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=== Television ===
=== Television ===
*[[WESH]], [[Analog television|analog]] channel 2, [[Digital terrestrial television|digital]] channel 11, [[NBC]]
*[[WESH]], [[Analog television|analog]] channel 2, [[Digital terrestrial television|digital]] channel 11, [[NBC]]
*[[WCEU]], [[Analog television|analog]] channel 15, [[Digital terrestrial television|digital]] channel 33, [[PBS]]
*[[Central Florida News 13]], [[Bright House Networks]] cable channel 13
*[[Central Florida News 13]], [[Bright House Networks]] cable channel 13


Revision as of 17:14, 28 July 2007

Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach Skyline, Beachside South, 2007
Daytona Beach Skyline, Beachside South, 2007
Official seal of Daytona Beach
Seal
Location of Daytona Beach, Volusia County, Florida
Location of Daytona Beach, Volusia County, Florida
Country United States
State Florida
CountyFile:Volusia County Fl Seal.PNG Volusia
IncorporatedJuly 1876
Government
 • TypeCommission-Manager
 • MayorGlenn Ritchey
 • City ManagerJames Chisholm
Area
[1]
 • City
64.93 sq mi (168.2 km2)
 • Land58.68 sq mi (152.0 km2)
 • Water6.25 sq mi (16.2 km2)  9.6%
Elevation
[2]
9 ft (3 m)
Population
 (1 July 2006)[3]
 • City
64,421
 • Metro
496,575
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
32114-32126, 32198
Area code386
Websitehttp://www.ci.daytona-beach.fl.us/
"Daytona" redirects here. For other uses, see Daytona (disambiguation).
Daytona Beach Skyline, from above Towers St., 2007
View of Beach St. South, 2007

Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2006 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,421.[3] Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had a 2006 population of 496,575. [4]

Daytona Beach is a year-round resort area, and home to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Bethune-Cookman University, Daytona Beach Community College, and Keiser University, and the University of Central Florida Daytona Beach Campus. The city is historically known for its motorsports, with both Daytona International Speedway and the old Daytona Beach Road Course having hosted races for over a century. The city is also the headquarters for NASCAR and the Grand American Road Racing Association. Daytona could accurately be called a seasonal town, with large groups of out-of-towners descending upon the city for various events, most notably Speedweeks in early February when over 200,000 NASCAR fans come to attend the season-opening Daytona 500. Other events include the NASCAR Pepsi 400 race in July, Bike Week in March, Biketoberfest in October and Black College Reunion in March and April. In the past Daytona Beach catered to spring breakers, but in recent years many of the breakers have migrated to other sites, like Panama City. Daytona Beach has tried to clean up its image but in the last few years spring breakers have come back again in smaller numbers.

History

The area was once inhabited by the Timucuan Indians, who lived in fortified villages. War and disease, however, would decimate the tribe. Florida was acquired from Spain by the United States in 1821, although permanent settlement was delayed until after the Second Seminole War from 1835 to 1842. When the Civil War ended, Florida experienced a boom in tourism.

The city was founded in 1870 and incorporated in 1876. It was named for its founder, Matthias Day. In 1886, the St. Johns & Halifax River Railway arrived in Daytona. The line would be purchased in 1889 by Henry Flagler, who made it part of his Florida East Coast Railway. The separate towns of Daytona, Daytona Beach 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. On March 8, 1936, the first stock car race was held on the Daytona Beach Road Course. In 1959, William France created Daytona International Speedway to replace the beach course. Automobiles are still permitted on the beach, although now only at slow speeds.

Carriages on the beach in Seabreeze, FL, 1906

"The World's Most Famous Beach"

The city and its beaches, lined with hotels, motels, condominiums and houses, attract over 8,000,000 tourists each year. In a wide variety of price ranges, hotel and motel rooms are typically plentiful except during special events. Daytona Beach has high security around its main hotel locations, with multiple cameras filming hotel and beach areas. It is one of the few places in the world where a family car can be driven on an ocean beach. Most other driving beaches require 4 wheel drive or other special equipment.

During motorcycle events (Bike Week and Biketoberfest), several hundred thousand bikers from all over the world visit the greater Daytona Beach area. While the city is often associated with spring break, the efforts of the local government to discourage rowdiness, combined with the rise of other spring break destinations, have nearly ended Daytona's former preeminence as a spring break destination. Indeed, so few students (relative to past years) have come since 2002 that officials stopped estimating their numbers.

Daytona International Speedway

Special events that draw visitors to Daytona Beach include:

  • Speedweeks (Daytona 500 NASCAR race, Rolex 24 sports car race, and others)
  • Pepsi 400 NASCAR race on or around July 4 (Traditionally called the Firecracker 400)
  • Daytona Beach Bike Week Daytona 200 motorcycle race in March
  • Biketoberfest in October
  • Turkey Run car show and events during Thanksgiving weekend (Traditionally called the Turkey Rod Run)
  • Black College Reunion (BCR) (date varies)
  • Spring break (date varies, usually the first and second week of March)
  • Dayton to Daytona - date varies, but is usually the second week of May

Daytona Beach is also home to the headquarters of NASCAR, Grand-Am, International Speedway Corporation and the LPGA.

Geography and Climate

Daytona Beach is located at 29°12′26″N 81°02′16″W / 29.207309°N 81.037900°W / 29.207309; -81.037900Template:GR. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 64.93 mi² (168.17 km²). of which 58.68 square miles (152 km2)is land and 6.25 square miles (16 km2) is water. Water is 9.6% of the total area.

