The First Town Hall Historic Plaque in Town Hall Park

Can you believe that the first Juno Beach Town Hall was in a former gas station!

Though Juno Beach was incorporated as a town in 1953, it didn’t have any offices. Town Commission meetings were held in different motels and restaurants. By the time the town’s year-round population grew to 250 in 1961, officials decided they needed a permanent meeting place. Seeing that the gas station on this site was to become available, the town leased the building from the Standard Oil Company for just $1 a year. It was cleverly converted it into a combined Town Hall and police station. In 1974, the town purchased it with a mix of public and private funding. As the town rapidly grew, it built today’s Town Center by Pelican Lake in 1991. Over the years, this original Town Hall site remained vacant until residents convinced the Town Council to dedicate it as a park in 2018.

Now here’s an interesting geology fact for you! As you stand in the park, turn your back to the ocean and look to the west. You’ll see a dramatic change in elevation. You’re seeing part of the Atlantic Coastal Ridge which runs the entire east coast of Florida. This natural dune rises steeply to reach an elevation here of 44 feet above sea level.

Another interesting fact: Because you’re standing between this high ridge on one side, and the oceanfront dunes on the other, all the rainwater and groundwater naturally flows south. This is what feeds Pelican Lake today, and which fed the natural marsh that preceded it.