1996 Hometown Graphics Pictorial Promotional View of Cape Canaveral, Florida

The Space Coast.

This is a curious 1996 promotional pictorial view of Cape Canaveral, Florida, and nearby communities in Brevard County produced by Home Town Graphics. It was produced at a time when this area, dubbed the 'Space Coast,' was consolidating after a period of fantastic population growth due to the establishment of the nearby NASA facilities.

A Closer Look

The view covers from the Emory L. Bennett Causeway (SR 528) in the north to the area near the Minuteman Causeway in Cocoa Beach. The Kennedy Space Center is referred to by a space shuttle in the distance at the top-right. Signs for local businesses appear throughout, ranging from hotels and restaurants to nightclubs, bars, bookshops, and surf shops.

Florida's 'Space Coast'

Florida's Brevard County underwent a radical transformation in the 1960s, changing from a quiet region of citrus groves and sleepy fishing villages into the global epicenter of the Space Age. Following NASA's 1961 announcement to acquire over 88,000 acres on Merritt Island for a permanent launch facility, the area witnessed a population explosion. Brevard's population skyrocketed from roughly 24,000 in 1950 to over 111,000 by 1960, some 230,000 by 1970, and roughly 400,000 by 1990. The initial wave of new arrivals included thousands of engineers, scientists, and technicians, with their families, who supported the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. Although the conclusion of the Apollo program in 1972 brought a period of economic adjustment, the mid-to-late 1970s were characterized by the reconfiguration of the Kennedy Space Center for the upcoming Space Shuttle era. During this time, the community matured from a temporary 'boomtown' into a permanent aerospace hub, including commercial and tourism industries centered around the spectacle of rocket launches.

Publication History and Census

This view was prepared by Home Town Graphics in 1996. We have been unable to find any additional information on this company and have only identified one other map by it, of Lafollette, Tennessee. The present view is unrecorded in institutional collections and has no known history on the market.

Condition

Excellent.