Punta Gorda
| Punta Gorda | |
|---|---|
 Punta Gorda City Hall |
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| County and state location | |
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| Basic data | |
| Foundation : | 1882 |
| State : | United States |
| State : | Florida |
| County : | Charlotte County |
| Coordinates : | 26 ° 55 ′ N , 82 ° 3 ′ W |
| Time zone : | Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 ) |
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Inhabitants : - Metropolitan Area : |
18,796 (as of 2016) 178,465 (as of 2016) |
| Population density : | 512.2 inhabitants per km 2 |
| Area : | 47.9 km 2 (approx. 18 mi 2 ) of which 36.7 km 2 (approx. 14 mi 2 ) is land |
| Height : | 1 m |
| Postcodes : | 33900-33999 |
| Area code : | +1 941 |
| FIPS : | 12-59200 |
| GNIS ID : | 0289380 |
| Website : | www.ci.punta-gorda.fl.us |
| Mayor : | Rachel Keesling |
Punta Gorda is a city and also the county seat of Charlotte County in the US state of Florida with 18,796 inhabitants (as of 2016). The urban area has a size of 47.9 km².
The city has a unique city center with several historical places, which are also recorded in the national register. On August 13, 2004, Hurricane Charley caused massive destruction in parts of the city.
geography
Punta Gorda is located in southwest Florida on the banks of the Peace River and Charlotte Harbor on the Gulf of Mexico , about 10 km south of Port Charlotte and 160 km south of Tampa . The city is the center of the metropolitan area Punta Gorda (English: Punta Gorda Metropolitan Statistical Area ), which corresponds to Charlotte County.
climate
The climate is mild and warm, light with a light wind from the sea. Statistically, it rains an average of 40% of the days in the summer months, even if only for a short time. The highest temperatures are in May to October, with up to 41 ° C. The coldest months from December to February with an average of only 15 ° C. Snowfall is almost unknown in the region.
history
Punta Gorda was originally founded in 1884 as the Town of Trabue by the landowner Colonel Isaac Trabue. In 1886 the Florida Southern Railway built a railway line from Lakeland via Arcadia to Punta Gorda, which was integrated into the Plant System in 1892 . An extension of the line to Fort Myers was opened in 1904 by the ACL . Today the route from Arcadia via Punta Gorda to Naples is operated by the Seminole Gulf Railway . In 1887 the city name was changed to Punta Gorda. In the 1890s the city developed into an important trading center for cattle in the direction of Cuba. In 1905 large parts of the city were destroyed by a major fire, whereupon it was ordered that only bricks and concrete should be used for the reconstruction of the buildings. In 1921 the first bridge was built over Charlotte Harbor , after which the place was hit by the Florida land boom and grew rapidly. Most of the city's public buildings that exist today were built in the 1920s.
In August 2004, which drew the eye of Hurricane Charley directly over Punta Gorda, which severe devastation of the urban area is moved to. In the years that followed, Punta Gorda was rebuilt.
Religions
In Punta Gorda there are currently 45 different churches from 18 different denominations. Among the churches belonging to a denomination, the Baptist congregation is most strongly represented with 11 churches. There are also 4 churches that do not belong to any denomination (status: 2004).
Demographic data
According to the 2010 census, the then 16,641 inhabitants were distributed over 11,580 households. The population density was 453.4 inh / km². 93.3% of the population identified themselves as whites, 3.3% as African American , 0.2% as Indians and 1.1% as Asian Americans . 0.7% said they belonged to another ethnic group and 1.3% to several ethnic groups. 4.5% of the population was made up of Hispanics or Latinos .
In 2010 children under 18 years of age and 60.7% of all households lived in 10.7% of all households with persons at least 65 years of age. 67.4% of households were family households (consisting of married couples with or without offspring or a parent with offspring). The average household size was 1.95 and the average family size was 2.30.
10.2% of the population were younger than 20 years old, 8.5% were 20 to 39 years old, 20.5% were 40 to 59 years old, and 60.9% were at least 60 years old. The mean age was 64 years. 47.5% of the population were male and 52.5% were female.
The median annual income was $ 59,090, with 11.1% of the population living below the poverty line.
In 2000, English was the first language of 94.16% of the population and 5.84% had another mother tongue.
Attractions
The following properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places :
Parks
Laishley Park , a 16-acre park on the banks of the Peace River with a 100 m long pier for anglers and a public boat dock. Laishley Park extends to the city center.
Gilchrist Park is a park that is 20 acres in size. It's also on the banks of the Peace River with plenty of picnic tables, benches, and charcoal grills. There is a wooden pier for fishing on the bank. There are also 4 tennis courts, a basketball court and a playground for children. The park is also equipped for the disabled.
In the Nature Park there is an observatory for observing birds. The park size is 19 acres. There is a hiking trail in the park that extends into the wooded and low-lying areas, where seabirds abound.
Ponce DeLeon Park is a freely accessible park near the harbor with its own beach, boat dock and a large car park where the boat trailers can park. There are also plenty of picnic tables, benches, and charcoal grills.
economy
In 2003, Punta Gorda was voted # 4 on America's Best Places to Live . The reason was: Punta Gorda has the best economic performance in the nation. The current and future labor market conditions are excellent, the unemployment rate is low and the cost of living is normal. The tax structure is good and there is no personal income tax. The prices for land and houses are low.
There is no industry worth mentioning. The main branches of employment are: education, health and social affairs: (23.0%), trade / retail: (15.0%), finance, insurance and real estate: (10.9%), future technologies, management, administration: (12 , 4%), arts, entertainment, food, restaurants (11.5%).
schools
- East Elementary School
- Sally Jones Elementary School
- Punta Gorda Middle School
- Charlotte High School
traffic
Punta Gorda is crossed by Interstate 75 and the Tamiami Trail ( US 41 ) in a north-south direction. In addition, US Highway 17 and Florida State Road 35 begin here on a shared route to the east. The local airport is Punta Gorda Airport, east of the urban area .
crime
The crime rate in 2010 was 150 points (US average: 266 points) in the low range. There was one rape, two robberies, 24 personal injuries, 176 break-ins, 198 thefts, two car thefts and two arson attacks.
Web links
- Website of the city (Engl.)
Individual evidence
- ^ Gregg Turner: A Short History of Florida Railroads. Arcadia Publishing , Mount Pleasant 2014, ISBN 978-1-439642-54-2 .
- ^ The History of Punta Gorda. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on September 6, 2015 ; accessed on September 14, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 . United States Census Bureau . Retrieved April 25, 2013.
- ↑ Language distribution 2000 . Modern Language Association . Retrieved April 25, 2013.
- ^ FLORIDA - Charlotte County. National Register of Historic Places , accessed July 26, 2015 .
- ↑ http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Punta-Gorda-Florida.html
