Melbourne, Florida

Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne,florida.jpg

Logo
Nickname(s): The Harbor City
Location in Brevard County and the state of Florida
Location in Brevard County and the state of Florida
Coordinates:
Country Flag of the United States.svg United States
State Flag of Florida.svg Florida
County Brevard
Settled c. 1867
Incorporated (village) 22 December 1888
Government
 - Type Council-Manager
 - Mayor Harry Goode
 - City Manager Jack M. Schluckebier
Area [1]
 - City 35.49 sq mi (91.9 km²)
 - Land 30.20 sq mi (78.2 km²)
 - Water 5.29 sq mi (13.7 km²)  14.9%
Elevation 20 ft (6 m)
Population (2006)[2]
 - City 76,371
 - Metro 534,359
  Census Bureau estimate
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 32901, 32934, 32935
Area code(s) 321
FIPS code 12-43975[3]
GNIS feature ID 0294589[4]
Website: City of Melbourne

Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of 2006, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 76,371.[2] Melbourne is a principal city of the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is home to 534,359 people.[5]

Contents

History

Melbourne, in South Brevard County, originally was a training area for Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. Some soldiers, who were attracted to the river and the ocean, returned and bought land at 5 cents per acre. After the Civil War, pioneer families arrived and Melbourne was founded in the late 1860s by former slaves. The city was named Melbourne in honor of its first postmaster, Cornthwaite John Hector, an Englishman who had spent much of his life in Melbourne, Australia.[6] The first school in Melbourne was built in 1883 and is now part of the Florida Tech campus. In late 1942 the Naval Air Station Melbourne was established as a site to train newly commissioned Navy and Marine pilots for WWII. The program ran until 1946, and the land that was used for that program makes up most of what is currently the Melbourne International Airport.[7] In 1969, the cities of Eau Gallie and Melbourne voted to merge, forming modern day Melbourne.

Geography

Melbourne is located approximately 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Orlando on the Space Coast along Interstate 95. It is approximately midway between Jacksonville and Miami. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.49 square miles (91.9 km2). 30.20 square miles (78.2 km2) of it is land and 5.29 square miles (13.7 km2) of it (14.9%) is water.[1]

Climate

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Rec High °F 89 92 93 97 97 101 102 101 98 96 91 89
Norm High °F 72 73 77 81 85 89 91 90 88 83 78 73
Norm Low °F 50 51 55 60 66 71 72 73 72 67 60 53
Rec Low °F 17 27 25 35 47 55 60 60 58 41 30 21
Precip (in) 2.48 2.49 2.92 2.08 3.94 5.83 5.38 5.78 7.20 4.76 3.12 2.31
Source: USTravelWeather.com[8]

Demographics

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 71,382 people, 30,788 households, and 18,257 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,363.9/mi² (912.6/km²). There were 33,678 housing units at an average density of 1,115.3/mi² (430.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.53% White, 9.33% African American, 0.34% Native American, 2.32% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.20% from other races, and 2.21% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race constitute 5.54% of the population.

There were 30,788 households out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.7% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.

Economy

Personal income

The median income for a household in the city was $34,571, and the median income for a family was $42,760. Males had a median income of $32,242 versus $22,419 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,175. In Melbourne, About 8.6% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

The Melbourne International Airport is located in the center of the city. Melbourne is one of the cities which makes up the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville metropolitan area. Its proximity to Orlando and access to the beach have helped establish a tourism industry. It has the second largest population on the Space Coast. Melbourne contains defense and technology companies with a high concentration of high-tech workers.[9] The following corporations have operations in Melbourne:

In May 2005, the Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay area was among the top 20 in home price appreciation from 2003 to 2004.[10] Melbourne is also home to the Florida Institute of Technology and houses a campus for the Brevard Community College (BCC).

Healthcare

The area has three hospitals, day care for senior citizens, hospice, walk-in and urgent care facilities.[11]

Arts and culture

Annual cultural events

Museums and points of interest

Historic Sites

There are three places on the National Register of Historic Places[14]:

The following places are also historic:

Museums

Performing Arts

Groups

Buildings

Sports

Melbourne is the home of the Brevard County Manatees baseball club of the Florida State League and Washington Nationals spring training.[15][16]

Melbourne also was an official host city for the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay.[17]

Parks, recreation, and attractions

The City of Melbourne contains over 554.72 acres (2.2449 km2) of city park land, including 17 community parks[18], 13 neighborhood parks[19], and five smaller city parks[20].

