<Tr> <Th> Summer (DST) </Th> <Td> CDT (UTC - 5) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> ZIP code </Th> <Td> 32459 </Td> </Tr> <P> Seaside is an unincorporated master - planned community on the Florida panhandle in Walton County, between Panama City Beach and Destin . One of the first communities in America designed on the principles of New Urbanism, the town has become the topic of slide lectures in architectural schools and in housing - industry magazines, and is visited by design professionals from all over the United States . The town rose to global fame as being the main filming location of the movie The Truman Show . On April 18, 2012, the American Institute of Architects's Florida Chapter placed the community on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years . 100 Places as the Seaside--New Urbanism Township . </P> <P> The idea behind Seaside came from 1946, when the grandfather of future founder Robert S. Davis bought 80 acres (32 ha) of land along the shore of Northwest Florida as a summer retreat for his family . In 1978 Davis inherited the parcel from his grandfather, and aimed to transform it into an old - fashioned beach town, with traditional wood - framed cottages of the Florida Panhandle . Davis, his wife Daryl, and architectural partners Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater - Zyberk of Duany Plater - Zyberk & Company toured the south studying small towns as a basis for planning Seaside . The final plan was complete around 1985 . </P>

Town in florida where truman show was filmed