Fort Pierce

Fort Pierce is a small city on the Treasure Coast of Florida. The city is most commonly referred to as "The Fort" in reference to the old fort on Indian River Drive.

Understand
Fort Pierce is the oldest incorporated city in St. Lucie County, with a bustling and historic downtown area, close location to beaches on the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean by its extension to Hutchinson Island, and many famous celebrities visiting every summer at the Sunrise Theatre. Fort Pierce has a population of 43,601 by the 2013 US Census Estimate; Fort Pierce is also a part of the Port St. Lucie metropolitan area, or the Treasure Coast, an area populated at almost 600,000. Fort Pierce is a small railroad city along Florida's east coast, being the location of a mid-sized rail yard with track rights owned by the Florida East Coast Railroad, with track all the way to Miami and Jacksonville, and South Central Florida Express, with track from the downtown yard to Clewiston and Sebring.

FP is becoming more and more modernized, but slowly and steadily. Downtown is considered the hot-spot of the city due to its blossoming commercialism, amazing Spanish-colonial buildings, celebrities performing at the Sunrise Theatre, and an amazing Christmas display yearly at Avenues A and Orange. There's a lot of fun going on with the marina and many interesting shops on the thoroughfares of Orange Avenue and Avenue D. Fort Pierce is also a college town, home to the primary campus of Indian River State College and its public safety training complex.

By car
Fort Pierce, like many cities has many major highways running through the city. Major highways include I-95, US-1, and Florida's Turnpike.

By Interstate 95, you can access Fort Pierce by:
 * Exit 126 at Midway Road. Going west will take you to Okeechobee Road, which is what the locals call State Road 70. Going east will take you to the beach.
 * Exit 129 at Okeechobee Road. There are many hotels and fast food restaurants near by. Going west will take you to Okeechobee and further to Bradenton. Going east will put you closer into the heart of downtown.
 * Exit 131 at Orange Avenue. Going west will take you out to the "country" area of the city with many ranches. Going east will take you into downtown.
 * Exit 138 at Indrio Road. Services are east of the exit.

By Florida's Turnpike, you can access Fort Pierce by:
 * Exit 152 at SR 70, or Okeechobee Road.

One special thing about the Okeechobee Road area between I-95 and the Turnpike is that it is considered to be a crossroads, where two highways are within a driving range of less than a mile. Businesses, from hotels to restaurants, are abundant in this State Road 70 corridor. Businesses along State Road 70 don't just exist at the cross roads, but also run along to US-1.

US-1 and A1A run through the heart of downtown, and A1A almost parallels US-1. A1A runs along the barrier islands of the east coast, from Miami to the Jacksonville area. The local name for A1A on Hutchinson Island South crossing onto US-1 is "Seaway Drive".

By plane
Fort Pierce is home to the St. Lucie County International, the local airport. Here, you can buy a plane to fly from place to place, due to no commercial flights.

Nearest airports for scheduled commercial flights are:
 * Orlando International Airport is outside of the region, but is used to get into the region, serving almost all global US cities.
 * Melbourne Orlando International Airport serves Atlanta, Charlotte, and Washington DC at Dulles.
 * Palm Beach International Airport serving major airports from Boston to Dallas.

By train
There has been much talk and controversy about the Florida East Coast Railroad and Amtrak giving the Port St. Lucie area, possibly Fort Pierce, a train station that serves passengers. If these plans go through, they will be serving the Florida East Coast Railway on rails that have not been touched by the rumbling wheels of passenger trains since the mid-1900s. Also, there has been controversy of a high-speed rail project from Miami to Orlando with a station in West Palm Beach; a station may be placed in the PSL area as well to accommodate. The full plan is rebuilding a passenger line to re-connect the Treasure Coast and the Space Coast with the rest of the country, serving from Martin County to northern Brevard County. The closest stations to date are in Okeechobee and West Palm Beach.

By car
In Fort Pierce, the roads are the easiest way to get around. Major roads lead to the highways, and Downtown Fort Pierce can tend to get crowded at any time of day, but you can take in the view of the Spanish-colonial style buildings as you drive through Downtown.

