Historic Downtown Melbourne

Historic Downtown Melbourne is the city's original commercial center, which the Florida Department of State places along Florida's Space Coast just west of the Indian River Lagoon.

The Department's April 1, 2019 release naming Melbourne Main Street the Florida Main Street Program of the Month says the city was formerly known as Crane Creek and later took the name Melbourne in honor of the home of its first postmaster, Cornthwaite John Hector, a native of Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne Main Street describes the district as residing along the Indian River Lagoon and Crane Creek waterfronts.

Two bodies shape downtown. Melbourne Main Street, which calls itself a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a Florida Main Street Community, runs promotion, design and business programs from 2004 Vernon Place, phone 321.724.1741. The City of Melbourne's Melbourne Downtown Community Redevelopment Area, established August 10, 1982, expanded in 2006 and listed at 321.96 acres, pays for public works and sets review rules for building exteriors.

Downtown Melbourne grew from its waterside location after the Civil War, lost most of its buildings to a 1919 fire and began rebuilding when a bridge crossed the lagoon two years later.

The Florida Department of State's 2019 release says development in the Melbourne area began shortly after the Civil War because of its proximity to the Indian River Lagoon and easy access to seaports, and that its waterside location was a source of great economic growth. In 1919, the release continues, most of the downtown was destroyed during a fire, and rebirth of the city began two years later when a bridge was constructed across the Indian River Lagoon, sparking a new wave of economic development.

The same year as the fire, work began on the building that still anchors the district. The Henegar Center's building history says construction of the Melbourne School began in 1919 and that the school opened for students in the fall of 1920. The school's first high school class, of only 13 students, graduated in 1921.

The landmark most often named is the Henegar Center, which describes itself as the oldest surviving public building in Brevard County.

Its building history calls it the last remaining building of the original Melbourne School Complex. The school was built at a cost of $140,000 to a neoclassical design by architect W.M. Christen, with 12 steam-heated classrooms, a library, an auditorium, a science room and the principal's office. It was the only school in the area during the 1920s and 1930s and reached a peak enrollment of 1,400 in 1959. In 1963 the building was named for former teacher and principal Ruth Henegar.

The building's second life came from the arts. With enrollment down to 331 students in 1974, the Ruth Henegar Elementary School closed on June 11, 1975. The nonprofit Brevard Regional Arts Group was established on May 20, 1983; in August 1987 the back wall of the auditorium came down to make room for a new stage, fly loft and dressing rooms, and in May 1990 the Brevard County Commissioners deeded the property and buildings to the group. After a $2.5 million renovation, the first MainStage show opened on October 25, 1991. The center lists its address as 625 E New Haven Ave #119.

Other downtown buildings are protected through the city's process. The City of Melbourne Historic Preservation page explains that owners of buildings and other resources at least 50 years old may apply for local designation and inclusion in the Melbourne Register of Historic Places, and that there is no fee to apply. Its list of designated resources includes 418 East New Haven Avenue, and copies of the Historic Designation Report for 1002 East New Haven Avenue (Hell n Blazes) are available by calling 321-608-7500.

Melbourne Main Street runs design, promotion, organization and economic vitality programs for the district.

On its own About page, the group lists design focus areas of a Façade Grant Improvement Program, beautification projects and maintaining historical character. Under promotion it lists Downtown Melbourne Putta Palooza, Trash Bash (part of a county wide initiative), the Downtown Melbourne Botanical Fest, Sip and Shop, the Sidewalk Sale, Trick or Treat and the Tree Lighting Ceremony and Candlelight Shopping.

The organization publishes its own scorecard. In its 2025 review, Melbourne Main Street reports that downtown welcomed nearly 100 new businesses that year and that volunteers contributed nearly 800 hours of service. As a Main Street America Accredited Main Street, it says it is part of a national network of more than 1,200 neighborhoods and communities that use preservation-based economic development. The Florida Department of State's 2019 release dates the designation of Downtown Melbourne as a Main Street to 2002 and reported that the Botanical Fest attracted more than 4,000 people. Part of the group's funding is public: the City of Melbourne states that the Downtown CRA provides an annual grant to help support Melbourne Main Street.

Downtown sits inside the Melbourne Downtown CRA, where exterior changes to commercial buildings and signage need prior approval from the Historic and Architectural Review Board.

The city's Downtown CRA page says redevelopment began after downtown businesses faltered following the development of suburban-style shopping centers along New Haven Avenue and Babcock Street, and that a tax increment financing plan captures city and county taxes on property values above the 1982 base level. The CRA board is made up of City Council members, who decide which programs and projects to fund under the adopted CRA plan, with recommendations from the Melbourne Downtown Redevelopment Advisory Committee. The review board is appointed by City Council and works from adopted design guidelines, and businesses in the CRA may be permitted outdoor display and seating if they meet eligibility requirements, through the Community Development Department at 321-608-7500.

As posted when checked on October 18, 2026, the CRA's current priorities include improving Riverview Park under an adopted master plan, the design and construction of a pedestrian bridge across Crane Creek, and streetscape improvements along U.S. 1 between Crane Creek and University Boulevard. Earlier rounds of the program paid for streets and sidewalks, benches, lighting, a parking garage, surface parking lots, economic incentive programs and the acquisition of Riverview Park from Brevard County.

Melbourne Main Street counts 16 murals downtown, and the city keeps several small parks in the district.

According to Melbourne Main Street's murals page, the murals came out of the Melbourne Mural Project, which the group says it took part in, with artist Christopher Maslow as curator. The listed locations include East New Haven Avenue, South Harbor City Boulevard, 1904 Municipal Lane, 2112 Grant Place and Sullivan's Jewelers on Waverly Place, and two are at Hotel Melby, 801 E Strawbridge Ave, in the lobby and on the Floor 11 rooftop.

The City of Melbourne's parks directory lists Campbell Park at 935 East New Haven Avenue, with the Vision of the Harbor Guardian sculpture by Harak Rubio, and Bean Park at 1210 E. Melbourne Avenue, a neighborhood park with a grill, picnic tables and a pavilion, along with Claude Edge Front Street Park at 2205 Front Street, on the Indian River at the base of the Melbourne Causeway and next to the Front Street Civic Center. Riverview Park, which the CRA acquired from Brevard County, is the subject of the CRA's current master plan work.

Last verified: October 18, 2026, with the Florida Department of State's 2019 Main Street release, the City of Melbourne's Downtown CRA, Historic Preservation and parks directory pages, the Henegar Center's theatre history and Melbourne Main Street's own About and murals pages.