical Museum. The Museum of Arts and Sciences is actually a collection of museums and galleries, and includes the Klancke Environmental Complex, the Cuban Museum, the Root Family Museum featuring one of the largest Coca-Cola collections in the world, the Dow American Gallery, and the Bouchelle Center for Decorative Arts, which together form what is probably one of the finest collections of furniture and decorative arts in the Southeast. It also includes the Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art, which houses the largest collection of Florida art in the world. The exhibitions change often, and a children's science center opened in 2008. Since 1952, the nonprofit Daytona Beach Symphony Society has sponsored performances by U.S. and international orchestras, opera, and dance companies each season at the Peabody Auditorium.

Special events

The city attracts over 8 million tourists each year. Special events that draw visitors to Daytona Beach include:
During motorcycle events, several hundred thousand bikers from all over the world visit the greater Daytona Beach area. The city is also often associated with spring break, though the efforts of the local government to discourage rowdiness, combined with the rise of other spring-break destinations, have affected Daytona's preeminence as a spring-break destination. It is the destination of Dayton 2 Daytona, an annual event that draws over 3,000 University of Dayton college students since 1977.

Other points of interest

Sports

Motorsports

Annual races at Daytona International Speedway include 24 Hours of Daytona and Daytona 500.

Baseball

The Daytona Tortugas, a minor league baseball team of the Florida State League, play at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Established in 1993, the team has won six championships.

Parks and recreation

Beaches and parks

Daytona Beach has over of public beaches, and more than ten waterfront parks. Cars can be driven on some of the beaches.
Notable golf courses include Daytona Beach Golf Course, established in 1922, and LPGA International.

Government

Local government

Under Daytona Beach's commission-manager form of government, voters elect a city commission, which consists of seven members who serve four-year, staggered terms. Six are elected by district, the mayor is elected citywide.
The city commission establishes ordinances and policies for the city. It also reviews and approves the city budget annually. The commission appoints a city manager, who carries out the will of the commission and handles day-to-day business.

Federal, state, and county representation

The United States Postal Service operates a post office at 500 Bill France Boulevard in Daytona Beach.
The Daytona Beach Armed Forces Reserve Center is home of the Florida Army National Guard 1st Battalion, 265th [Air Defense Artillery Regiment], Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Battery D.
Daytona Beach is part of Florida's 6th congressional district. It is part of Florida's 25th and 26th State House of Representatives Districts and the 6th and 8th State Senate Districts.
Florida's 6th congressional district, which extends from the southern Jacksonville suburbs to New Smyrna Beach and includes St. Augustine and Daytona Beach.

Education

Primary and secondary schooling

Public primary and secondary education is handled by Volusia County Schools. Daytona Beach has two traditional public high schools, two middle schools, and six elementary schools. Some of the larger private schools include Father Lopez Catholic High School.

Elementary schools

  • Beachside Elementary
  • Champion Elementary
  • Palm Terrace Elementary
  • R.J. Longstreet Elementary
  • Turie T. Small Elementary
  • Westside Elementary

Middle schools

  • Campbell Middle School
  • David C. Hinson Middle School

High schools

Colleges and universities

Vocational schools

  • The Airline Academy offers flight training for pilots and other airline professionals.
  • Keiser College
  • Phoenix East Aviation offers flight training for pilots.
  • WyoTech offers motorcycle repair and marine repair training.

Media

Newspapers

The Daytona Beach News-Journal – daily newspaper covering the Halifax areaHometown News – weekly newspaper covering the greater Daytona Beach areaEast Coast Current – community newspaper covering Volusia County Orlando Sentinel – newspaper and news site based in Orlando, with a bureau covering Daytona Beach and Volusia CountyThe Avion Newspaper – student college publication of Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach.The Daytona Times – Black newspaper covering Daytona Beach metropolitan areaHeadlineSurfer.com – Internet-only newspaper covering the greater Daytona Beach - Orlando area

Radio

AM
FM

Television

Infrastructure

Law enforcement

Law enforcement in Daytona Beach is provided by the 241-member Daytona Beach Police Department headed by police chief Craig Capri. In a unique and controversial program to help fund the Police Explorer program, run by a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America, T-shirts with the words Scumbag Eradication Team: Not in Our Town are sold at the police headquarters.
The T-shirts contain a caricature of retired Chief Chitwood standing next to a toilet bowl with the legs of multiple individuals sticking out. The T-shirt has been cited in at least one lawsuit against the DBPD alleging police brutality; the lawyer in the case in which the client sustained broken ribs and a fractured eye socket during an arrest for an open container of beer, claims the T-shirt shows the DBPD condones violence.
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office, headed by Mike Chitwood, is a county-wide law enforcement agency with 446 sworn positions, 438 civilian employees, 300 volunteers, and an annual operating budget of $73 million that has jurisdiction in unincorporated areas of Volusia County and provides additional law enforcement support to Daytona Beach during such events as the Daytona 500 and aids in joint investigations of certain crimes.
The Volusia County Beach Patrol provides law enforcement and EMT services along Volusia County beaches, including the beaches in the city of Daytona Beach.

