VERO BEACH FLORIDA
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Vero Beach Florida is where the tropics officially begin on Florida's east coast.
It is also at the intersection of US-1 and State Road 60. Beachside Vero - which is almost like a separate town - is at the intersection of State Highway A1A and State Road 60.
Although there are several ways to get there, you will enjoy your visit to Vero Beach no matter which route you take.
HISTORY OF VERO BEACH FLORIDA
Vero Beach Florida began as a citrus shipping point. The original name of the community was taken from the Latin word "veritas", meaning truth.
In 1891 Henry T. Gifford established the first post office in the area and used the name Vero. The city straddles the Indian River Lagoon, home of the famous Indian River citrus. This portion of the Indian River, between the mainland and the barrier island to the east on the ocean, is known as "The Narrows".
Early transportation and commerce relied on the Indian River steamboat system. Citrus was packed in Vero Beach Florida and shipped via the Indian River to Jacksonville and from there to northern ports.Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad made it to Vero Beach in 1893 on its push down the east coast and began the modern era of Vero Beach Florida. Shortly after that developers began to drain the marshy land west of town and created thousands of acres of citrus groves.
Foremost among these developers was Herman Zeuch (prounounced Zigh as in sigh), originally from Iowa. Sometime about 1911 he purchased 48,000 acres for citrus operations. In 1912 he formed the Indian River Farms Company, and hired William Kimball, a civil engineer, and his assistant, Colonel R. D. Carter to design the improvements.
The Zeuch, Kimball and Carter families are still represented today in Vero Beach Florida.
These early pioneers foresaw the growth of their little village, and laid it out with wide streets that are now lined with beautiful coconut, royal and date palms. They changed the name from Vero to Vero Beach Florida.In 1916 early skeletal remains were found along Van Valkenberg's Creek which were believed to be prehistoric and named "Vero Man".The discovery created an international controversy over whether it provided the first evidence that human beings had inhabited the 'new world' prior to the end of the Wisconsin glaciation around 10,000 BC.
Experts could never reach an agreement and the remains were eventually lost just prior to the invention of Carbon-14 dating in 1947. We may never know who lost the bones and how old they were.
In 1931, Ohio industrialist Arthur McKee, who loved the study of tropical plants, opened McKee Jungle Gardens. This became a very popular tourist attraction until recent years when part of it was sold for a residential development.Waldo Sexton, a local character and beachcomber, began building his Driftwood Inn out of driftwood and other material he picked up off the beach.
The Driftwood Inn still stands today in Vero Beach Florida. It is now a popular tourist destination known as The Driftwood Resort with a good bar and restaurant and plenty of charming time share rooms.
Vero Beach Florida was also famous as the location of Dodgertown, where the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team held their spring training camp from 1948 until 2008.
It was a sad day for Vero Beach and surrounding towns when the Dodgers moved to a new facility in Glendale, Arizona. The stadium was also the home to the minor league Vero Beach Devil Rays.
More bad news came to Vero Beach in August 2008 when the Rays franchise was sold to the Ripken Baseball Group and it was learned the team would not return to Vero Beach for the 2009 season.
Piper Aircraft Inc. has been building Piper airplanes in Vero Beach since 1957 in a plant at the municipal airport. Piper is the largest private employer in Indian River County.
Most business activity other than Piper is tourism or citrus based. Vero Beach's busiest tourist season is from December through April.
The city has three distinct areas: beachside Vero on the oceanfront barrier island; downtown Vero on the west side of the Indian River Lagoon: and the area west of downtown all the way out to I-95.
Vero Beach is the official beginning of the tropics, and the beachside area shows this most clearly with abundant vegetation and fine Florida mansions. The central beach area has its own little shopping district in the area where State Road 60 meets the ocean.
Vero Beach has wonderful beaches. The main beach is accessible from the Central Beach Business District. Many nice restaurants are in this district, along with a couple of motels and quite a few condos. You will find the beach area of Vero Beach to be more laid back and not as touristy or junky as many other Florida beachside towns.
