Bradenton Beach was originally referred to as Cortez Beach since it was close to Cortez. Construction on a wooden bridge to the mainland would begin in the summer of 1921. The 1921 Tampa Bay Hurricane that October would destroy 80% of the bridge that was built up to that point. Despite a majority of the bridge being destroyed, it would later be completed sometime in June 1922; 8 months later. Bradenton Beach started to be known as it's present day name during the mid 1920s as the Florida land boom was occurring. Real estate developers saw this as a way to convince possible buyers that it was closer to Bradenton. Sometime in early 1926, a county bond was approved to build a wooden bridge linking Bradenton Beach to Longboat Key with the bridge being finished in August. However, the bridge was only open until October after a hurricane damaged it. On March 6, 1932 the bridge would be swept away during a high tide. It would not be replaced until 1957. A post office called Bradenton Beach has been in operation since 1941. Bradenton Beach would later be incorporated in 1952. The main wooden bridge to the island from Cortez would be replaced by a concrete one in 1957 as local residents wanted a stronger bridge. A parade lead by an elephant was hosted by the city to display it strength and to convince the local residents as well. To offset the cost of bridge, the local government made it a toll bridge until 1964 when it was reimbursed. Cars were charged 30¢ entering the island and no toll was put in place on those leaving the island.
At the 2000 census, there were 1,482 people, 803 households and 391 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,704.9 per square mile. There were 1,762 housing units at an average density of 3,215.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 98.52% White, 0.27% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.69% of the population. There were 803 households of which 11.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% were married couples living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.2% were non-families. 40.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.85 and the average family size was 2.40. 10.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 35.2% from 45 to 64, and 24.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.0 males. The median household income was $32,318 and the median family income was $46,583. Males had a median income of $26,146 compared with $20,772 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,850. About 3.9% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.
Library
The Tingley Memorial Library is located at 111 2nd Street, North, behind City Hall. It was built with a $600,000 bequest from the estate of Beulah Rebecca Hooks Hannah Tingley and is maintained without the use of public funding. In 2000, Beulah Tingley was declared a "Great Floridian" by the state and a plaque attesting to that honor was placed above the front door of the library.
