Pembroke Pines, Florida

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City of Pembroke Pines
Official seal of City of Pembroke Pines
Seal
Coordinates: 26°0′45″N 80°18′49″W / 26.0125, -80.31361
Country Flag of the United States United States
State Flag of Florida Florida
County  Broward
Established 1960
Government
 - Type Commission-Manager
 - Mayor Frank C. Ortis
Area
 - Total 34.4 sq mi (89.2 km²)
 - Land 33.1 sq mi (85.6 km²)
 - Water 1.4 sq mi (3.6 km²)  4.01%
Elevation 7 ft (2 m)
Population (2005)
 - Total 150,104
 - Density 4,363.49/sq mi (1,684.8/km²)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s) 954, 754
FIPS code 12-55775[1]
GNIS feature ID 0288686[2]
Website: http://www.ppines.com

Pembroke Pines is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. According to 2006 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 150,064, making it the second largest city in Broward County and the ninth largest in Florida.[3]

Contents

[edit] History

Pembroke Pine was incorporated in 1960, and took the name Pembroke from its location along Pembroke Road and the many pine trees in the area. But the name Pembroke may date back much further. The name may have been from an early landowner from Britain known as the Earl of Pembroke.

The first inhabitants in the city are known as “Archaic” and were small bands of Indians that first appeared about 4,000 years ago. Skeletal remains of animal hunters dating about 10,000 years old were found around Broward County, showing that perhaps human beings have lived here even earlier. These people inhabited the county about 2,000 to 4,000 years ago. These Archaic Indians ate fish, shellfish, deer, bear, and plants such as sea grape and prickly pear.

The town started as agricultural land occupied by dairy farms and grew after the war as servicemen were retiring, including large eastern sections that were part of the Waldrep Dairy Farm. The first two tiny subdivisions were called Pembroke Pines. One of the first homes in the city belonged to Dr. and Mrs. Walter Smith Kipnis, built in 1956. Dr. Kipnis was also the first mayor. It was then known as the “Village of Pembroke Pines” and was incorporated into a town in 1959. Builders contested the incorporation, so a legal battle was brought out concerning the boundaries of the new town that were incorrectly stated in the ballot. City services were added in the 1960s with the building of the first fire department building near North Perry Airport. However, University Drive was the western edge of habitable land for residents.

In January 1960, Pembroke Pines held another election when the town became a city. This small property was less than a square mile and was between Hollywood Boulevard and SW 72nd Avenue, and had the Florida Turnpike to the east. Pembroke Pines sought to give citizens involvement so they organized the Pembroke Pines Civic Association. The square-mile city was unable to expand due to North Perry Airport and the South Florida State Hospital. Joseph LaCroix, a developer, had his 320 acres land north of Pines Boulevard annexed to the city. This gave a new pathway to proceed westward. In 1977, a maximum security prison known as the Broward Correctional Institution was built in northwestern Pembroke Pines. It was originally designated to house male inmates but woman only resided in the prison. The prison offers the accommodations for woman committing serious crimes including the housing of those on death row. It has a capacity for 611 inmates and has academic programs, vocational programs, wellness education services, library services, substance abuse programs, chaplaincy services, institutional betterment programs, and many other programs. In 1980, property from Flamingo Road to U.S. 27 was incorporated into Pembroke Pines, doubling the size of the city. This expansion included the property that is currently C.B. Smith Park as well as the Hollywood Sportatorium and the Miami-Hollywood Motorsports Park.

The city’s expansion was a major effect of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Thousands of southern Miami-Dade County residents moved northward to Broward County, many to Pembroke Pines. The population greatly increased as former owners of destroyed homes spent their insurance money on an inland city. The resulting boom ranked the City of Pembroke Pines third in a list of Fastest Growing Cities in the United States in 1999.[4] Over the years, the sudden and unplanned overpopulation has caused problems, especially in schools. In 2003, Charles W. Flanagan High School had close to 6,000 students, making it the most populated high school in Florida. In response to Broward County's inability to keep up with demands, Mayor Alex Fekete and City Manager Charles Dodge started a Charter School System. As of 2006, Pembroke Pines had the largest Charter School System in the county. The city is also home to a campuses for Broward Community College and Florida International University. The city's population has grown from (1990 pop. 65,452) to an estimated 2005 population of 148,000.