Healthcare

Healthcare in Daytona Beach is dominated by Halifax Health. The Halifax Hospital Taxing District was established in 1927 by an act of the Florida Legislature as a public hospital district. Dozens of individual practitioners and professional associations are in the Daytona Beach area.

Utilities

Basic utilities in Daytona Beach are provided by the city government.
The city has a successful recycling program with separate pickups for garbage, yard waste, and recycling. Collection is provided by several private companies under contract to Volusia County.

Transportation

Airports

Passenger airline services are located at Daytona Beach International Airport, which is centrally located within the city adjacent to Daytona International Speedway. The site was first used as an airport with terminals being constructed in 1952 and 1958. The present facility was constructed in 1992 at the cost of $46 million, and includes both a domestic terminal and an International terminal. Despite the new facilities, DAB has found difficulty in attracting and retaining carriers; Continental Airlines, AirTran Airways, and United Airlines discontinued flights to Daytona in 2007 and 2008. LTU and American Airlines also serviced Daytona Beach during the 1980s and 1990s, both of which ended all flights in 1994 and 1997, respectively.
Current passenger airlines serving DAB include Delta Air Lines and American Airlines. Both carriers offer connecting service from those cities to destinations worldwide. International flights from DAB fly to destinations in the Bahamas through air taxi and charter services Airgate Aviation and IslandPass; non-stop flights are available from DAB to Marsh Harbour, Treasure Cay, and North Eleuthera. Sunwing Airlines also operates seasonal flights from Toronto Pearson International Airport. DAB is also heavily used for general aviation, largely due to Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, whose campus is located at the airport.
Larger airports nearby are Orlando International Airport and Jacksonville International Airport, each of which is about 90 minutes away.

Buses

  • Daytona Beach is served by Greyhound Bus Lines, which has a terminal located at 138 South Ridgewood Avenue. The Greyhound routes from Daytona Beach connect with hubs in Jacksonville and Orlando.
  • Votran is the local bus service provided by Volusia County.

Automobiles

Daytona Beach is easily accessible by I-95 that runs north and south and I-4 connecting Daytona Beach with Orlando and Tampa. US 1 also passes north–south through Daytona Beach. Connecting I-4 and US1 is SR 400. US 92 runs east–west through Daytona Beach. SR A1A is a scenic north–south route along the beach.
The Volusia County Parking Garage is located at 701 Earl Street at North Atlantic Avenue. The garage is strategically located, next to the Ocean Center, Daytona Lagoon, and across the street from the Hilton Hotel and Ocean Walk Shoppes. Over 1000 parking spaces are available inside the garage, which also houses an intermodal transfer station for VoTran.

Bridges

Four bridges cross over the Halifax River at Daytona Beach. They include the Veterans Memorial Bridge, the Broadway Bridge, the Main Street Bridge, and the Seabreeze Bridge. All four bridges charge no toll to traffic. In June, 2016, the Veterans Memorial Bridge was closed as part of a three-year project to demolish the drawbridge and replace it with a high span bridge.

Rail

Passenger railroad service to Daytona Beach was established no later than 1889 by the Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Halifax River Railway, predecessor of the Florida East Coast Railroad. Long-distance trains such as the City of Miami and the South Wind, East Coast Champion and the Havana Special made stops at Daytona Beach. Long distance routes were diverted to Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Seaboard Air Line Railroad routes on the Florida interior south of the Jacksonville Union Station, following the beginning of a labor dispute on the FEC in 1963. Passenger trains continued calling at Daytona Beach until July 31, 1968, when the FEC terminated passenger operations system-wide. The FEC currently operates freight trains through Daytona Beach.

Notable people

In popular culture

Novels set in Daytona Beach include:Day Number 142 by Edgar A. AndersonLast Cruise of the Nightwatch by Howard BroomfieldKick of the Wheel by Stewart Sterling
Several movies have been based on Daytona Beach, usually with a racing theme. The most recent example was the 1990 hit Days of Thunder, parts of which were filmed in Daytona Beach and nearby DeLand. Chris Rea wrote the song "Daytona", which was in his 1989 album The Road to Hell. Suzi Quatro's song "Daytona Demon" is often believed to refer to the city. Also, about half of the video for the song "Steal My Sunshine" by Len was filmed at Daytona Beach.

General sources

  • Kettlewell, Mike. "Daytona", in Northey, Tom, ed. World of Automobiles, Volume 10, pp. 501–503. London: Orbis, 1974.
  • Northey, Tom, "Land-speed record: The Fastest Men on Earth", in Northey, Tom, ed. World of Automobiles, Volume 10, pp. 1161–1166. London: Orbis, 1974.