Band Shell and Ocean Front, Daytona Beach, FL, 1962

About this postcard

The view looks down on the Daytona Beach band shell, an open-air amphitheater with a tall arched proscenium, flanking towers, and rows of wooden benches set between the beach and the oceanfront street. Beyond the shell, the wide hard-packed sand stretches toward the Atlantic, scattered with bathers, beach umbrellas, and parked cars; a cluster of Mediterranean-style hotels and houses stands at the left. The band shell was built in the 1930s as a Works Progress Administration project and became a fixture of the city's oceanfront, hosting concerts and community gatherings. The scene catches the resort in its mid-century beachgoing heyday, when driving and parking on the sand were part of the Daytona experience. The sender's note mentions a smooth flight and arrival at the ocean, a small sign of the postwar air-travel boom that fed Florida's beach resorts.