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. The major highways that serve the city are the east-west Interstate 4 and the north-south Interstate 95, which intersect near the city. Other major roads in the city include US 92/International Speedway Boulevard, US 1/Ridgewood Avenue and A1A/Atlantic Avenue.

Daytona Beach has a very typical humid subtropical climate for a city in the southeatsern U.S. Summers are hot and humid with highs usually in the 90s and a heat index often exceeding 100 degrees. Thunderstorms are frequent in summer afternoons and the hot, humid weather can last right through the fall months. Winters are dry and mild, marked by a constant series of cold fronts and warm-ups. Temperatures dip into the low 30s and upper 20s on occasion, and freezes are not uncommon. Frost occurs a few times a year mainly in the inland areas, but is rare along the beaches. Snowfall is very rare. The last time snow flurries fell on the city of Daytona Beach was in January of 2003. Temperatures in spring are famously pleasant with warm afternoons, cool evenings, and far less humidity. This beach-going weather attracts tourists back to the beaches usually by early March.

Daytona Beach is not immune to the threat of tornadoes. Historical tornado activity is about 33% above the national average. On February 22, 1998 a tornado killed 13 people, injured 36 people, and caused $31 million in damages. Tornadoes also hit the city on Christmas Day, 2006. Some people were injured, but no fatalities were reported. Very significant damage was done to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's campus as the F2 tornado that touched down in Daytona Beach cut right through the heart of the campus. It obliterated 50 of the school's 75 aircraft, mostly Cessnas. More info can be found: tornadoes of 2006, and at [1]. On February 2, 2007 two suburbs of Daytona Beach: New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet were struck by a tornado in the outbreak of the 2007 Central Florida Tornadoes.

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Rec High °F 87 89 92 96 100 102 102 100 99 95 89 88
Norm High °F 69.7 71.1 75.6 79.8 85 88.8 91 90.1 87.9 82.6 76.9 71.4
Norm Low °F 47.1 48.8 53.7 58 64.5 70.6 72.4 72.8 71.9 65.3 57 50.1
Rec Low °F 15 24 26 35 44 52 60 65 52 41 27 19
Precip (in) 3.13 2.74 3.84 2.54 3.26 5.69 5.17 6.09 6.61 4.48 3.03 2.71
Source: USTravelWeather.com [2]

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 64,112 people, 28,605 households, and 13,844 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,092.6/mi² (421.8/km²). There were 33,345 housing units at an average density of 568.3/mi² (219.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 62.33% White, 32.75% African American, 1.73% Asian, 0.32% Native American, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.05% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races. 3.48% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 28,605 households out of which 18.0% had children under the age of 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 non-families. 39.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.77.

A postcard depicting Daytona's Ridgewood Avenue, c. 1915

In the city the population was spread out with 17.6% under the age of 18, 16.6% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age 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.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,439, and the median income 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. Out of the total population, 34.9% of those under the age of 18 and 12.1% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Culture

Daytona Beach is located roughly at the southern end of the cultural South, so its culture has remained somewhat Southern, but due to mass migration from Northern states, it is in many ways more similar to South Florida. It should be noted, however, that South Florida has a major Hispanic influence, which is not as prevalent in Central Florida. Daytona is world-famous for its student invasion in Spring Break. The architecture and style of its older homes and buildings and the culture and speech of its older, locally-born inhabitants leaves no doubt as to its cultural Southern roots.

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, Root Family Museum featuring one of the largest Coca-Cola(R) 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. There are also changing exhibitions and a new children's science center planned to open in 2008.

The city to the north (Ormond Beach) includes the Ormond Memorial Art Museum and the city to the south (New Smyrna Beach) includes the renowned Atlantic Center for the Arts also boast several museums and galleries making this region of central Florida something akin to Orlando's Cultural Coast.

Sports

In addition to motorsports, Daytona is also the home of the Daytona Cubs, a minor league baseball team of the Florida State League and the Daytona Beach Thunder of the World Indoor Football League.

Media

Newspapers

The city's primary daily newspaper is The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Radio

Television

Notable inhabitants

Points of interest

Sister cities

Images

  • The Wyndham Towers along A1A
    The Wyndham Towers along A1A
  • Twin Towers along Beach St. North
    Twin Towers along Beach St. North
  • Famous "Ocean Walk" Shoppes & Restaurants.
    Famous "Ocean Walk" Shoppes & Restaurants.
  • Palm Trees along A1A
    Palm Trees along A1A
  • Seabreeze Boulevard, 2007
    Seabreeze Boulevard, 2007
  • A postcard depicting people gathered to watch the races on Daytona Beach, c. 1908
    A postcard depicting people gathered to watch the races on Daytona Beach, c. 1908
  • A postcard depicting a Seabreeze street scene, c. 1905
    A postcard depicting a Seabreeze street scene, c. 1905

References

  1. ^ "Florida by place Population, Housing Units, Area and Density:2000". US Census Bureau. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  2. ^ "Daytona Beach, United States Page". Falling Rain Genomics. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  3. ^ a b "Annual Estimates of the population for the Incorporated Places of Florida" (XLS). US Census Bureau. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  4. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006" (XLS). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2007-07-24.


Template:Geolinks-US-cityscale

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