The City of Dania Beach was incorporated in 1904 as Broward’s first city. The City is located immediately south of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Port Everglades, and the Broward County Convention Center. Dania Beach operates under a Commission-City Manager form of government and provides services to an estimated 30,000 residents.

Dania Beach is a major player in South Florida’s academic, marine, and tourism industries. The American Maritime Officers (AMO) Simulation, Training, Assessment and Research Center, with state-of-the-art bridge and engine room simulators, offers advanced merchant marine training.

Derecktor Shipyards, one of South Florida’s largest yacht repair hubs, owns a $1 million lift for boats up to 100 feet long. The yard also owns a $3.5 million lift that is nearly eight-stories-high, to handle super-yachts 100 feet to 200 feet. It is the tallest mobile boatlift in the world.

The City’s 120 Slip Marina, located between the Intracoastal and the Atlantic Ocean, Bass Pro Shops and Diver’s Direct are major attractions for people interested in outdoor sports, boating, and fishing.

SeaTech, FAU’s Institute for Ocean and Systems Engineering, is the nation’s first ocean engineering program. The world-class faculty is engaged in research and technology development in the areas of acoustics, marine vehicles, hydrodynamics and physical oceanography, marine materials, and nanocomposites.

The City’s extensive recreation program includes a beach and fishing pier, pools, tennis courts, neighborhood parks and community centers that provide a wide variety of programs for youth, adults and senior citizens.

Dania Beach has earned its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the US Green Building Council, the nation’s lead governing body on sustainable design. The Dania Beach Nanofiltration Water Treatment Plant is the first LEED Gold Certified Water Plant in the world. The Dania Beach-Paul DeMaio Library building also achieved LEED Goldcertification.
Dania Pointe will soon make Dania Beach Broward County’s preeminent lifestyle destination. The mixed-use development has almost 1 million square feet of retail, restaurants, Class A offices, hotels, luxury apartments and public event space.

Dania Beach has implemented Oasis – Rebuilding Neighborhoods, an innovative community project that is improving the city one street at a time. The goal is to foster neighborhood pride and improvement, and through a “ripple effect” induce owners and tenants in the City to work together to beautify the City, increase property values and reduce crime.

The Dania Beach Casino features 900 Las Vegas-style slot machines, a 24-table card room, nationally-known artists and live Jai-Alai. Grampa’s Bakery, Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor, Quarterdeck , Rustic Inn Crabhouse, Tarks are some of our local favorites.

The DCOTA Design Center of the Americas, The Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts, The Gallery of Amazing Things, The Holocaust Documentation & Education Center bring visitors from all over the world right to the heart of our beautiful city.

The City provides a full range of municipal services. The public safety program includes contracting of fire and rescue services and police services from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. The City’s extensive recreation program includes a beach and fishing pier, pools, tennis courts, neighborhood parks, community centers and also provides a wide variety of programs for youth, adult and senior citizens. The Public Services Department provides essential street maintenance, roadway beautification, and general service operations oversees Community Development Block grants improvement projects. Public Services oversees operation of the City’s water, sewer and stormwater services and also provides internal support for grounds maintenance, fleet management and citywide building maintenance. The Community Development Department provides planning, zoning, building inspection, and code compliance to the public.

Internal support services include the Department of Human Resources which is responsible for recruitment, compensation and benefits, employee relations, workers compensation, property, casualty and liability insurance. The Finance Department handles all of the City’s debt management, billing and collections as well as annual budget planning and preparation, computer network and support, management financial reporting, property lien research, cash management, capital assets recording, payroll and water and sewer utility billings and collections, annual budget and annual audit reporting, the City’s business tax licensing, and water meter reading and basic residential water meter services.

A City Rich in History
Dania Beach is Broward County’s First City. The historic roots of the first city in Broward County date back to the 1880’s, when much of what is now the FEC railroad line was laid through the area. In recognition of this transportation advantage, a pioneer and developer named W. C. Valentine planned a settlement called Modello and 12 Danish families moved from Chicago to settle there in 1898-1899. Three years later, 30 Danes were recruited from Oconto, Wisconsin to colonize the settlement, and the first home was built by A.C. Frost, for whom a park is now named. Frost built the first general store in 1902 and became Modello’s first postmaster. He also built and donated the Towns first two schools. The following year, Dania Methodist Church was erected, becoming the City’s first place of worship.

When the Town was incorporated in November 1904, its 35 residents, most of whom were Danes, changed the name to Dania. By 1912, Dania was a thriving community of almost 1200 people and continued to grow through the 1920’s when the City suffered tremendous setbacks. In 1925, the Dania Hotel caught on fire, and the Bank of Dania failed due to embezzlers in the Bank’s Atlanta home office. The ‘26 hurricane with its 200 mile-per-hour winds devastated the Town, destroying the first church building completely, and subsequent damage prompted residents to vote for annexation to the neighboring City of Hollywood. De-annexation came in 1927.

Tomato Capital of the World
Early immigrants prospered in tomato farming and, as early as 1910, the Florida East Coast Railway was shipping to northern U.S. cities from “The Tomato Capital of the World”. During the 3-month winter harvest, over 200 farmers shipped 1,000 to 1,500 train carloads of tomatoes and V. Taoring of New Orleans set up a tomato paste factory which contributed to local prosperity.

In 1927, the first “Tomato Day Celebration” was held to raise funds for the new Dania Methodist Church. Attracting a crowd of over 5,000, it was so successful, that the celebration continued into the 1940’s featuring messy, but official, tomato fights and a Miss Tomato Festival Pageant. In the late ‘40’s, the tomato boom was over, as crops began to fail from salt water intrusion into the fields.

The Antique Capital of the South
Just as the Tomato Industry was fading, a new type of commerce … the antique business … arrived, when Genevieve and Willard Ely set up shop in 1945. It took 10 years for other antique businesses to follow, but it wasn’t long thereafter that Broward’s first incorporated city once again gained fame, this time as the Antique Capital of the South. Today there are over 100 antique shops and malls vending their wares along a few short blocks of Federal Highway in Downtown Dania Beach.

Antique Row has become not only a browser’s and shopper’s paradise, but also the stores themselves are housed inside buildings steeped in the City’s history including Broward County’s first movie theater.

The City has a wealth of historic architecture and a variety of architectural styles including Greek Revival (Dania Bank Building 1923); Mission Revival (Model Land Company Building 1900); Mediterranean Revival (the Martin Frost House 1913); and the Dania Beach Hotel, built by Francis Abreau in 1925. Art Deco styles are also present in the Florida Theater (1939) and the Pirates Inn, formerly the Hotel Katherine (1940).