LIVING HISTORY
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Port St. Lucie 50th Anniversary
14,690 in 1980, and then to an incredible 55,860 by 1990, 88,769
in 2000, and 165,000 in 2011. As the city grew, it annexed land,
more than doubling its size from the initial 50 square miles in
1961 to 116 square miles in 2011.
Port St. Lucie’s first movie theater didn’t open until the mid-
1980s, at Village Green Shopping Center on the corner of U.S.
1 and Walton Road, where the Port St. Lucie Civic Center now
stands. Shoppers said the center, with its “California-style”
layout was confusing, and after years of struggling to attract
businesses and buyers, it was finally torn down to make way for
the civic center — which city officials hope will be the center of a
new “downtown” — a downtown the city never had.
“Most cities start from a junction and grow outward from
there,” Westberry says. “Port St. Lucie didn’t have that, so it just
grew and spread all over the place.”
Known for its inexpensive home prices and inexpensive building
lots, it was also known as a “bedroom community” whose
residents of working age went to Martin County, Fort Pierce, or
Vero Beach to work.
Gradually, that is changing. Four year degrees are now available
at Indian River State College, which has a campus in St.
Lucie West along with Florida Atlantic University. More professional
jobs are available as the city’s government seeks to attract
research facilities and non-construction businesses.
Becky Post O’Brien went to Florida State University, intending
to go out and make her life elsewhere, she says. But instead, she
returned and worked at Indian River State College before joining
the family business.
“Port St. Lucie today reminds me of a 30-something person —
it’s still kind of shiny new with a lot of potential. It’s still defining
itself. I’m glad my parents were involved in that,” she says.
“When my dad did a “community needs” survey around
1971, the top need on people’s minds was a hospital,” she says.
“Second was a grocery store, and third was a bowling alley.
That’s exactly what people were interested in and it showed their
priorities: their health, food, and then recreation. The city got all
that although it took time. But it gave them a direction to go in.
“I am glad I came back here to live and work, and I am proud
to say I live in Port St. Lucie.”
BECKY POST OBRIEN
An aerial view of Rivergreen Villas, near Lyngate Park in Port St. Lucie,
probably taken in the 80s when the city was growing quickly.
BECKY POST OBRIEN
In the 1980s the Port St. Lucie Raft Race was a must-attend event with
makeshift “rafts” of every possible description vying for first place.
Becky Post, in a white t-shirt, and other children watch the zany vessels
attempt to move forward and stay upright.
SUSAN BURGESS
The Port St. Lucie Civic Center opened in December, 2008 and was planned to provide the city with a new “downtown” — a feature left out when General
Development planned a residential community before it became a city. Here, the civic center is hosting the Treasure Coast Home Expo with so many
exhibits that large tents had to be set up outside.