Cocoa Beach

Forever linked to Cape Canaveral and the U.S. space program, Cocoa Beach is famous as the setting of the popular 1960s TV show I Dream of Jeannie. Filming for the TV show took place entirely in Southern California in place of Cocoa and Cape Canaveral.

Understand
The city is on the east coast of Florida on the Atlantic Ocean. Between the ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway is the narrow coastal region that is the location of the city.

Get in
Cocoa Beach can be accessed by several roads: Florida routes 520 & 528 cross the Indian River and Merritt Island from Interstate 95; A1A parallels the coast and provides access from the south. Cocoa Beach is on the water, so access by water is also possible.
 * Florida 520.svg West Cocoa Causeway ends at its intersection with Atlantic Ave (FL-A1A) in 'downtown' Cocoa Beach. Going west, into the mainland, the road winds into FL-50 where it continues another  west into Orlando as Colonial Dr (FL-50). It goes across Merritt Island as Merritt Island Causeway and through Cocoa Village on the mainland as W King St where it intersects I-95 at exit 201.
 * Florida 528.svg Florida A1A.svg Martin Andersen Beachline Expressway connects Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Village to its junction with I-4, south of Orlando, near Walt Disney World, at west, via Orlando International Airport. Locally FL-528 ends at its intersection with US Hwy 1 in Cocoa Village. From US 1, the road continues across the causeway as FL-A1A, into Port Canaveral/Cape Canaveral as Astronaut Blvd (FL-A1A) where it curves south through Cape Canaveral and into Cocoa Beach as Atlantic Ave (the main thoroughfare). It crosses over I-95 at exit 205.

By car

 * Florida A1A.svg Atlantic Ave (FL A1A) Coastal highway connects Cape Canaveral in the north (SR-528), through Cocoa Beach (SR-520) to Patrick Space Force Base in the South (SR-404). It actually runs continuously from Patrick Space Force Base to Stuart Beach in Fort Pierce. Atlantic Ave serves as the main thoroughfare through Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral.
 * Minuteman Causeway is a local east-west road south of 'downtown' Cocoa Beach which divides north from south. All north-south roads north of Minuteman Causeway have a 'North' designation in the prefix while the ones south have the 'South' designation. House numbers increase as you go further north or south from Minuteman Causeway and further east or west from Atlantic Ave (SR-A1A).

By bus

 * Space Coast Area Transit is the name of the local Brevard County bus service. It is a cheap way to get around and is handicap accessible. The website provides maps and timetables. Buses travel to most sites and places of interest. $1.25 per ride, or $35 for a monthly pass.
 * Bus route 9 serves as the main bus route through Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach between King George Blvd & N Atlantic Ave in Cape Canaveral (to the north), to SR-A1A & S 13th in the south of town, via Shephard Park at Ocean Beach Blvd (SR-520) as the main begin/end point of the route

Bike or Walk

 * Many bike lanes are available along major roads.
 * The area is very pedestrian-friendly, with good sidewalks.

