Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: Vero’s first town hall building was located at the southeast corner of the original 1913 town plat, west of the Florida East Coast Railway tracks along Osceola Boulevard, later State Road 60. Designed by John Sherwood in the Spanish Mission Revival style, it was completed in 1924. Although described as “the grandest building in Vero,” the interior space was limited. By 1925, Vero had expanded its city limits to the Indian River and the barrier island. After amending its name to Vero Beach, the growing city needed a new city hall building, but it took nearly 40 years for that to occur. In 1962, the city council contracted W. G. Taylor, a local architect, and Hensick and Son, a local builder, to construct this new city hall. The mid-Century Modern building features a flat roof line, walls of glass, climate control, and a unique drive-up window for payment of utility and tax bills. Conveniently located on the first floor, the city council chamber had plentiful seating and an audio system. Ironically, the new location selected to accommodate the new city hall and police department buildings was originally part of the Henry Gifford homestead where the name Vero was first used for a post office in 1891.