Clearwater, Florida

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Clearwater, Florida
Location in Pinellas County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: 27°58′25″N 82°45′51″W / 27.97361, -82.76417
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Pinellas
First Incorporation	1891
Second Incorporation	1915
Government
- Mayor	Frank Hibbard
Area
- City	37.7 sq mi (97.7 km²)
- Land	25.3 sq mi (65.5 km²)
- Water	12.4 sq mi (32.2 km²)
Elevation	30 ft (9 m)
Population (2005)
- City	108,687
- Density	4,295.9/sq mi (1,659.4/km²)
- Metro	2.7 million
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s)	727
FIPS code	12-12875[1]
GNIS feature ID	0280543[2]
Website: http://www.clearwater-fl.com

Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, USA, nearly due west of Tampa. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787; however, according to the 2005 U.S. Census Bureau's estimates, the city's population fell slightly to 108,687.^[3] It is the county seat of Pinellas County.^[4] Clearwater 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. The four-county area is home to roughly 2.7 million residents, making it the second largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the state, and the third largest in the Southeastern United States.

[edit] History

Clearwater at daybreak, as seen from Clearwater Beach

Present-day Clearwater was originally the home of the Tocobagan Indian tribe. Around 1835, the U.S. Army began construction of Fort Harrison as an outpost during the Seminole wars. The fort was located on a bluff overlooking Clearwater Harbor in an area known today as Harbor Oaks. University of South Florida archeologists excavated the site in 1977 after Alfred C. Wyllie discovered an underground ammunition bunker while digging a swimming pool on his estate.

The area's population grew in 1842, after the Federal Armed Occupation Act of 1842 offered 160 acres to anyone who would bear arms and cultivate the land. Early settlers included the Stevens, Stevenson 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 City Hall building is located today. There were many other freshwater springs that dotted the bayfront, many in the bay itself, which were the reason for the crystal clear water found there.

View north from Sand Key toward Clearwater Beach

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. The first US Post Office for Pinellas County was built on the site of the present Turner Street Dock Park, circa 1859.

During the U.S. Civil War, Union gunboats repeatedly raided the city's supplies as most of the able-bodied men were away fighting for the Confederate States of America army. The city began booming in late nineteenth century, prompted by Peter Demens building the first passenger railroad line into the city 1888. Clearwater was incorporated as a town in 1891 and James E. Crane became the town's first mayor.^[5] The town's reputation as a tourist destination grew in popularity when Plant built the Belleview Biltmore in 1897.

Pinellas County Courthouse in Clearwater

By the early 1900s, Clearwater's population had grown to around 400, ballooning to nearly 1,000 in the winter. Clearwater was reincorporated, this time as a city, on May 27, 1915, and made the county seat for Pinellas County, which broke from Hillsborough County in 1912. Also in 1915, a bridge was built across Clearwater Harbor, joining the city with modern-day Clearwater Beach. Remnants of the original bridge still remain as boating hazards in the harbor's shallows.

During World War II, Clearwater became a major training base for U.S. troops destined for Europe and the Pacific. Virtually every hotel in the area, including the historic Belleview Biltmore and Fort Harrison Hotel, became luxury barracks for new recruits. Vehicle traffic regularly stopped for companies of soldiers marching through downtown, and nighttime blackouts to confuse potential enemy bombers were common practice. The remote and isolated Dan's Island, now Sand Key, was used as a target for US Army Air Corps fighter-bombers for strafing and bombing practice.

[edit] Geography

Clearwater is located at 27°58′25″N, 82°45′51″W (27.973644, -82.764271).^[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 97.7 km² (37.7 mi²). 65.5 km² (25.3 mi²) of it is land and 32.2 km² (12.4 mi²) of it (32.98%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

Sightseeing and fishing boats docked at the Clearwater Marina

As of the census^[8] of 2000, there were 108,787 people, 48,449 households, and 27,422 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,660.8/km² (4,302.1/mi²). There were 56,802 housing units at an average density of 867.2/km² (2,246.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.85% White, 9.79% African American, 0.32% Native American, 1.64% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 2.48% from other races, and 1.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.97% of the population.^[9][10]

There were 48,449 households out of which 21.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.4% were non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.79.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.1% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 21.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,494, and the median income for a family was $46,228. Males had a median income of $31,067 versus $25,066 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,786. About 8.4% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.8% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

Clearwater City Hall looking up and east from the foot of the bluff toward the rear of the building.