See
The beach is a justifiably famous stretch of Atlantic beach. Activities include beach volleyball, surfing, sunbathing, surf fishing:
 * 1020 Palm Dr was identified as Maj Tony Nelson's (Larry Hagman) home address in the script where both the Jeannie (Barbara Eden) and Maj Nelson lived in. In real life the address does not exist in Cocoa Beach. The exterior shots were filmed at one of the faux houses (the 'Blondie' House) in the Warner Bros Filming Ranch in Burbank, California. The interior scenes were filmed in the Sunset Gowers Studio (formerly Columbia Pictures) in Hollywood, California. Since 2023 the faux houses in the Warner Bros Filming Ranch have been torn down to make room for new studio and office buildings.
 * Maj Nelson's Workplace The building exterior at "Cape Kennedy" where Maj Nelson and Maj Healey worked in was filmed at the NASA Flight Research Center (renamed to 'Armstrong Flight Research Center' in 2014) at the Edwards Air Force Base, north of Los Angeles. The closest place in town where filming took place was at Patrick's AFB (south of town, in place of "Kennedy Space Center") when Hagman and Eden came into to town to act out a mock wedding for their respective characters on set, who were "engaged" to marry at the officers' club in 1969.
 * Point Dume The pilot episode of I Dream of Jeannie was filmed at Point Dume, in Malibu, California which served as the deserted South Pacific island where astronaut Cpt Tony Nelson's (Larry Hagman) space capsule washed ashore and when he released Jeannie (Barbara Eden) from 2,000 years of imprisonment in a bottle.
 * "The Bottle" The bottle in which the Jeannie was imprisoned in is/was an old Jim Beam decanter whiskey bottle for Christmas of 1964 rather than being specifically made for the TV show. But, the bottles were painstakingly painted for the show. During the show the Jeannie hides in the bottle but she is/was still free to come and go unless her "master" corks the bottle if he wants to exclude her from what's going on at the moment. But she can still see out from within the bottle. The first bottle in the first season was kept by the first director, Gene Nelson. After his death in 1996 the bottle sold on auction for $100,000. Subsequently 12 additional bottles were used as props with some used with implanted smoke bombs blowing out to signify the Jeannie is coming out of her bottle. After the production of the show, Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman, each saved a bottle from the final destruction of their stage set. Barbara Eden eventually donated her bottle to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. An old Jim Beam decanter whiskey bottle can be bought as a souvenir to the show from eBay, Etsy, and other online sources or from local thrift stores, antique malls and garage/estate sales if available. They are marketed as "I dream of Jeannie Bottle" or something along those lines.
 * 1020 Palm Dr was identified as Maj Tony Nelson's (Larry Hagman) home address in the script where both the Jeannie (Barbara Eden) and Maj Nelson lived in. In real life the address does not exist in Cocoa Beach. The exterior shots were filmed at one of the faux houses (the 'Blondie' House) in the Warner Bros Filming Ranch in Burbank, California. The interior scenes were filmed in the Sunset Gowers Studio (formerly Columbia Pictures) in Hollywood, California. Since 2023 the faux houses in the Warner Bros Filming Ranch have been torn down to make room for new studio and office buildings.
 * Maj Nelson's Workplace The building exterior at "Cape Kennedy" where Maj Nelson and Maj Healey worked in was filmed at the NASA Flight Research Center (renamed to 'Armstrong Flight Research Center' in 2014) at the Edwards Air Force Base, north of Los Angeles. The closest place in town where filming took place was at Patrick's AFB (south of town, in place of "Kennedy Space Center") when Hagman and Eden came into to town to act out a mock wedding for their respective characters on set, who were "engaged" to marry at the officers' club in 1969.
 * Point Dume The pilot episode of I Dream of Jeannie was filmed at Point Dume, in Malibu, California which served as the deserted South Pacific island where astronaut Cpt Tony Nelson's (Larry Hagman) space capsule washed ashore and when he released Jeannie (Barbara Eden) from 2,000 years of imprisonment in a bottle.
 * "The Bottle" The bottle in which the Jeannie was imprisoned in is/was an old Jim Beam decanter whiskey bottle for Christmas of 1964 rather than being specifically made for the TV show. But, the bottles were painstakingly painted for the show. During the show the Jeannie hides in the bottle but she is/was still free to come and go unless her "master" corks the bottle if he wants to exclude her from what's going on at the moment. But she can still see out from within the bottle. The first bottle in the first season was kept by the first director, Gene Nelson. After his death in 1996 the bottle sold on auction for $100,000. Subsequently 12 additional bottles were used as props with some used with implanted smoke bombs blowing out to signify the Jeannie is coming out of her bottle. After the production of the show, Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman, each saved a bottle from the final destruction of their stage set. Barbara Eden eventually donated her bottle to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. An old Jim Beam decanter whiskey bottle can be bought as a souvenir to the show from eBay, Etsy, and other online sources or from local thrift stores, antique malls and garage/estate sales if available. They are marketed as "I dream of Jeannie Bottle" or something along those lines.

Sleep




Go next

 * Cape Canaveral is home to Kennedy Space Center and Patrick Air Force Base north of town, north of Barlow (5800 block) along Atlantic Ave (FL-A1A)
 * Port Canaveral is the home base to many cruise ships, including ships of the Disney, Royal Caribbean, and Carnival Cruise lines. There are also seafood restaurants at the port.  Nice place to watch the giant ships, smaller craft, and sea birds.
 * The Canaveral Lock allows boats to travel from the Atlantic/Port Canaveral to the Indian River. It's a little hard to locate, but visitors can watch small boats as they are lifted a small amount to compensate for tidal differences between ocean and river.  Free.
 * Rockledge is the next town, west of Cocoa Beach on the mainland on the other side of the lagoon via the Causeway (FL-520)