About Area
Treasure Island is a small town (pop. 7,500) with a split personality -- the beach and the bay. The beach folks live in funky neighborhoods like Sunset Beach and Sunshine Beach within walking or biking distance of the Gulf of Mexico. The bay people live in waterfront neighborhoods like Isle of Capri, Isle of Palms and Paradise Island that fan out in Boca Ciega Bay, with boat docks aplenty.
The city was founded in 1955 from four smaller communities -- Sunset Beach, Sunshine Beach, Boca Ciega and Treasure Island. In classic Florida fashion, a developer buried phony treasure on the beach as a publicity stunt. T-shirt shops and family motels soon followed, especially during the land boom of the 1950s when many of the city's distinctive motels were built. A handful still remain, although most have been replaced with condos and larger hotels. The city runs a golf and tennis center on Paradise Island and a community center downtown.
