Madeira Beach ( ) is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, bordered on the west by the Gulf of Mexico, and on the east by St. Petersburg. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,895. The entertainment district of John's Pass is located on the Intracoastal Waterway. The city is often referred to by locals as Mad Beach. It is named after the Portuguese island of Madeira.
History
Prior to European colonization, the area that makes up what is now Madeira Beach was rarely permanently inhabited. The local Tocobaga chiefdom used the land to harvest seafood, but did not live on the land.
The modern shape of Madeira Beach was formed by a hurricane, the "Gale of '48", carving out the strait now known as John's Pass. The new waterway was named after an early homesteader, John (Juan) Levique.
Several aborted attempts to settle the area occurred in the early 1900s, but it was not until 1926 that a causeway was built between the mainland and Madeira Beach, allowing for the first houses to be constructed in the area. A bridge was built crossing John's Pass a year later. Madeira Beach incorporated as a town in May 1947. The town annexed the nearby municipality of South Madeira in 1951. Significant dredging operations on the intracoastal causeway dramatically expanded the land area of Madeira Beach in the 1950s and 1960s. Additionally, the town annexed some land on mainland Pinellas in 1955 for the construction of a shopping center and a school, now Madeira Beach Fundamental School.
The city is located on a barrier island between the Gulf of Mexico to the southwest, and the Boca Ciega Bay to the northeast. One bridge, the Tom Stuart Causeway, connects Madeira Beach to the mainland, in the unincorporated community of Bay Pines. To the northwest of Madeira Beach is the town of Redington Beach, and to the southeast, across the inlet of John's Pass, is the city of Treasure Island.
Climate
The City of Madeira Beach is in a humid subtropical climate zone with a Köppen Climate Classification of "Cfa" (C = mild temperate, f = fully humid, and a = hot summer).
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable"
|+Madeira Beach racial composition<br> (Hispanics excluded from racial categories)<br> (NH = Non-Hispanic)<br>
!Race
!Pop 2010
!Pop 2020
!% 2010
!% 2020
|-
|White (NH)
|3,924
|3,402
|92.05%
|87.34%
|-
|Black or African American (NH)
|37
|37
|0.87%
|0.95%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)
|17
|14
|0.40%
|0.36%
|-
|Asian (NH)
|44
|52
|1.03%
|1.34%
|-
|Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)
|1
|1
|0.02%
|0.03%
|-
|Some other race (NH)
|2
|29
|0.05%
|0.74%
|-
|Two or more races/Multiracial (NH)
|53
|124
|1.24%
|3.18%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|185
|236
|4.34%
|6.06%
|-
|Total
|4,263
|3,895
|100.00%
|100.00%
|-
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Madeira Beach had a population of 3,895. The median age was 58.1 years. 7.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 31.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 102.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.8 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,149 households in Madeira Beach, of which 10.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.5% were married-couple households, 26.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 39.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 4,263 people, 2,278 households, and 1,100 families residing in the city.
2000 census
At the 2000 census, there were 4,511 people in 2,528 households, including 1,122 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 3,976 housing units, at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was: 97.05% White, 0.27% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race made up 2.37%. Construction for the church lasted from 1944 to 1946.
The church has become a tourist attraction because its tower resembles a chicken; it is known colloquially as the "Chicken Church".
John's Pass Marina
thumb|right|John's Pass boardwalk
On September 24, 1848, a strong hurricane struck the West Coast of Florida. It separated the barrier island on the coast and created a waterway known today as John's Pass. John Levique, along with Joseph Silva, was the one who discovered it and named it after himself, and it is now a federally owned canal.
In 2022, the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, included in the budget $1,500,000 to dredge John's Pass.
See also
References
External links
- City of Madeira Beach official website