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Sponsorships Committees Business Advocacy DEI Committee Pro-Am Golf Tournament Councils Space Coast Young Professionals Nonprofit Council Small Business Council Viera Regional Business Alliance Women of Excellence Referral Groups Join Now Home melbchamber 2024-02-12T12:42:24-05:00 Leaders in business The Melbourne Regional Chamber is the Space Coast’s foremost authority on business advocacy and community development, where business leaders convene to drive the Space Coast economy and improve quality of life. As your business concierge,” we’re listening to what you need and focusing on what impacts your business the most. Partner With Us LEADERS IN BUSINESS LEADERS IN BUSINESS The Melbourne Regional Chamber is the Space Coast’s foremost authority on business advocacy and community development, where business leaders convene to drive the Space Coast economy and improve quality of life. As your business concierge,” we’re listening to what you need and focusing on what impacts your business the most. Partner With Us JOIN THE BEST The Melbourne Regional Chamber is the leading business organization on the Space Coast, representing nearly 1,000 partner businesses and organizations. We are the area’s only 5 Star Accredited Chamber, a distinction earned by only one percent of chambers nationwide. Learn More JOIN THE BEST The Melbourne Regional Chamber is the leading business organization on the Space Coast, representing nearly 1,000 partner businesses and organizations. We are the area’s only 5 Star Accredited Chamber, a distinction earned by only one percent of chambers nationwide. Learn More Working for you Business advocacy is at the heart of our mission. We not only work to promote a pro-business climate but also advocate for quality of life issues that help to attract a strong workforce – issues that affect all of us on the Space Coast. Lend Your Voice Working for you Business advocacy is at the heart of our mission. We not only work to promote a pro-business climate but also advocate for quality of life issues that help to attract a strong workforce – issues that affect all of us on the Space Coast. Lend Your Voice More than networking Today’s chamber is no longer just about events. Your partnership includes a host of opportunities to promote your business, share your voice, be among the first to hear about important developments and establish yourself among the region’s top business leaders. Make Your Mark More Than Networking Today’s chamber is no longer just about events. Your partnership includes a host of opportunities to promote your business, share your voice, be among the first to hear about important developments and establish yourself among the region’s top business leaders. Make Your Mark 95+ Years of Impact 1878 1886 1887 1888 1891 1893 1896 1898 1904 1919 1920 1921 1923 1925 1926 1939 1942 1950 1951 1955 1958 1961 1965 1969 1971 1976 1978 1987 1991 2002 2010 2012 2016 2017 2020 1878 Melbourne, originally known as Crane Creek, received its first settlers, a group of black freedmen. The community was soon renamed for Melbourne, Australia, the former home of the area’s first postmaster, Cornthwaite John Hector . Explore Our History 1886 Holy Trinity Episcopal Church was founded on what is now Strawbridge Avenue. Explore Our History 1887 The Carleton Hotel was built by the Strawbridge family. It was destroyed by fire in 1903, rebuilt and expanded, then permanently destroyed by fire in 1925. Explore Our History 1888 A group of 23 electors gathered to create the Village of Melbourne” by a spoken vote, gaining the benefits provided to towns under Florida law. Explore Our History 1891 The Melbourne Cemetery was established, later to hold the graves of many of Melbourne’s founding families, including founder and postmaster CJ Hector. Explore Our History 1893 The Florida East Coast Railway arrived, moving the focus of commerce from the Indian River and steamer ships, to the tracks to the west. Explore Our History 1896 Green Gables, which still stands today, was built by William and Nora Wells as a winter home. It was one of the first houses in Melbourne to have electricity. Explore Our History 1898 A funeral home was opened by the founders of the Florida Funeral Directors Association and was taken over in 1915 by VC and Olive Brownlie. Brownlie-Maxwell Funeral Home is still in business today. Explore Our History 1904 James Wadsworth Rossetter purchased the property on which the current configuration of Rossetter House now stands. Explore Our History 1919 The building now known as The Henegar Center for the Arts was constructed as part of Melbourne School. The same year, Downtown Melbourne was consumed in flames as a kerosene heater ignited the wooden sidewalk along Front Street. Explore Our History 1920 Evidence for the presence of Paleo-Indians from the late Pleistocene epoch was uncovered. C. P. Singleton, a Harvard University zoologist, discovered the bones of a mammoth along Crane Creek. Explore Our History 1921 The area’s second wooden bridge across the Indian River opened, connecting Melbourne to Indialantic. It was constructed by Indialantic founder Ernest Kouwen-Hoven and featured a hand-operated draw bridge. Explore Our History 1923 Kouwen-Hoven built a grand home, Magnolia Manor, the land upon which was sold to Florida Air Academy in 1961 (now Florida Preparatory Academy). Explore Our History 1925 The Melbourne Regional Chamber of Commerce was founded with the purpose of attracting and hosting the Florida Frolics and Beauty Review. The same year, the pre-historic body of a human, dubbed the Melbourne Man” was found at Melbourne Golf Course and Country Club, now known as Melbourne Municipal Golf Course. The course opened in 1920, the same year Pleistocene epoch remains were found nearby. Explore Our History 1926 The Eau Gallie Causeway opened to traffic. The wooden bridge had no railing for more than a year, although no one was reported to go over the edge. Explore Our History 1939 The wooden Melbourne Causeway was replaced by an asphalt bridge with a rotating span. That portion of the bridge was once again replaced in 1947 with a swing bridge. Explore Our History 1942 The Melbourne Naval Air Station, located on property that is now part of the Orlando Melbourne International Airport, was commissioned as an operational training unit for Navy and Marine pilots serving in World War II. The base closed in 1946. Explore Our History 1950s The Melbourne Shopping Center was constructed on Babcock St., the area’s first strip mall. Explore Our History 1951 Radiation Incorporated, the precursor to Harris Corporation, now L3 Harris, was founded. Explore Our History 1955 The Eau Gallie Causeway was replaced with a concrete version featuring a swing span drawbridge. Explore Our History 1958 Florida Institute of Technology was founded. Explore our History 1961 Alan Shepard became the first American to reach space when he launched on a suborbital flight aboard a Mercury Redstone rocket from Cape Canaveral. The same year, President John F. Kennedy declared the goal of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth within a decade.” Explore Our History 1965 The chamber sent a resolution to the State Road Dept. to urge improvements for U.S. Hwy. 192, called the Worst...