The City of Clearwater is administered by a Council-Manager form of government, and the City Manager serves as the Chief Executive and Administrative Officer of the City.

The Clearwater City Council comprises the Mayor and four Council members each of whom serves a three year term. The Council is responsible for setting policies and making decisions on local government issues including tax rates, annexations, property code variances and large contract awards. The Council strives to maintain Clearwater's reputation as an innovative leader in the delivery of municipal services while developing programs, practices, policies and procedures that work within a conservative budget and strives to achieve a high level of citizen satisfaction.

The City Manager and City Council are supported by the various City Departments, each of which provides valuable public services to the successful operation and improvement of the City of Clearwater, its residents, businesses, and visitors.

See also: List of Mayors of Clearwater, Florida.

[edit] Annual events

Clearwater Beach sunset

• Imagine International Film Festival
• Fun N Sun Festival (April - May)
• Clearwater Celebrates America (July 4)
• Clearwater Jazz Holiday (October)
• Hispanic Heritage Festival (October)
• Ford Ironman World Championship 70.3^[11] (November 2006-2010)

[edit] Transportation

Tampa International Airport and St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport are in the area and serve Clearwater.

[edit] Art and culture

Clearwater Beach, looking south from Pier 60.

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 and includes a similar, citywide requirement on all private development projects valued in excess of $5,000,000. Eligible private developers have two options to satisfy the Public Art Ordinance: dedicate 1% of the project's aggregate job value toward the installation of on-site public art; or contribute 0.75% of the project's aggregate job value to the City's Public Art Discretionary Fund, to be used to supplement and initiate public art projects throughout the city. The Public Art and Design Program is overseen by a seven-member Board, appointed by City Council and composed of local arts supporters and administrators, design professionals and private citizens. The Program seeks to “enhance Clearwater for those who visit and live within the city and to contribute to a legacy for generations to come” through the commission of unique, public artworks that enhance the City's diversity, character and heritage.

International Arts and Film Foundation

(Official Site)

[edit] Colleges

• Clearwater Christian College
• St. Petersburg College
• Florida Metropolitan University
• Pinellas Technical Education Center

[edit] Famous current and former residents

• Rich Fields, popular announcer of the CBS game show The Price is Right
• T.J. Tucker, former MLB pitcher
• Jim Morrison, musician
• Evel Knievel, Stunt King^[12]
• Nick Bollea, Actor and son of Terrence Gene Bollea and Linda Bollea
• Brooke Bollea, Singer and daughter of Terrence Gene Bollea and Linda Bollea
• Hulk Hogan, WWE Wrestling Champion and Host of 2008 American Gladiators TV Series - former resident^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Sister cities

Clearwater has city partnerships with the following cities:

• Nagano, Japan
• Kalamaria, Greece

[edit] Scientology

Church of Scientology Clearwater headquarters. Fort Harrison Hotel on left. New Super Power Building on right. Taken looking north from a couple of blocks south on Fort Harrison Avenue.

The worldwide "spiritual headquarters" of the Church of Scientology is located in the city of Clearwater, Florida. Officially known in Scientology as Flag Land Base, this international headquarters was founded in the late 1970s when an anonymous Scientology-founded group called "United Churches of Florida" purchased the Fort Harrison Hotel for $3 million. The citizens and City Council of Clearwater did not realize that the building's owners were actually the Church of Scientology until after the building's purchase. Clearwater citizens groups, headed by Mayor Gabe Cazares, rallied against Scientology establishing a base in the city (repeatedly referring to the organization as a cult), but Flag Land Base was established nonetheless.^[13] In the years since its foundation, Flag Land Base has expanded as the church has gradually purchased additional property in the downtown Clearwater area. Scientology's largest project in Clearwater has been the construction of a huge high-rise complex called the "Super Power Building", an enormous structure whose highest point, when completed, will be a huge Scientology cross that will tower over the city. Its relationship with the city has not always been smooth (such as the 1997 protest against Chief Klein and the Clearwater Police Department).^[14]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• City of Clearwater
• Clearwater, Florida is at coordinates 27°58′25″N 82°45′51″W / 27.973644, -82.764271 (Clearwater, Florida)Coordinates: 27°58′25″N 82°45′51″W / 27.973644, -82.764271 (Clearwater, Florida)

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