Downtown Fort Pierce

Downtown Fort Pierce is the city's historic waterfront business district on the Indian River, known for shopping, dining, fishing, markets and the city-owned Sunrise Theatre.

The city's About page describes a historic waterfront downtown with shopping, dining and fishing, calls the Sunrise Theatre a city-owned and operated, 1,200-seat venue, and lists redevelopment of the historic downtown alongside the Avenue D corridor and South Hutchinson Island among the city's projects since its 1901 incorporation (About Fort Pierce page). For context on the Main Street program, the same page notes that Main Street Fort Pierce, Inc. received the Great American Main Street Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2011. The Sunrise Theatre guide covers the theater's history, tickets and rentals.

Downtown Fort Pierce holds at least two buildings with National Register of Historic Places documentation, Old City Hall on Avenue A and the Old Post Office on Orange Avenue.

Old City Hall, at 315 Avenue A, was erected in 1925 and restored in 1995, according to its National Register registration form; the form describes a two-story reinforced-concrete building in gray textured stucco under a red clay barrel tile hip roof, classifies it as Mediterranean Revival, and finds it significant at the local level for architecture, designed by architect William W. Hatcher (NRHP registration form, Fort Pierce City Hall, Old). The form records that in 1971 about half of city government moved out until a new city hall was built in 1991, that concerned citizens organized under the Main Street organization saved the building from demolition, and that it was restored to approximate its original 1920s form. The form calls the building the headquarters of Fort Pierce city government for 46 years. The National Park Service record for the property lists 315 Avenue A, significant year 1925, and a published date of 12/7/2001 (NPS NPGallery record 01001338).

The Fort Pierce Old Post Office, at 500 Orange Avenue, has its own National Register form, which says the building went up in 1935 under the supervision of architect Louis A. Simon as a Public Works Administration project, stands on an 18,924 square foot lot at the northwest corner of Orange Avenue and Fifth Street, classifies it as Mediterranean Revival with stucco walls and lists its historic function as post office and its later functions as post office and federal courthouse (NRHP registration form, Fort Pierce Old Post Office). Both forms were illustrated with photographs credited to the City of Fort Pierce Planning Department in 1999.

Downtown Fort Pierce parking is free, with two city garages and a string of lots along Indian River Drive, but on-street spaces marked for two hours are enforced on weekdays.

The city's downtown parking and tram guide, dated March 2022, numbers 15 free parking areas; the largest are listed in the table below exactly as the guide gives them (Downtown Fort Pierce Parking and Tram Guide, 3/2022).

The guide also lists unpaved open parking at 500 N. Indian River Dr., 125 Backus Avenue and 300 N. 2nd Street, says 2-hour time limit parking is enforced Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM, and says citations must be paid within 30 days (Downtown Fort Pierce Parking and Tram Guide). The city Parking page says Code Enforcement enforces the parking rules in partnership with the Fort Pierce Police Department and the Fort Pierce City Marina (City of Fort Pierce Parking page).

A citation can be contested within 14 days of the violation on the city's dispute form, delivered to City Hall at 100 N US Hwy 1, 2nd Floor; a Special Magistrate may then impose a civil penalty of up to $500.00 plus administrative costs, and a hearing is cancelled if full payment arrives at least 24 hours before it (City of Fort Pierce Parking page). The Parking page gives Code Enforcement's number as (772) 467-3720; the 2022 guide prints both 772.467.3149 and (772) 467.3720 for Code Enforcement.

The city's 2022 downtown guide marks five tram stops between City Hall and Marina Square, but it prints no schedule, so service times have to be confirmed with the City of Fort Pierce.

The stops on the guide are the City Hall parking garage (A), 322 N. 2nd St. (B), 122 A.E. Backus Ave. (C), 480 N. Indian River Dr. (D) and Marina Square (E) (Downtown Fort Pierce Parking and Tram Guide). The same map labels the downtown landmarks a visitor walks between: City Hall, the City Marina, the River Walk Center, the Sunrise Theatre, the Seven Gables Visitor Center, the library and the St. Lucie County Courthouse.

The guide tells visitors that all parking is within close walking distance of the Downtown Farmers Market, the Sunrise Theatre, the City Marina and the River Walk Center, and it gives non-emergency contacts for downtown visits: Fort Pierce Police Department 772.467.6800 and City Hall 772.467.3000 (Downtown Fort Pierce Parking and Tram Guide). The city also offers a mobile app, linked by QR code on the guide, for downtown parking information.

Marina Square is the first major project of the Downtown Master Plan that the Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency (FPRA) board adopted in November 2022, and its conceptual design has been finalized.

The FPRA describes the vision as a flexible public space for concerts, farmers markets, festivals, family activities and community gatherings, and lists the priorities that shaped the design: a multigenerational public park, support for markets and year-round events, better waterfront access to the Indian River, pedestrian links between downtown, the marina and nearby destinations, and planning for current and future parking needs (FPRA Marina Square page).

The consultant team worked with City staff, the Fort Pierce City Marina, downtown businesses, Main Street Fort Pierce, the Fort Pierce Farmers' Market, the Fort Pierce Jazz & Blues Society, the Fort Pierce Youth Council, St. Lucie County Library representatives and event organizers, the FPRA page says, and it posts the Marina Square Downtown Park Conceptual Design Report and the Marina Square Presentation; the page gives no construction schedule (FPRA Marina Square page).

The Fort Pierce City Marina guide covers dockage and rules at the city marina.

Last verified: October 22, 2026, against the city About, Parking and Marina Square pages, the March 2022 parking and tram guide and the National Register records for Old City Hall and the Old Post Office, re-read for this downtown Fort Pierce guide.