About

In 1946, on a summer pilgrimage to the shore, J.S. Smolian purchased 80 acres of land next to Seagrove Beach. He intended to build a summer camp there for his employees.
While his plan never came to fruition, Mr. Smolian held onto the land, and continued to bring his family there every summer, including his grandson, Robert Davis.

Robert Davis grew up to become an award-winning builder and developer in Miami during the 1970’s. There, he met a child psychologist named Daryl Rose and the two fell in love. They relocated to Grayton Beach to begin a new development on the land Robert’s grandfather had purchased many years before.

The Davises asked Miami architects Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk to help them plan their community of ‘cracker shacks.’ Realizing that the project would require much research, the architects made a number of journeys through the South, and especially through Florida, with cameras, sketch pads, and tape measures. They were often joined by the Davises in their red Pontiac convertible.

In the course of their considerable on the ground research, one fact became clear to the architects: the traditional houses they sought to recreate could only be found in small towns. Mr. Duany and Ms. Plater-Zyberk set their sights on the exciting and ambitious goal of building on the property a new ‘old town.’

While making plans for his grandfather’s property, Robert Davis naturally thought about the small cabins his family had stayed in during their beachside summer vacations. These simple cottages enhanced the sensual pleasure of life by the sea, and were well adapted to the climate. In addition, since they were built with wood and other time-tested materials, they could last generations.

Construction on Seaside began in 1981. Since the success of the project was far from certain, the Davises decided to start small, with two houses and a single street. They also built one pavilion at the end of this street, to serve as a gateway to the sea and a symbol of the neighborhood’s sharing of the beach.

Seaside’s initial sales were encouraging, helped along by positive write ups in the press. Many saw that, as the first new town built in decades, Seaside could help guide future patterns of urban and suburban growth. In 1984 Southern Living published a four page article on Seaside, and the attention that followed was a turning point for the burgeoning development.

From 1984 onward, Seaside has steadily grown into the town its founders hoped it would be. More than that however, it has grown into a community, and the heart of the South Walton region.

Today, Seaside’s story is continued by the passionate people living and working there, and by the thousands of families who visit every year.