Abstract
A drive down A1A through the City of Cocoa Beach reveals meager clues to this municipality's former life as "Missileland, USA." Few businesses sport missile oriented names as they did during the Space-Age boom of the 1950s and 1960s. Reporters no longer troll the missile worker watering holes in hopes of securing information regarding the next launch from the Cape. The number of tourists seeking out Major Anthony Nelson's house decreases each year. Today's visitors find a community whose lifeblood stems more from its broad sandy shores than from its proximity to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station or the Kennedy Space Center. But looking behind the surf shops and time shares, the legacy of Missileland, USA survives in the solid infrastructure developed during the city's Space-Age heyday.
Recommended Citation
Walters, Lori C.
(2020)
"Beyond the Cape: An Examination of Cape Canaveral's Influence on the City of Cocoa Beach 1950-1963,"
Florida Historical Quarterly: Vol. 87:
No.
2, Article 8.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol87/iss2/8