Government

The Melbourne City Council consists of the mayor and six district council members[21][22]. Melbourne utilizes a Council-Manager form of government[23].

City Officials[24]

Melbourne city officials created the Babcock Street Redevelopment District in 1998 to stimulate new development along Babcock Street from U.S. 1 south to U.S. 192. A 218-unit apartment complex being built is just the latest (2005) step in an effort to revitalize this area.

Melbourne is also attempting to revitalize the downtown Eau Gallie Riverfront district.

A $156 million budget was proposed for the 2007-8 fiscal year.[25]

In 2007, the city had a taxable real estate base of $4.96 billion.[26]

A local soup kitchen has been trying to expand its facility since 2005. Neighbors have opposed this thereby stopping the expansion.[27]

Education

Public Schools are run by the Brevard County School Board.

Colleges and Universities

Elementary Schools [30]

  • Roy Allen Elementary
  • Ascension Catholic School
  • Dr. W. J. Creel Elementary
  • Croton Elementary
  • Harbor City Elementary
  • Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy Lower School (Preschool – 6)
  • Longleaf Elementary
  • New Covenant Christian School
  • Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School
  • Quest Elementary
  • Sabal Elementary
  • Sherwood Elementary
  • Suntree Elementary
  • University Park Elementary

Middle Schools

  • Ascension Catholic School
  • Central Middle School
  • Florida Air Academy
  • Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy Upper School
  • L. B. Johnson Middle School
  • New Covenant Christian School
  • Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School
  • Stone Middle School
  • West Shore Junior/Senior High School

High Schools

  • Bayside High School
  • Eau Gallie High School
  • Florida Air Academy
  • Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy Upper School
  • Melbourne Central Catholic High School
  • Melbourne High School
  • New Covenant Christian School
  • Palm Bay High School
  • West Shore Junior/Senior High School

Adult Education

  • Palm Bay High Adult/Community Education
  • South Area Adult Center

Media

Print

Radio

Radio stations in the Melbourne/Titusville/Cocoa, Florida market
By FM frequency
89.3 · 89.5 · 90.3 · 91.5 · 93.1 · 93.1 • 93.5 · 94.1 · 95.1 · 95.5 · 95.9  · 98.5 · 99.3 · 101.1 · 102.7 · 104.1 · 106.3 · 107.1 · 107.9
By AM frequency
840 · 920 · 1060 · 1240 · 1300 · 1350 · 1510 · 1560
By callsign
WAET · WAOA · WBVD · WCIF · WCPL · WDMC · WEJF · WFHA · WFIT · WGRV · WHKR · WINT · WIXC · WJRR · WKRO • WLRQ-FM · WMEL · WMIE · WMMB · WMMV · WPIO · WPGS · WRDJ · WSBH · WSJZ · WTKS · WWBC

Florida Radio Markets: • • • • • • • Melbourne-Titusville-Cocoa • • Orlando • • • • • Tallahassee • •

Other Florida Radio Regions: •

See also: List of radio stations in Florida

Television

See also: List of television stations in Florida

Cable is provided by Bright House Networks.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Major Roads

Rail

Historical Marker (click to enlarge)

The Union Cypress Company Railroad ran east to west through south Melbourne in the early 1900s. The mill town of Hopkins was near the present day streets of Mill Street and Main Street.

The Florida East Coast Railway runs through Melbourne, staying west of U.S. 1 through its entire run.

Bus

Airport

The Melbourne International Airport (IATA: MLB, ICAO: KMLB, FAA LID: MLB) is located within the city limits.

Utilities

Melbourne Water Tower

Power is provided by Florida Power and Light. Gas is provided by Florida City Gas.

Cable TV service is provided by Bright House Networks. Satellite reception in Florida varies from area to area and often have service interruptions with Florida’s erratic weather patterns and random cloud cover.

Traditional landline telephone service is mainly provided by AT&T, while some cable customers use Bright House Networks digital phone (VOIP) service.

Internet Service Providers in Melbourne range from various 56 kbit/s providers, AT&T (formerly BellSouth) FastAccess DSL, and Bright House Networks cable internet, which uses Road Runner as their ISP. Fiber optic networks are installed in the city mainly for business purposes and have not been integrated for home use.

