By Charles W. Skelly and Donna Sheriff (Mostly Fact)

GRANDPA HARDEE SAYS that when Cocoa was still a settlement called Indian River City, there was nowhere a man could get a drink to lift his spirits unless he went all the way to Titusville. The trip alone deserved a healthy drink, but then you had to come all the way back.

Rightly enough, some enterprising young man began to bring a supply of liquor back home with him and sell a drink or two in the store on Delannoy Avenue.

Now who it was that thought a place of this kind needed protection I don’t know. Or perhaps some wife was trying to discourage patrons from entering the building. In any case, somebody went out into the scrub and captured a wild cat and chained him in front of the door.

(continue reading…)

Brian Sherman

HISTORIC COCOA VILLAGE, within easy driving distance of Florida’s bustling theme parks in Orlando and virtually within hearing distance of the thunderous rockets that soar skyward from the Kennedy Space Center, provides a relaxing link to the past amid the cacophony of the present.

Bordered by the Indian River, State Road 520 and Brevard Avenue, Cocoa’s restored downtown offers a wide variety of businesses, an active calendar of events and a glimpse of what life was like in coastal Florida long before families flocked to Disney World and scientists turned the fantasy of space travel to reality.

Cocoa, a town of almost 17,000 people on Florida’s central coast, was founded by fishermen in 1860. The first commercial building was constructed in the early 1880s in what was then called Indian River City. Apparently, U.S. Postal authorities deemed the name too long for a postmark. Several different stories are still in circulation concerning how the name Cocoa was chosen. The city survived a disastrous downtown fire in 1890 and a brutal freeze in the winter of 1894-95 that destroyed the area’s citrus crop and crippled the industry that had given the Florida coast a taste of prosperity.

(continue reading…)

By Stacy E. Domingo

NESTLED ALONG THE EAST COAST of Central Florida, 21 Riverside is a modern condominium that is surrounded by the echoes of the prosperous past. Located in the Historic Cocoa Village, the condominium offers a stunning river- front penthouse that overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway and provides 180-degree views of the Indian River, the Kennedy Space Center, Cocoa Village and Merritt Island.

Imagine witnessing history-making launches from your 10th-floor wraparound balcony or daydreaming about the many carefree cruise ships entering and leaving Port Canaveral. It is not easy to find places that willingly embrace the past while observing the future, but 21 Riverside in Historic Cocoa Village pulls it off with élan.

This spacious penthouse with 10-foot ceilings offers a gourmet kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances, cherry cabinetry, granite counter tops and a butler’s pantry that includes
additional appliances such as a wine cooler, extra refrigerator and dishwasher. The three bathrooms are luxurious, and hardwood, carpet and marble tile flooring is throughout the residence.

(continue reading…)

Whitley Bay Condominiums appear to have it all—spacious, elegant floor plans, desirable amenities and outstanding views.

But in speaking with Jan Petersen, an agent with Luxury Real Estate, the most wonderful part of living at Whitley Bay is the “sense of community.”

“Residents like being able to walk across the street and have a cup of coffee or a nice dinner at one of the fine restaurants or cafes,” Petersen continues. “It’s a very charming look into yesteryear. The shopkeepers are friendly. There is even a turn-of-the-century style hardware store where you can buy a nail and be treated as though you bought a Rolls Royce.”

(continue reading…)

Anyone who has ever driven through Merritt Island, Florida knows that you can’t go far without encountering a body of water. Brevard County is fortunate to have a seemingly endless network of rivers, lakes and canals that provide some pretty spectacular waterfront locations. One of the newest and most luxurious condo communities in this coastal town is the elite gated residences of Island Pointe, a hard-to-miss set of sunny yellow buildings that stretch out into the Indian River. Built in 2006 by prestigious developer Homes by Towne, this riverfront complex is widely known for its luxurious floor plans and incredible views. Designed to provide every resident with the ultimate waterfront experience, every single condo in this community features a private balcony on the Indian River and a front row seat for some of the most breathtaking sunsets you will ever witness. Manatees and dolphins are spotted almost daily in the waters along the community boardwalk.

