South Padre Island, Texas
South Padre Island is a town in Cameron County, Texas, United States.[3] It is part of the Brownsville•Harlingen Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,422 at the 2000 census. The town is located on South Padre Island, a barrier island along the Texas Gulf Coast accessible via a causeway from the town of Port Isabel. South Padre Island is named after José Nicolás Ballí (Padre Ballí), a Catholic priest and settler. [4]
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History
In September 1967, Hurricane Beulah caused extensive damage to much of the town of South Padre Island. [5][6] On 23 July 2008, Hurricane Dolly made landfall on the island as a category 2 storm, also causing extensive damage to the town.
Industry
Subsequent to rebuilding from Hurricane Beulah, the island became a popular spring break destination for college students and other tourists. Many multistory resort hotels and condominiums have been erected along the coastline to the Gulf of Mexico. The Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark, the second of its kind in Texas, opened in South Padre Island in 2001. [7]
The South Padre International Music Festival is an annual event that occurs the first weekend of November. 2007 marked the inaugural year of the event and was attended by almost 10,000 festival-goers throughout the weekend. Sixty-four bands across fourteen venues filled the island and rocked to an array of both national and international acts, ranging from country, reggae, rock, and indie jams to Latin rock, ska and jazz.[8]
Recreation
South Padre is home to many watersport activities with personal water craft rental, kiteboarding and dolphin watches being the most popular. Other favorites are horseback riding adventures on the beach and ecological tours that explore Padre Island National Seashore.
Fishing is also popular. Also, every year the Texas International Fishing Tournament is held in late summer with winnings totaling almost a quarter million. Along with many other fishing tournaments such as Ladies Kingfish Tournament, Hooters Tournament, Redfish Rodeo just to name a few.
The island is a popular spring break destination for high school and college students.
Geography
South Padre Island is located at 26°06′43″N 97°10′11″W / 26.111935°N 97.169587°W.[9]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km2), of which, 1.8 square miles (4.7 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km2) of it (4.23%) is water.
Climate
South Padre Island experiences a humid subtropical climate, similar to that of the Tampa Bay Area of Florida but with less precipitation and slightly higher summer maximum temperatures. The average high in January is 67 °F (19 °C) and the average low is 52 °F (11 °C). The average high in July is 95 °F (35 °C), and the average low is 77 °F (25 °C). The warm season is long, as average high temperatures are 90-99 °F (32-37 °C) , and average low temperatures typically around 77 °F (25 °C). The region experiences relatively high dew point values, around 75 °F (24 °C) in the summer time, resulting in higher relative humidity values from June through September.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 2,422 people, 1,211 households, and 662 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,335.9 people per square mile (516.7/km2). There were 4,685 housing units at an average density of 2,584.1/sq mi (999.4/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 94.59% White, 0.70% African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.77% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. 22.83% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 1,211 households out of which 15.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.3% were non-families. 35.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.54.
In the town the population was spread out with 12.9% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 34.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 113.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $45,417, and the median income for a family was $53,250. Males had a median income of $39,250 versus $30,028 for females. The per capita income for the town was $31,708. About 10.2% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.1% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Children living in South Padre Island are zoned to schools in Point Isabel Independent School District. Children go to Garriga Elementary School (Grades K-2), Derry Elementary School, (3-5), Port Isabel Junior High School (6-8), and Port Isabel High School (9-12). All of the schools are in Port Isabel. [10]
In addition, South Padre Island residents may apply to schools in the South Texas Independent School District. [11]
Government and infrastructure
The United States Postal Service operates the South Padre Island Post Office.[12]
Transportation
Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport in Brownsville and Valley International Airport in Harlingen serve the island.[13]
Gallery
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A west-facing view from the Holiday Inn SunSpree in South Padre Island. |
A street in SPI with residences and condominiums. |
A person taking an early morning walk on the Gulf side of the island. |
This walkway provides access to the beach from a condo. |
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A beach in South Padre Island. |
One of the smaller venues for the South Padre International Music Festival. |
Notes
| Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (May 2010) |
On December 13, 2009, an unfinished 31-story condo tower, know as Ocean Tower was imploded in South Padre Island, Texas. Construction on the new tower began in 2006 but had been sinking unevenly during construction which was halted in 2008 and could not be saved.
It is believed to be one of the tallest reinforced concrete structures ever imploded.[14][15]
References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Handbook of Texas Online article for South Padre Island Accessed May 17, 2007.
- ^ Handbook of Texas Online biography of José Nicolás Ballí Accessed May 16, 2007.
- ^ Handbook of Texas Online article on hurricanes in Texas Accessed May 16, 2007.
- ^ Padre Island's history with tropical systems Accessed May 17, 2007.
- ^ Background information on Schlitterbahn developments in Texas Accessed May 16, 2007.
- ^ About the festival Accessed March 26, 2008.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Port Isabel ISD Accessed May 16, 2007.
- ^ South Texas Independent School District Accessed May 16, 2007.
- ^ "Post Office™ Location - SOUTH PADRE ISLAND." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.
- ^ "Southwest Airlines Cities," Southwest Airlines
- ^ LiveLeak.com - Tallest reinforced concrete structure ever imploded liveleak.com
- ^ Ocean Tower implodes into pile of rubble - The Brownsville Herald, December 14, 2009.
External links
| Texas portal |
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Padre Island |
- South Padre Island Surf Spots
- Bay and Offshore Fishing - The Pelican Services
- Town of South Padre Island
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Categories: Cameron County, Texas | Towns in Texas | Beaches of Texas
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