What to See in Clearwater - Top Sights and Attractions

Aquarium in Clearwater, Florida. Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a 501 non-profit organization, and aquarium in Clearwater, Florida. It is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of sick and injured marine animals, public education, conservation, and research. In 2021, CEO and other chief executives on the board of directors recorded security camera footage of female mermaid staff changing without their consent, and then distributed the video to friends.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium opened in 1972 at its current location on Clearwater Beach, in a former water treatment plant (the large pools being well-suited for rehabilitation operations).

Numerous forms of marine life are permanent residents at the aquarium, all of which have serious injuries that prevent their return to the wild.

The aquarium's best-known permanent resident was Winter, a bottlenose dolphin who was rescued in December 2005 after having her tail caught in a crab trap. Her injuries caused the loss of her tail, and the aquarium fitted her with a prosthetic tail which brought worldwide attention to the facility. Winter later starred in the 2011 film, Dolphin Tale, and the sequel, Dolphin Tale 2, shot partially on location at the aquarium.^[1]

Island in Belleair Beach, Florida. Sand Key is a barrier island on Florida's Gulf Coast that stretches from Madeira Beach through Redington Beach, North Redington Beach, Redington Shores, Indian Shores, Indian Rocks Beach, Belleair Shore, and Belleair Beach into Clearwater.

The Clearwater portion of the island includes Sand Key Park (a Pinellas County park south of Clearwater Beach). It closes at dark, has picnic and fishing accommodations, a nature trail, beach concession stands, and very spacious parking lots. By contrast, the main part of Clearwater Beach is so densely developed that it can be difficult to navigate by car. In 2012, the parking meters in Sand Key Park, under the jurisdiction of the county government, were removed in favor of a flat daily rate system ($5). These two islands as well as the island containing the Island Estates neighborhood belong to the city of Clearwater, whose downtown core a.k.a. "Cleveland Street District" lies a couple of miles to the east over the Clearwater Memorial Causeway.^[5]

Church in Clearwater, Florida. Church of the Ascension is an Episcopal church in Clearwater, Florida. Its name comes from the words of one of the founders, "It was a miracle the way our church did ascend from our prayers". The church is located in the Harbor Oaks Residential District and is considered by many locally to be an important historic site. The church also has a 75-foot-tall carillon, the Betty Jane Dimmitt Memorial Carillon, which has 49 bells and is one of just four such towers in the state of Florida.

In addition to the organ and the carillon, the church's current building, built in gothic style around 1925, features 28 stained glass windows (the oldest of which dates back to 1895) which feature, among other things, the Ascension of Jesus Christ (in a large window over the altar), the Ten Commandments, the parable of the Good Shepherd, the parable of the Lost Son, and the "war window" where a candle is lit in remembrance of the Iraq war. Many have gone to pray at this window for loved ones involved in the war.^[7]

Bridge in Pinellas County, Florida. The Bayside Bridge is a girder bridge in Pinellas County which crosses over the northwesternmost end of Tampa Bay, connecting Clearwater, Florida and Largo, Florida. Construction began in the early 1990s and was completed in the summer of 1993, officially opening for traffic on June 2 of that year. Originally conceived in the 1970s as the 49th Street Bridge, a toll-levied part of the 12-mile Pinellas Parkway, the current six-lane twin-span bridge provides direct, unmitigated access from eastern Clearwater to St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport by connecting McMullen Booth Road to 49th Street North and also serves as a bypass for heavily congested US 19.

The speed limit is 55 mph (or about 88 km/h) until McMullen Booth. Due to cambering differences, cars experience bouncing when traveling in the northbound lanes. This occurs for the first (southern) half of the northbound span.

It features a SPUI interchange at State Road 60 and a diamond interchange on the south end of the bridge. Along with the bridge, a $12 million interchange was built at the intersection of 49th Street and Roosevelt Boulevard. The bridge was completed before McMullen Booth Road was widened, dumping up to 36,000 cars a day onto the two-lane road. On streets such as Marlo Road, drivers could wait as long as 15 minutes before being able to make a left turn.

In 1991, Pinellas County administrator Fred Marquis argued that the cost of the bridge could be funded by a 10-year extension of gasoline taxes. The plan went through as the "Penny for Pinellas" tax. This eliminated the need for a planned $2.5 million, 16-lane toll booth that would have been built on sensitive marshlands at the south end of the bridge. The cost of construction of the bridge is estimated at $71 million.

The plan is for the Bayside Bridge to connect to nearby Interstate 275 via the Gateway Expressway that started construction in August 2017.^[9]