Pembroke Pines was also home to the most dangerous road intersection (Pines Boulevard and Flamingo Road) in the United States in 2001, according to State Farm Insurance.[5] In 2005 a vote was passed by city residences on a bond initiative to allow the city to begin construction to redesign the area. The intersection has been expanded with additional east/west Pines Boulevard lanes.

[edit] Geography

Pembroke Pines is located at 26°0′46″N, 80°18′49″W (26.012913, -80.313689).[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 89.2 km² (34.4 mi²). 85.6 km² (33.0 mi²) of it is land and 3.6 km² (1.4 mi²) of it (4.01%) is water, making it one of the largest cities in Broward County, and largest city by total land area.

To the North: Hollywood, Cooper City, Southwest Ranches

To the South: Miramar

To the East: Hollywood

To the West: The Everglades

The area of Pembroke Pines west of Interstate 75 is commonly known as West Pines, and consists mostly of subdivisions built since Hurricane Andrew.

[edit] Education

Broward County Public Schools serves Pembroke Pines. In addition, the City of Pembroke Pines operates a charter school system consisting of four elementary schools, three middle schools, and one high school.

[edit] Public High Schools

[edit] Public Middle Schools

[edit] Public Elementary Schools

  • Chapel Trail Elementary School
  • Lakeside Elementary School
  • Palm Cove Elementary School
  • Panther Run Elementary School
  • Pasadena Lakes Elementary School
  • Pembroke Lakes Elementary School
  • Pembroke Pines Elementary School
  • Pines Lakes Elementary School
  • Silver Palms Elementary School
  • Pembroke Pines Charter Elementary School (East. Central, West, and FSU campus.)
  • Dolphin Bay Elementary
  • Silver Lakes Elementary
  • Somerset Academy Elementary

[edit] Higher Education

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 137,427 people, 51,989 households, and 36,860 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,605.5/km² (4,157.6/mi²). There were 55,296 housing units at an average density of 646.0/km² (1,672.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.58% White (52.7% were Non-Hispanic White,)[7] 13.25% African American, 0.19% Native American, 3.76% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.70% from other races, and 3.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.16% of the population.

There were 51,989 households out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $52,629, and the median income for a family was $61,480. Males had a median income of $45,129 versus $32,531 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,843. About 3.9% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2000, speakers of English as a first language were at 63.06%, while Spanish accounted for 27.91%, French made up 1.24%, French Creole comprised 0.99%, Portuguese was 0.94%, Italian was at 0.92%, Yiddish at 0.74%, and Tagalog was the mother tongue of 0.52% of the population.[8]

As of 2000, Pembroke Pines had the forty-fifth highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, at 3% of the city's population,[9] and the fiftieth highest percentage of Cuban residents in the US, at 8.66% of the city's population.[10] It also had the twenty-fourth highest percentage of Jamaicans in the US (tied with Wheatley Heights, New York,) at 5.1% of all residents.[11]

[edit] Notable Residents

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ Annual Estimates of the population for the Incorporated Places of Florida (XLS). US Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
  4. ^ http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/0-0&fp=44bd2200f350efcc&ei=--K9RPfqM4GaHLuy2bcP&url=http%3A//www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-sgrowth21jun21%2C0%2C2542506.story%3Fcoll%3Dsfla-home-headlines&cid=0
  5. ^ South Florida Intersection Tops Most Dangerous List - Miami News Story - WPLG Miami
  6. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  7. ^ Demographics of Pembroke Pines, Florida. MuniNetGuide.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-15.
  8. ^ MLA's Data Center Results for Pembroke Pines, Florida. Modern Language Association. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
  9. ^ Ancestry Map of Colombian Communities. Epodunk.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
  10. ^ Ancestry Map of Cuban Communities. Epodunk.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
  11. ^ Ancestry Map of Jamaican Communities. Epodunk.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.

[edit] External links

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