In addition to the amenities provided by Mother Nature, there are many other benefits to living in Island Pointe. The community features two heated pools with spas, an exercise room, sauna, recreation center with meeting/party room and community kitchen, basketball and tennis courts. There are also plenty of entertainment options outside the gates, with nearby marinas for the boating enthusiast, kayaking and canoeing spots for the nature lover, and several shopping and dining hot spots. Just across the bridge from Island Pointe is the picturesque area of Cocoa Village, known for its quaint storefronts, fine dining, shows at the Cocoa Village Playhouse, concerts at the amphitheater in Riverfront Park, and one heck of a fireworks display every Fourth of July!

(continue reading…)

State Theater: past and present

By Norma J. Leighty Baird

THE STATE THEATER originally began as the Aladdin Theater. This theater was built in 1924 for approximately $80,000 by W. H. Bower Construction Company, a qualified company with 20 years experience in building quality homes and office buildings. The Aladdin Theater of Cocoa was a modern building in a progressive town on the central east coast of Florida, a town that was becoming well-known as a tourist area.

A dream of Fred Bryan and Herbert M. Cogswell was to have a more stable and pretentious facility for the type of entertainment they felt the town of Cocoa should have. From all accounts, many of the citizens of Cocoa were not in agreement with these two gentlemen. Apparently this did not deter them as they decided to look on this project as a “dream come true rather than an investment.”

As in a lot of cases, the dream became a reality. Cocoa and its citizens were proud of this building and Bryan and Cogswell for their tenacity. The Aladdin Theater was one of the finest theaters in the state and Cocoa was probably the only town of its size in the whole country to process “such a magnificent structure for entertainment.”

(continue reading…)

ONCE A KEY PLAYER IN FLORIDA’S BOOMING citrus industry, Merritt Island joined the space race in the 1950s and 1960s, its prosperity and popularity soaring along with the rest of the Space Coast, a vibrant and growing stretch of the beautiful central Florida shoreline.

In the mid-1800s, the area was known for producing world-famous Indian River oranges and grapefruit, and pineapples also thrived in the sandy soil. The small towns that once dotted the island–Georgiana, Courtenay, Tropic, Fairyland, Orsino, Angel City, Wilson and Indianola among them–have vanished, leaving Merritt Island to be administered by Brevard County. Water and sewer service come to the island’s residents from the nearby town of Cocoa.

Nearby attractions include the Kennedy Space Center, the Astronaut Hall of Fame the American Police Hall of Fame in Titusville, and the Veterans Memorial Center

Originally named Artesia, Merritt Island is located just six miles southwest of Cape Canaveral, the heart of America’s space program. Because of its central location in Brevard County, between Titusville and Melbourne, the area has developed into an economic hub, tucked between the Atlantic beaches to the east and the mainland cities of Rockledge and Cocoa to the west. There’s more to do on Florida’s Space Coast, however, than lounge on the beach, search for seashells and gaze at space shuttles soaring skyward. Residents and visitors enjoy golf, tennis, horseback riding, hiking, biking, surfing, water-skiing, windsurfing, snorkeling, boating, sailing and shopping. Parks provide playgrounds, picnic tables and barbecue grills, and nearby historic Cocoa Village offers tree-lined streets and a wide variety of shops, cafes and art galleries.

In addition to the Kennedy Space Center, nearby attractions include the Astronaut Hall of Fame; the American Police Hall of Fame in Titusville; and the Veterans Memorial Center, which includes a military museum.

And if you simply seek a peek at the unspoiled beauty of the Florida coast, you can visit Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, located adjacent to the Space Center. The 22-square-mile wetlands area, managed by the federal government, attracts more than 300 species of birds and also is home to ghost crabs, loggerhead and green sea turtles, raccoons, bobcats, alligators, manatees, dolphins, bald eagles, ospreys and even the elusive Florida panther. You can see many of them along the seven-mile-long Blackpoint Wildlife Drive.

The gated community of Island Pointe has an array of amenities, including a recreation center with an exercise room and sauna, a heated pool with a spa, and tennis and basketball courts. It’s centrally located as well, just up the coast from Melbourne and Palm Bay, a short drive from Cocoa Beach and around 45 minutes from Orlando.

Island Pointe’s condominium units range from 2,000 to 2,500 square feet, feature three bedrooms, two baths and an open floor plan. All the modern amenities are available, and every building will have elevator access to private garages.