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There are good guides to the island, so I won’t sweat the details
here, but here are a few things about the island you might find useful and
interesting. Here are a couple of web sites to hit too:
Anna Maria Island is a 7.6 mile (12.5 km) sub-tropical barrier island.
Sometimes called ‘Anna Maria Key’, it is as much a key ("a low
island or reef") as Longboat Key, Key Largo or Key West.
There are three separate incorporated municipalities on the island:
1.
Bradenton
Beach, which occupies the southern 2.75 miles (4.5 km) of the island,
has about 1,700 permanent residents. The island is at its narrowest, just
a few hundred yards wide, through much of the town. Bradenton Beach tends
to have a younger and more transient population than the other two cities,
with lots of motels and condominiums. Major attractions include Coquina Beach,
and the historic Bridge Street area, including the fishing pier at its bay
side. The numbered east/west streets on the island are referenced from Bridge
Street, ranging from 13th South to 85th North (at the border between Anna
Maria and Holmes Beach).
2.
Holmes
Beach occupies the middle 3.25 miles (5.3 km) of the island, and
has about 5,000 permanent residents. Holmes Beach includes most of the shopping
areas on the island and many of the public facilities (elementary school,
fire station). Most of Holmes Beach, however, is residential. The majority
are single family homes, including those on Key Royale, which is actually
a totally separate island accessible only from Anna Maria Island (to get
there, turn right, heading north on Marina Drive, at 66th Street/Key Royale
Drive). Major attractions include Manatee Public Beach and a plethora of
restaurants and shops.
3.
Anna
Maria is on the northernmost 1.6 miles (2.6 km) of the island, with
about 1,800 permanent residents. Anna Maria is the quietest of the three
towns, and the most isolated; to get there you must pass the Baptist
Church on Gulf Drive. Anna Maria is virtually all single family homes, there
being only four very small single story motels in town. Major attractions
include the two bay side fishing piers, Bayfront Park, and Bean Point, home
to lots of wildlife, and the prettiest beach and best views on the
island.
If one adds together the populations above, you get 8,500 permanent
residents. In fact, the average number of residents on the island is about
24,000, including visitors. This means that, on average, 65% of the
island’s population is on vacation at any given time. That’s a
happy thought!
The island has a strict limitation on the height of buildings of 37
feet (11.3 meters), and there are few open lots, so the population of the
island has pretty much peaked.
This is great! That means that the island’s beaches won’t
get much more crowded than they are now, which is not very crowded at all.
We are particularly fortunate here at the northern end of the island, for
our beach is never, never, never crowded, and it’s the best one
going!
The first settler on the island in modern times was George Bean (thus,
"Bean Point"), who erected a cottage in 1893. Over the next twenty years,
a few other structures went up; some cottages near the south end of the island,
a settlement known as West View, as well as the still-standing Anna Maria
City Pier. The first home in what is now Anna Maria City was erected in 1910
on the northwest corner of Spring Avenue and Tarpon Street. This is still
standing, and is known as the Pioneer Cottage. George Bean’s son, George
W. "Will" Bean lived here initially.
By 1920, the island had somewhere around 40-50 permanent residents (16
registered voters), but still no bridge to the island. A vote was taken,
and the residents of both Manatee County and Anna Maria Island voted
overwhelmingly for it. Construction began in April, 1921. After the bridge
was virtually completed, in October of that year, it was obliterated by what
was probably the most powerful hurricane to hit the island. This was likely
to be a Category 5, the most powerful, with winds in excess of 155 mph. The
bridge, nonetheless, was quickly rebuilt, leading to a relative boom time
for the island (a lot of America was booming during the years following
WWI).
With the rebuilding of the bridge, a hotel and casino (a big one, like
over a football field long!) was built at the gulf end of "Bridge Street"
in what is now Bradenton Beach. The island became a popular stop for day
trips, attracting large crowds on weekends. The casino burned down in 1923,
and the popularity of the island waned. Grand development plans for the island,
hatched by Will Bean and others, fell through. It’s a good thing too,
for otherwise this island might be another Miami Beach or Atlantic City,
and you and I probably wouldn’t be here.
The City of Anna Maria, the first of the three, was incorporated in
1923, with W. M. "Mitch" Davis serving as its first mayor. Building went
on in fits and starts over the next 70 years, with much of the island developed
during the 1950’s, as you can tell by the age of many of the homes,
including this one, built in 1955. Today, only about 5% of the island is
classed as open space, so development is pretty much complete. Wise laws
enacted in the 1970’s limited the height of buildings and, in Anna Maria
City, restricted multi-family units. The only buildings over three stories
are the twin seven-story towers of the Martinique in Holmes Beach. Thus,
the character of the island is "family style". No high rises full of
over-priced condos like Longboat Key. No gated communities like Marco
Island. |
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