Dania Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 29,639. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010 census. Dania Beach is the location of one of the largest jai alai frontons in the United States, The Casino at Dania Beach. It was formerly the location for two amusement centers; one named Boomers!, which housed the Dania Beach Hurricaneroller coaster, and the other being Pirates World amusement park, which was featured in Barry Mahon's Thumbelina. It is also former home to the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum.
History
The area was started as a neighborhood called Modello in the late 19th century. In November 1904, the area was incorporated as the town of Dania, because most of the 35 residents were farmers of Danishancestry. On January 4, 1926, Dania voted to annex itself to the City of Hollywood. After the September 1926 Miami hurricane decimated Hollywood's fortunes, most of Dania seceded from the City ofHollywood and reincorporated as a city. The areas that chose to remain part of the City of Hollywood caused Dania's current noncontinuous city boundaries. On November 1998, Dania formally changed its name to Dania Beach. The name Dania is still commonly used to refer to the city. In 2001, the city annexed several unincorporated areas of Broward County increasing the population by about 3,600 people. Formerly known as the "Tomato Capital of the World," once the city went from a farming settlement to an urban city, it soon took on the name "The Antique Capital of the South," due to its many antique shops in downtown Dania Beach, especially along Federal Highway, known as the city's "Antique Row".
As of 2010, there were 15,671 households, out of which 17.8% were vacant. In 2000, 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.9% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.0% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.85. In 2000, the city the population was spread out, with 20.0% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.4 males. In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $34,125, and the median income for a family was $37,405. Males had a median income of $35,081 versus $26,535 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,795. About 14.6% of families and 18.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.6% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over. As of 2000, English as a first language was spoken by 76.85%, while Spanish accounted for 12.38%, French at 4.88%, French Creole at 1.94%, Italian at 1.36%, and Arabic was spoken by 0.80% of the population. As of 2000, Dania Beach had the 127th highest percentage of Cuban residents in the US, at 1.69% of the city's population
Economy
The airline Sun Air International has its headquarters in Dania Beach. American Maritime Officers is headquartered in Dania Beach, as is the Alec Bradley Cigar Co., a maker of hand-rolled cigars. Carnival Air Lines was headquartered in Dania Beach. Gulfstream International Airlines was formerly headquartered in Dania Beach. Rustic Inn Crabhouse, a popular restaurant frequented by many famous entertainment and sports celebrities, is located in Dania Beach. Chewy.com is headquartered in the town as well.
Dania Beach is a part of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood media market, which is the 12th largest radio market and the 17th largest television market in the United States. Its primary daily newspapers are the South Florida-Sun Sentinel and The Miami Herald, and their Spanish-language counterparts El Sentinel and El Nuevo Herald.
