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Clearwater Beach

Beaches of FloridaClearwater, FloridaPopulated coastal places in Florida on the Gulf of MexicoSeaside resorts in FloridaTourist attractions in Pinellas County, Florida
Vague or ambiguous time from June 2021
Clearwater Beach sunset
Clearwater Beach sunset

Clearwater Beach includes a resort area and a residential area on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico in Pinellas County on the west-central coast of Florida. Located just west over the Intracoastal Waterway by way of the Clearwater Memorial Causeway from the rest of the city of Clearwater, Florida, of which it is part, Clearwater Beach is at a geographic latitude of 27.57 N and longitude 82.48 W. Clearwater Beach is characterized by white sand beaches stretching for 2.5 miles (4 km) along the Gulf and sits on a barrier island. It has a full marina on the Intracoastal Waterway side and is linked on the south by a short bridge to another barrier island called Sand Key, where Sand Key Park is located. The area offers shopping, restaurants, and activities such as parasailing, jet ski rentals, boat tours (with a common sighting of dolphins in the Gulf waters), miniature golf, fishing charters, and "pirate ship" cruises.Clearwater has frequently been ranked one of the best beaches in the United States. Its Sandpearl resort was named one of the best beach resorts in the U.S. In January 2013, Clearwater Beach was awarded the designation of Florida's Best Beach Town by a USA Today reader poll ranking 10 Florida beach destinations. In February 2019, Clearwater Beach was named the best beach in the United States and sixth-best in the world by TripAdvisor.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Clearwater Beach (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Clearwater Beach
Papaya Street, Clearwater

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 27.979931 ° E -82.827232 °
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Address

Pearly's Beach Eats

Papaya Street 45
33767 Clearwater
Florida, United States
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Clearwater Beach sunset
Clearwater Beach sunset
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Fort Harrison, Florida
Fort Harrison, Florida

Fort Harrison was a United States military post that existed along the west coast of Florida during the Second Seminole War, on a site which now lies within the city of Clearwater. It was named after William Henry Harrison, the then newly inaugurated President of the United States. The fort was established on April 2, 1841, atop a pine bluff overlooking Clearwater Harbor, where the Harbor Oaks Residential District is today. An auxiliary encampment, Camp William Henry Harrison, was also created on Clearwater Beach. The fort was designed as a convalescent post to treat sick and injured soldiers from other nearby forts, most notably Fort Brooke. Diseases that were treated include neuralgia, chronic diarrhea, dysentery and remittent fever, among others.There were between two and seven companies of the 6th U.S. Infantry Regiment garrisoned at the fort under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Gustavus Loomis. An average of around 340 soldiers were stationed at the fort over the course of its occupation. The peak occupancy of the fort came to be around 500 to 550 troops, occurring through the months of May and July 1841.Although the main function of the fort was to allow soldiers to recover their health, in some cases the garrison was used to patrol the area north of Tampa Bay. In July 1841, Colonel William J. Worth (the commander of the U.S. military forces in Florida at the time) assembled troops from this fort, as well as from Fort Brooke and Fort King, for the purpose of capturing the Seminole in the area between the Homosassa and Crystal Rivers and in the vicinity of Tsala Apopka Lake.A large log building was used to house the soldiers, while the officer's quarters were situated in a separate building. The buildings may have eventually been destroyed by hurricane-force winds. The fort's command moved to Fort Brooke around October 20, 1841, and the fort was fully abandoned around November 1, 1841.The fort was an important part of the early settlement of Clearwater and the surrounding area. Odet Philippe (the first permanent, non-native settler in Pinellas County) owned a sutler's store during the time of the fort's occupation by the military, and so he was most likely doing business with the fort. After the war, in accordance with the Armed Occupation Act, James Stevens was granted 160 acres of land on and around the abandoned fort. Other families later settled on the land surrounding Stevens' land, and a community soon formed which would ultimately become the city of Clearwater. Today the only physical marker of the existence and whereabouts of the old fort is a plaque, which was erected in 1935. The plaque is located outside the historic Century Oaks estate, on the corner of Druid Road South and Druid Road West. The Fort Harrison Hotel and Fort Harrison Avenue in Clearwater are presumed to be named after the fort.

Flag Building
Flag Building

The Flag Building, also referred to as the Super Power Building, is the largest building in Clearwater, Florida. It is owned by the Church of Scientology and was built principally to deliver the Super Power Rundown, a high-level Scientology training course intended to train Scientologists to use what Scientology describes as all of their 57 "perceptics" or senses. The interior of the building contains training suites, course rooms, theaters and various devices intended to test these "perceptics," including a "time machine", an anti-gravity simulator, an "infinite" pit, and a pain station. The complex occupies a city block at 215 South Fort Harrison Avenue. It includes a 15-story tower topped by a bronze Scientology cross visible from much of Clearwater. Construction began in 1998, was halted in 2003, and was ultimately resumed to reach substantial completion during 2011. The long delay in construction led to substantial fines being levied by the city authorities. The building is valued at $80 million and at least $145 million was raised by Church fundraising towards the project. The church denies accusations that the Flag Building's completion was deliberately delayed so that it could serve as a cash cow.The Church of Scientology announced in August 2013 that the building would be opened to the public on October 6, 2013, with a dedication ceremony that the church estimated would attract approximately 10,000 Scientologists. However, a month later it emerged that the Church had canceled the ceremony and postponed the opening of the building. The building finally opened on November 17, 2013.