Bradenton Beach
With about 1,500 permanent residents in five square miles, Bradenton Beach is a popular and quieter beach destination for Florida travelers. Located on the southern end of Anna Maria Island, the community has that Old Florida aesthetic.
The southern portion of Anna Maria Island was named Cortez Beach after the connected fishing village of Cortez on the mainland. The Village of Cortez has long been an important contributor to the Bradenton fishing industry and is even included on the National Register of Historic Places.
In the late 1920s, people started referring to the area as Bradenton Beach in a possible effort to distinguish it from mainland Cortez.
Up until 1921, the only way to access Anna Maria Island was by boat. That is the year that the island was connected to the mainland by a wooden bridge extending from the village of Cortez to what was then called Cortez Beach making it the center of the island community. In the late ’20s, Cortez Beach became known as Bradenton Beach.
In 1967, the current drawbridge was opened to 5th Street North ending the use of the original wooden bridge as a means to access the island. While the side of the bridge in Cortez village was removed, the Bradenton Beachside of the old wooden bridge was saved and converted into a fishing pier at the eastern end of Bridge Street. This fishing pier still stands today and is the site of a restaurant and gathering place for locals, tourists and little ones trying to catch the big one.
In 1952, Bradenton Beach was officially incorporated as a city. The booming population reinforced the need for a superior bridge connection. In 1967, the city developed a new bridge while the old bridge was altered to a popular local community pier which was recently revamped into a tourist area in a massive rejuvenation project. It is now bustling with new restaurants, shops and unique local boutiques. You can also visit the Historic Bridge Street area to this day, with shops and several recently launched restaurants housed in restored buildings.
Historic Bridge Street is once again the bustling center of activity in this historic beach community. What’s now known as the Historic Old Town District is great for day trips, weekend getaways, or an entire vacation. Bridge Street offers a walkable community with spectacular water views from both the pier and the gulf beach.
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