All seven other crew members were rescued. A post office called Bradenton Beach has been in operation since 1941. Post-1950 Bradenton Beach was incorporated on December 21, 1951, after an 84–56 vote to become a city. Bernard Wagaman served as Bradenton Beach's first mayor; he owned a cottage rental apartment complex there named Wagaman's Modern Apartments. The main wooden bridge to the island from Cortez was replaced by a concrete one in 1957 as local residents wanted a stronger bridge. A parade led by an elephant was hosted by the city to display its strength and to convince the local residents as well. To offset the cost of the bridge, the local government made it a toll bridge until 1964 when it was reimbursed. Cars were charged 30¢ entering the island, and no toll was charged on those leaving the island. Geography Bradenton Beach occupies the southern part of Anna Maria Island, between the Gulf of Mexico to the west and Anna Maria Sound to the east. The city is bordered to the north by Holmes Beach and to the south, across Longboat Pass, by Longboat Key. To the east, across Anna Maria Sound, is the unincorporated community of Cortez, connected to Bradenton Beach by the Cortez Bridge. The city of Bradenton is to the east. According to the United States Census Bureau, Bradenton Beach has a total area of , of which are land and , or 56.55%, are water. Demographics At the 2000 census, there were 1,482 people, 803 households and 391 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,762 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.52% White, 0.27% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.69% of the population. There were 803 households, of which 11.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% were married couples living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.2% were non-families. 40.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.85 and the average family size was 2.40. 10.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to