Pictures from Daytona Beach, Florida

Daytona Beach, Florida

Pictures from

Daytona Beach.

 

 

Daytona Beach is north-centrally located on the Atlantic Coast of Florida. South of the city of Jacksonville by about 80 miles and north of Cape Canaveral by 60 miles, it is one of the closest coastal cities to the fantasy land surrounding Orlando. Daytona Beach's population is around 65,000 permanent residents and increases significantly during the tourist season. Weekends and holidays see the city's beaches and roadways fill with weekenders and day visitors.

Daytona Beach may be best known for its early association with the automotive industry. During the first 4 decades of the 20th Century automobile test and race drivers pushed their company's products to the limits on the hard-packed, sandy Atlantic shores of Daytona Beach. The sleepy little town filled to the brim with visitors during those races and tests, much the same as it does with today's Daytona 500. Although the king of stock car races has moved from its beach beginnings to the inland area of Daytona, the beach town has not completely forgotten its heritage. In fact, very well known today for its motorcycle festivals, it caters to the piston crowd like no other.

To college kids in the 70's and 80's, however, Daytona Beach was best known as THE party town. Each year at the semester break, tens of thousands of pre-adult adolescents descended on the beach town turning it into a 24-hour non-stop center for drugs, alcohol and sex. Well covered each year by the media, scenes of destruction and debauchery were dispatched to the edges of the earth. The Spring Break ritual in Daytona Beach has since been toned way down from its early "anything goes" days and the lessons learned here spread rapidly to other beach towns where spring-breakers have been all but banned.

The town still carries a "party atmosphere" though, due mostly to scads of bikers, surfers and other adventurous revilers pursuing their early morning and late evening activities. Shopping downtown can be a revelation and those unaccustomed to the latest in body art or T-shirt candor will walk blushingly from shop to shop - probably right past the head shops, liquor stores, biker gear and surf shops.

Though definitely not your father's beach town, Daytona Beach IS fun. At the center of downtown is the pier and restaurant. They are easily accessed by beach goers from the Main Street Arch. For a kick, you can drive on the wide, sandy beaches, park your vehicle and spend the day catching rays and romping in the surf. Just off of historic Main Street the famous boardwalk starts. Here you can stroll for hundreds of yards along a concrete walkway running alongside the Atlantic surf. Morning walks are somewhat solitary and evening walks are romantic. Every few feet of the way uncovers a new adventure in eating, arcade gaming, thrill rides and finally possibly a concert at the beach. Shoppers can detour along the way to see the latest in fashion, including evening wear and beach wear while others can opt to take in a movie.

Visitors to Daytona Beach, FL can tour many local cities by car.  Jacksonville, one of the largest cities in Florida is about 90 minutes away. You can get to the Space Center or the theme parks around Orlando in about an hour. The beach town of Ormond Beach is just north and the lighthouse at Ponce Inlet is just minutes south. The historic city of St. Augustine is about an hour's drive north. This area can be accessed best by aircraft from the Daytona Beach International Airport.

 

Daytona Beach

 

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Some favorites of Daytona Beach-goers: the yellow and blue beach umbrellas and chaises; the Clock Tower in front of the Adam's Mark Resort; and the Space Needle. space-needle.JPG (15140 bytes)
   

Main Street Daytona Beach

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Historic Main Street Arch - stairway entrance from the beach to the pier and restaurant. Or drive your car under...
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View of the Main Street Pier and restaurant. It has taken some wear from Atlantic storms and was closed for repairs the day we arrived. :-(
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Daytona Beach Pier Historic Main Street, Daytona Beach
   

Daytona Beach Boardwalk

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The palm tree lined Daytona Beach Boardwalk runs along the beach and has restaurants, arcades, thrilling rides, a children's playground, bandshell and other treats.
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Bandshell on the boardwalk. Views along the boardwalk.
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Pier view from the boardwalk. View of the long concrete boardwalk. Children's play area.
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Stone columns along the boardwalk into the concert area. View of the pier
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Some of the rides and amusements along the boardwalk.
     
     

Daytona Beach Beaches

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Blue and yellow beach umbrellas can be seen hundreds of feet up and down the beach. Beach vendors rent almost anything water related.
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Skyline shows hotels, motels, resorts and condos along the beach.
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Beach views from the pier area.  
     

The Original Daytona Beach Speedway

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This was the original speedway where the emerging automobile industry speed tested its products. You can still drive onto the beach but mostly park for the day. It sure beats lugging 50 pounds of beach stuff 200 to 300 yards across soft beach sand, though...
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Daytona Beach Street Scenes

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Busy route A1A through Daytona Beach almost always seems to have people and cars moving about. We'd guess they're going to or coming from their favorite bar, arcade, tattoo parlor, t-shirt shop, biker shop or some unmentionable place.
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Daytona Beach Houses

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Downtown Daytona Beach is an old area and most of the housing there reflects design, construction, relative wealth and tastes of another era.
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Daytona Beach Waterfront Houses

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These houses grace the shores of the Intracoastal Waterway in Daytona Beach.
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Daytona Beach Miscellaneous

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Stone church along A1A Condo along A1A Calvary Baptist Church - circa 1925
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Space Needle through palms along the boardwalk. Picture of the Clock Tower with Adam's Mark Resort in the background.  

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Umbrella shots are always nice.  
     
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