By bus
The cities of Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, Jensen Beach, and now Vero Beach are all served by bus through the Treasure Coast Connector. Service extends from 43rd Street SW in Vero Beach to Avenue D in Fort Pierce via the northern routes, and from St. Lucie West in Port St. Lucie to the Treasure Coast Square Mall in Jensen Beach.


 * Route 1 takes you from the Treasure Coast Square Mall in Jensen Beach through Port St. Lucie to the city hospital, the civic center, and the Prima Vista Crossings shopping center, ending in Fort Pierce at the Intermodal Transit Facility.
 * Route 2 runs a loop from the Intermodal Facility to the airport and the Taylor Creek Commons.
 * Route 3 takes you through southern Fort Pierce along Okeechobee Road to the Intermodal Facility.
 * Route 7 is a loop route from the Intermodal Facility through Lakewood Park via 25th Street and Kings Highway to Vero Beach and the Taylor Creek Commons.
 * Route 8 runs along 25th Street and Airoso Blvd., from the Intermodal Facility to the Port St. Lucie Community Center.

There is only one transfer point in Fort Pierce: the Intermodal Facility on Avenue D for Routes 1, 2, 3, and 7; for Indian River County transfers, there is a stop at IRSC on Route 3 and South Point Plaza on Route 7.

By boat
Fort Pierce is a city built on the water, and it is no coincidence that using a boat is one of the easiest ways to get around the city. Fort Pierce may not have many navigable canals like neighboring Port St. Lucie, but most of Fort Pierce is a waterfront city. The city boundaries extend to the Atlantic Ocean. Downtown is a mostly waterfront area, with many restaurants and businesses on the water.

Do
You can go boating in the Fort Pierce Inlet or stroll along the beach and catch a tan. The historic downtown contains outstanding "Spanish-colonial revival"-style buildings, and in downtown you can catch a performance at Sunrise Theatre.



Buy
Fort Pierce's shopping economy is built on mostly fishing, as well as commercial "big-wig" names in retail, even some small businesses carrying big names. Not what you'd expect, but it gives you the right tools to enjoy one of the greatest activities on the Treasure Coast.
 * Bealls stores are commonplace in Florida, and the only Bealls in the city limits is at the Sabal Palm Plaza. Bealls carries large names in fashion and clothing and they mainly sell in South Florida.
 * Bealls stores are commonplace in Florida, and the only Bealls in the city limits is at the Sabal Palm Plaza. Bealls carries large names in fashion and clothing and they mainly sell in South Florida.

The Arcade Building in Downtown at one time was the largest commercial building in St. Lucie County. There aren't many stores in the Arcade; however, it is making a comeback with some small restaurants and boutiques, and lots of spaces are still for rent.

Sleep
A majority of hotels in Fort Pierce are at the "crossroads" of the city, such named because the Turnpike and I-95 are closest by distance here. It gives you a chance to change your traveled highway if your plans call for such.

Connect
The area code for Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, and the Treasure Coast is 772. There are many post offices in the area, but POs in the city limits are located on Orange Avenue and Midway Road, depending on where you stay.

Stay safe
Fort Pierce may be an interesting city, but there is one area (numbered streets and lettered avenues) that is considered a "ghetto" or a "hood", where crime is abundant, and there has been at least one shooting a year. Exercise caution when in that area, and keep your windows up when driving, particularly at night.

Go next

 * Port St. Lucie - Bordering city much larger than Fort Pierce, spring training home of the New York Mets.
 * Vero Beach - Original spring training home of the Dodgers before moving to Arizona.
 * Jensen Beach - Charming small town with easy access to the Indian River.
 * Melbourne - Home to some great surfing spots along the Atlantic; one of the closest cities to Kennedy Space Center.
 * Orlando - the theme park capital of the world, only 2 hours north on the Turnpike.
 * Stuart - Great boating spot on the St. Lucie River, hailed as "the sailfish capital of the world".
 * West Palm Beach - A bustling town further south; home to many local festivals and weekly events in the downtown area.