The story begins in 1946, when J.S. Davis purchased eighty acres of beachfront land along the shore of northwest Florida as a summer retreat for his family. The property sat along County Road 30A, a quiet stretch of Gulf Coast shoreline between Panama City Beach and Destin in Walton County. Decades later, his grandson Robert S. Davis inherited the land and decided to do something radical with it. Rather than selling to a condominium developer -- the default move along Florida's coast -- Davis hired architects Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk to design a community based on the compact, walkable neighborhoods of old Southern towns like Charleston and New Orleans. Construction began in 1981. The master plan was complete around 1985. What emerged was the first major test of what would become known as New Urbanism.

Seaside's genius lies in its urban code, a set of rules that govern building placement, height, materials, and relationship to the street. There are no private front lawns. Only native plants appear in front yards. Porches must face the street, ensuring that residents see and greet their neighbors. Buildings by world-renowned architects line the streets -- Leon Krier, Robert A. M. Stern, Steven Holl, Aldo Rossi, Deborah Berke, and Samuel Mockbee all contributed designs. Driehaus Prize winner Scott Merrill designed the Seaside Chapel, an interfaith landmark that anchors the community. Even King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, influenced the planning philosophy. The result is a town that feels both timeless and intentional, as if a Southern coastal village had simply grown this way over a century rather than being drawn on paper in the early 1980s.

When Peter Weir needed a location that embodied artificial perfection for The Truman Show, Seaside was the obvious choice. Jim Carrey's Truman Burbank lived at 31 Natchez Street, a yellow-and-white cottage that became one of the most recognizable houses in South Walton. The Coleman Pavilion tower -- a tall wooden structure that resembles a lighthouse but is not one -- appeared throughout the film and remains Seaside's most iconic building. Modica Market played a key role in Truman's discovery of the truth about his world. The film brought international attention to Seaside and, by extension, to the New Urbanism principles it embodied. Visitors still arrive hoping to walk Truman's streets, and they discover that the community's charm is not a Hollywood trick but the product of deliberate, thoughtful design.

Seaside's influence extends far beyond its eighty acres. The community became the subject of lectures at architecture schools across the country and was featured in multiple documentaries on urban design. It helped launch the Congress for the New Urbanism, founded in 1993, which has since guided the design of hundreds of walkable neighborhoods nationwide. Within Seaside itself, community life thrives. The Annual 30A Songwriters Festival fills venues along Scenic Highway 30A. A half marathon and 5K race draw runners each March. The Central Square hosts movie nights, a wine festival, a farmers market, and an annual production of The Nutcracker. The Seaside Repertory Theater, founded in 2001, operated as the only professional theater company on the Emerald Coast for nearly a quarter century, entertaining more than 30,000 visitors each season before ceasing operations in 2025.

In 1996, a group of parents and community members in Walton County established the Seaside Neighborhood School, which became Florida's first charter school. It started with just thirty-six students and two faculty members. By 1998, architect Richard Gibbs had designed three white buildings that became the school's permanent site. Enrollment is kept deliberately small: when applications exceed capacity, names are drawn by lottery. In 2013, the school expanded to include Seacoast Collegiate High School, beginning with eighty students. The SEASIDE Institute, a nonprofit organization on site, hosts year-round educational programs focused on sustainability and community design. Together, these institutions reflect the founding vision -- that a well-designed place does not just look good but actively nurtures the people who live in it.