Beautiful beach! Great place for the family and a very clean beach. Love the Marriott properties…read moreand Monarch is wonderful with the great beach access.

Sexton Plaza Beach is located in the Heart of Ocean drive, where Beachland Blvd ends at the…read moreAtlantic Ocean. This beach park and shopping plaza is named in honor of early Vero Beach pioneer, Waldo Sexton. In 1914, Waldo Sexton came to Florida as a traveling, agricultural equipment salesman. In the 1920's Waldo and a strong team of mules cleared the right of way for A1A from the south county line to the Sebastian Inlet. Sexton's other accomplishments included co-founding McKee Botanical Gardens, creating the Driftwood Inn, Ocean Grill, and the Patio Restaurant. He even made a mountain that is no longer in existence when it was taken apart to save the Driftwood Inn from a hurricane in 1973. Waldo's Garden was his 1914 homestead. He arrived in Florida from Indiana and built the house based on the turn of the century home his wife Elsebeth had grown up in Illinois. He operated a dairy farm on the property. He was also an early Vero Beach developer and architect. Once you get to know Waldo's architectural style you can easily spot in in town. He was said to have studied Addison Mizner but his buildings looked more weathered driftwood than Mediterranean Revival. He was a scavenger of relics from Florida's prosperous land bust years and incorporated them into his buildings. Tiles, wrought iron, and bells show up in a recurring theme creating a charming and eclectic aesthetic. You can still find traces of Waldo Sexton all over Vero Beach to this day. For his efforts, Waldo Sexton has been deemed a great Floridian. The City of Vero Beach utilized city improvement funds and began transforming Sexton Plaza Beach in 1999 when it was primarily just a parking lot. During construction, the original 1958 bronze plaque which marked the plaza's dedication was found behind overgrown landscaping and has been restored and reinstalled on a monument. Cobblestone pavers, coconut palms and benches were added and the oceanside plaza was completed in 2008. Sexton Plaza Beach offers free parking, an unheard of beach luxury here in Broward County. There is additional parking on Ocean Drive. At the end of the street is a wide pavilion perfect for catching sunrise and sunsets overlooking the wide beach and beautiful ocean. You can dine at Mulligans Beach House or the Ocean Grill, both overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Ocean Grill was another one of Waldo Sexton's projects. The restaurant opened in 1941 when it was built on a sand dune 200 yards from the ocean. The inside is furnished with pecky cypress, mahogany, wrought iron and Spanish from Waldo Sexton's many warehouses. The first meal at the Ocean Grill was served was on New Year's Eve. In addition to the two main restaurants there are a number of other shops and eateries. This is the perfect spot in Vero Beach for grabbing a meal and enjoying one of the wonderful beaches in Indian River County. Note that there is no lifeguard on duty here.