Neighborhood

Living in Gulfport

June 10, 2026 · 5 min read

Aerial view of the Gulfport coastline and harbor — The Gulfport harbor and coastline, visible from the neighborhood on a clear afternoon.

Step out the front door of 1620 2nd Street and the Gulf of Mexico is one block east. The salt smell is in the air by seven in the morning, and by mid-morning the porch has caught enough sun to make a coffee feel earned.

A quiet block with roots

Second Street in Gulfport is a residential corridor lined with historic homes — shotgun cottages, bungalows, and early-twentieth-century frames set back under mature oaks. Owen T. Palmer Park sits at 1400 2nd Street, just a few blocks north, with a playground, basketball and tennis courts, and a walking track that the neighborhood uses as a morning loop.

The character of this stretch has held because the homes are small enough to feel human-scaled and close enough to the water to attract people who want to live near the Gulf without the price tag of beachfront. It's a working coastal neighborhood, not a resort village — and that's exactly its appeal.

The historic shotgun cottage at 1620 2nd Street — tan siding, red door, white porch columns, brick steps — A front-porch view: tan siding, brick steps, and the kind of pace that lets you meet your neighbors.

Schools and daily life

The area is served by the Gulfport School District. Gulfport High School and several elementary campuses serve the neighborhood. For daily errands, the corridor along 25th Avenue handles most needs — groceries, pharmacies, and a growing cluster of locally owned shops and restaurants that have given downtown Gulfport a second wind in recent years.

The corner everyone loves

Coast Roast Coffee & Tea on 25th Avenue is where mornings start for a lot of Gulfport locals — single-origin pour-overs and a relaxed downtown setting. For lunch or dinner, Half Shell Oyster House at 2500 13th Street draws a crowd for chargrilled oysters and Gulf seafood, and Patio 44 on 24th Avenue is the pick for a more upscale coastal bistro experience.

Aerial view of the coastal neighborhood toward the Gulf — The Gulf of Mexico, visible from the neighborhood — the kind of proximity that changes how you spend your mornings.

Getting around

Gulfport sits along U.S. Highway 90, the coastal corridor that connects the Mississippi Gulf Coast communities. Biloxi is about 20 minutes east, Bay St. Louis about 30 minutes west. The Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport is a 15-minute drive. The walkability of this particular block — beach, harbor, aquarium, restaurants, all on foot — is what sets it apart from most Gulf Coast locations.

Weekends, water, and a slower pace

Saturday mornings start at the beach or the harbor. The Mississippi Aquarium on 25th Avenue draws families and visitors year-round. The harbor promenade is a popular spot for walking, fishing, and watching the boats come in. Downtown Gulfport hosts seasonal events and festivals that bring the community together, and the beach boardwalk along Highway 90 is the default evening stroll for anyone who lives within a mile of the water.

The bottom line

This neighborhood is for people who want the Gulf Coast lifestyle without the beachfront premium. It's for the buyer who wants to walk to the sand, walk to dinner, and come home to a quiet block where the houses have history and the porch still matters. 1620 2nd Street sits at the center of all of it.

Back to the stories