Downtown Vero Beach, on the mainland, is more typical of small Florida towns with the old railroad station and a lot of small retail businesses and antique shops.The area west of Vero Beach straddling State Road 60 has a large regional mall and an outlet mall and many new sprawling subdivisions.
Modern Vero Beach is home to some of the most exclusive golf and marina oriented residential developments in Florida including Johns Island, The Moorings and Grand Harbor.
Vero Beach is reportedly home to more retired Fortune 500 CEO's than any other location in the world and has the fourth highest concentration of wealthy households in the U.S. Most of these residents live on the exclusive barrier island that is divided from the mainland by the Indian River Lagoon.
Many of them refer to Vero Beach as "The Village". This designation as "Villagers" does not please some of the old time Vero Beach natives.
These wealthy transplants have helped to finance and create many cultural opportunities in Vero Beach.
The Vero Beach Theatre Guild started in 1958. The Vero Beach Concert Association began presenting concerts in 1966. Riverside Theatre opened in 1974, and the Center for the Arts in 1986.
Vero Beach also has several entries in the National Register of Historic Places including the Vero Railroad Station, Driftwood Inn, McKee Jungle Gardens and the Old Palmetto Hotel.
Vero Beach Florida is a part of Central East Florida History. VERO BEACH FLORIDA RESTAURANTS
- Italian Grill, 2180 58th Avenue, Vero Beach FL 32966. 772-567-6640. Out west between downtown and I-95 near the big regional mall. Great pasta and other Italian dishes, fine Italian dining, good wine selection, nice ambience. I love their grilled chicken and sausage. Pizza appetizers are good too.
- Ocean Grill, 1050 Sexton Plaza, Vero Beach FL 32963. 772-231-5409. This restaurant has beautiful views of the ocean and the food is better than average but not quite great. I have eaten there for 40 years and never had a bad meal. It is a must place to visit in beachside Vero.
- Pearl, 2855 Ocean Drive, # A4, Vero Beach FL. Great inside and outside dining, American food, reasonable prices. Good menu, and Sunday brunch is excellent with great desserts and live music. Their salmon dishes are my favorites.
VERO BEACH FLA ATTRACTIONS
- McKee Botanical Garden, 350 US Highway 1, Vero Beach FL 32962. 772-794-0601. This place is famous for its 18 acre subtropical jungle hammock. This dense and diverse botanical garden also includes several restored architectural treasures. The garden is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a historic Florida landmark.
- Vero Beach Museum of Art, 3001 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach FL 32963. 772-231-0707. This museum is the main visual arts venue in the entire Indian River region. Its neoclassical structure is located in beautiful Riverside Park on the Indian River Lagoon. It has numerous exhibitions, collections, gallery tours, studio and classroom art and humanities education for youth and adults, cinema, community events, lectures, seminars, concerts, dramatic performances and cultural celebrations.
CENTRAL EAST FLORIDA THINGS TO DO NEAR VERO BEACH FL
VERO BEACH, FLORIDA HOTELS
The area round the I-95 interchange at State Road 60 has several decent chain motels, including Country Inn & Suites, Holiday Inn Express, and Howard Johnson Express.
These motels are 8 miles away from downtown Vero Beach, however, and I prefer the places below closer to town.
- The Caribbean Court, 1601 S. Ocean Drive, Vero Beach, Florida 32963. 772-231-7211. This 18 room place has beach access and a heated pool. It is located in the choice beach area of Vero Beach. Antique furnishings, hand-painted tiles and original artwork give the room a Caribbean feel. Enjoy live music, tapas and spirits at Havana Nights Piano Bar and the extraordinary cuisine of Maison Martinique Restaurant. Book this B&B or others in Vero Beach now! Click Here
- The Driftwood Inn,3150 Ocean Drive, Vero Beach, Florida 32963. 772-231-0550. This is a time share resort with rooms available to rent. It is built entirely from ocean-washed timbers and planks, housing some of the world's most beautiful art objects, antiques, and artifacts. Its located in the central beach district, directly on the Atlantic Ocean. The Driftwood offers casual dining either inside or poolside at Waldo's Open Air Deck, named after Waldo Sexton, the unique pioneer responsible for building and furnishing the place.
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