The Water Department not only provides water for the city, but surrounding towns and cities for a premium, including Melbourne Beach, Indialantic, Indian Harbour Beach, Satellite Beach, Palm Shores, Melbourne Village and a portion of Brevard County. Wholesale water service is provided to West Melbourne. The total distribution area is about 100 square miles (259 km2)[34] A reverse osmosis plant on Lake Washington provides 5 million US gallons of water a day.[35] In 2003, water rates were $2.27/1,000 US gallons (3,785 l) sewer $4.47/1,000 US gallons (3,785 l).[36]

Solid Waste & Recycling is provided by Solid Waste Management, part of the City of Melbourne government's Environmental Community Outreach (ECO) Division.

Notable natives and residents

Sister Cities

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Florida by Place. Population, Housing, Area, and Density: 2000". US Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-10-24.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Annual Estimates of the population for the Incorporated Places of Florida" (XLS). US Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-10-24.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  4. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  5. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006" (XLS). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-10-24.
  6. ↑ "The History of Melbourne, Florida".
  7. ↑ The History of Melbourne Florida
  8. ↑ "Melbourne Weather at with Weather Channel". Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
  9. ↑ U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Metro areas with highest percentages of high-tech workers”. Bureau of Labor Statistics website, August 25, 2003. Accessed October 23, 2007.
  10. ↑ ""Home prices up 11% in fourth quarter" by Steve Kerch for MarketWatch".
  11. ↑ Community Links - City of Melbourne, Florida
  12. ↑ Onorato, Lisa M. (April 20, 2007). Popular art festival to draw 70,000. Hometown News. 
  13. ↑ [1]
  14. ↑ Brevard places on National Register of Historic Places
  15. ↑ Brevard County Manatees: Home
  16. ↑ Washington Nationals Spring Training Tickets - Nationals Spring Training Tickets in Viera, Florida at StubHub
  17. ↑ Information about the City of Melbourne, Florida
  18. ↑ Community Parks - Parks Division - City of Melbourne, Florida
  19. ↑ Neighborhood Parks - Parks Division - City of Melbourne, Florida
  20. ↑ Other Parks - Parks Division - City of Melbourne, Florida
  21. ↑ Map of City Council Districts - City of Melbourne, Florida
  22. ↑ Melbourne City Council Members - City of Melbourne, Florida
  23. ↑ Council-Manager Form of Government - City of Melbourne, Florida
  24. ↑ http://www.melbourneflorida.org/forms/pdf-forms/officials.pdf
  25. ↑ Florida Today retrieved July 24, 2007
  26. ↑ Dean, James (April 26, 2008). More taxes or fewer services. Florida Today. 
  27. ↑ Neale, Rick and Torres, John A. (January 16, 2008). Melbourne shelves soup kitchen's expansion request. Florida Today. 
  28. ↑ Keiser University
  29. ↑ Everest University
  30. ↑ Schools Listing
  31. ↑ 500 feet to the west of Melbourne in the county
  32. ↑ Space Coast Area Transit official website
  33. ↑ Information about Melbourne Greyhound station
  34. ↑ Melbourne Water Supply retrieved June 9, 2008
  35. ↑ Reverse Osmosis details and statistics - City of Melbourne retrieved June 9, 2008
  36. ↑ [http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/documents/reports/water_rate_report.pdf
  37. ↑ Bowe Gardeners. A Tribute to Thomas Barbour (1884 - 1946) memorial dated 1976 located in Ballard Park, Melbourne, Florida.
  38. ↑ [2]

See also

External links

Municipalities and communities of
Brevard County, Florida
County seat: Titusville
Cities

Cape Canaveral | Cocoa | Cocoa Beach | Indian Harbour Beach | Melbourne | Palm Bay | Rockledge | Satellite Beach | Titusville | West Melbourne
Map of Florida highlighting Brevard County.svg
Towns

Grant-Valkaria | Indialantic | Malabar | Melbourne Beach | Melbourne Village | Palm Shores
CDPs

Cocoa West | June Park | Merritt Island | Micco | Mims | Port St. John | Sharpes | South Patrick Shores
Unincorporated
communities

Barefoot Bay | Canaveral Groves | Courtenay | Floridana Beach | Indianola | Melbourne Shores | Scottsmoor | Suntree | Viera