Sarasota, Florida
Encyclopedia
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County
on the southwestern
coast of the U.S. state of Florida
. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area
and north of Fort Myers. Its current official limits include Sarasota Bay
and several barrier islands between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico
.
These islands separating Sarasota Bay from the gulf near the city, known as keys
, include Lido Key
and Siesta Key, which are famous worldwide for the quality of their sandy beaches.
Today the keys that are included in the boundary of Sarasota are Lido Key
, St. Armands Key
, Otter Key, Coon Key, Bird Key
, and portions of Siesta Key. Previously, Siesta Key was named Sarasota Key. At one time, it and all of Longboat Key were considered part of Sarasota and confusing contemporaneous references may be found discussing them.
Longboat Key is the largest key separating the bay from the gulf, but it is now evenly divided by the new county line of 1921. The portion of the key that parallels the Sarasota city boundary that extends to that new county line along the bay front of the mainland was removed from the city boundaries at the request of John Ringling in the mid-1920s, who sought to avoid city taxation of his planned developments at the southern tip of the key. Although they never were completed in the quickly faltering economy, those development concessions granted by the city never were reversed and the county has retained regulation of those lands ever since.
According to the U. S. Census Bureau, Sarasota had a population of 52,488 in 2007. In 1986 it became designated as a certified local government. Sarasota is a principal city of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the seat
of Sarasota County.
It is among the communities included in a two-county federally mandated Metropolitan Planning Organization
that includes all of Sarasota and Manatee counties and the chairs of the three elements of that organization belong to the eight-county regional planning organization for western central Florida.
President Bush was visiting an elementary school in Sarasota when the September 11 attacks took place.
Fifteen thousand years ago, when humans first settled in Florida, the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico
was one hundred miles farther to the west. In this era, hunting and gathering
was the primary means of subsistence. This was only possible in areas where water sources existed for hunter and prey alike. Deep spring
s and catchment basins, such as Warm Mineral Springs
, were close enough to the Sarasota area to provide camp sites, but too far away for permanent settlements.
As the Pleistocene
glacier
s slowly melted, a more temperate climate
began to advance southward. Sea levels began rising; they ultimately rose another 350 feet (106.7 m), resulting in the Florida shoreline of today, which provided attractive locations for human settlements.
Archaeological
research in Sarasota documents more than ten thousand years of seasonal occupation by native peoples. For five thousand years while the current sea level existed, fishing in Sarasota Bay
was the primary source of protein
and large mounds of discarded shells and fish bones attest to the prehistoric human settlements that existed in Sarasota and were sustained by the bounty of its bay.
s first explored the area in the early 16th century. The first recorded contact was in 1513, when a Spanish expedition landed at Charlotte Harbor
, just to the south.
Having been identified on maps by the mid-18th century as Zara Zote, perhaps from an indigenous name, the sheltered bay and its harbor attracted fish and marine traders. Soon there were fishing camps, called ranchos, along the bay that were established by both Americans and Cubans who traded fish and turtles with merchants in Havana. Florida changed hands among the Spanish, the English, and the Spanish again.
After the 1819 acquisition of Florida as a territory by the United States and five years before it became a state in 1845, the army established Fort Armistead in Sarasota along the bay.
The fort is thought to have been located in the Indian Beach area, and research continues there. The army established the fort at a rancho operated by Louis Pacheco, an African slave working for his Cuban-American owner. Drawings of the fort give a clue to the location as well, showing a significant landmark point that still exists at Indian Beach. Shortly before the fort was abandoned because of severe epidemics, the chiefs of the Seminole
Indians gathered to discuss their impending forced march to the Oklahoma Territory. These were Native Americans who had moved into Florida during the Spanish occupation. Most of the indigenous natives of Florida, such as the Tocobaga
and the Caloosa, had perished from epidemics carried by the Spanish. They mostly had maintained permanent settlements that were used from late Fall through Spring, moving to settlements farther north during the Summer.
Soon the remaining Seminole Indians were forced south into the Big Cypress Swamp and in 1842 the lands in Sarasota, which then were held by the federal government, were among those opened to private ownership by those of European descent via the Armed Occupation Act
passed by the Congress of the United States. Even Louis Pacheco had been deported with the Indians to Oklahoma.
European settlers arrived in significant numbers in the late 1840s. The area already had a Spanish name—'Zara Zote'—on maps dating back to the early 18th century and it was retained as, Sara Sota. The initial settlers were attracted by the climate and the bounty of Sarasota Bay
.
William Whitaker
, born in Savannah, Georgia in 1821, was the first documented pioneer of European descent to settle permanently in what became the city of Sarasota. Before his arrival, both Cuban and American fishermen had built fish camps or ranchos along Sarasota Bay, but these were not used throughout the year. After time spent along the Manatee River
at the village of Manatee, Whitaker built upon Yellow Bluffs, just north of present day Eleventh Street. He sold dried fish and roe to Cuban traders working the coast. In 1847, he began a cattle business.
In 1851, Whitaker married Mary Jane Wyatt, a member of a pioneer family who had settled the village of Manatee, that was about thirteen miles (19 km) to the northeast along the river of the same name. They raised eleven children on Yellow Bluffs despite the hardships faced by solitary pioneers.
Those hardships included a raid that destroyed their home. The raid was made by a formerly friendly Seminole chief, Holata Micco, dubbed Billy Bowlegs, after whom Bowlees Creek
may have been named. They were not injured, but the house was burnt to the ground.
The Whitakers rebuilt and prospered. Unfortunately, their homestead site has not been preserved, having been developed in the 1980s. Their family cemetery remains, however. In the 1930s the Whitaker family gave the cemetery to the Daughters of the American Revolution
on the understanding that any lineal descendants of William and Mary Whitaker and their spouses could be buried there as long as space remained. There are eighty-five plots in all, with thirty-nine taken to date.
In 1867, the Webb family from Utica, New York
, came to Florida looking for a place to settle. After arriving in Key West, the pioneer family met a Spanish trader. He told them about a high bluff of land on Sarasota Bay that would make a good location for a homestead. When the Webbs arrived in Sarasota looking for the bluff, they described it to Bill Whitaker. He led them right to it because of the description. The site was several miles south of the settlement of the Whitakers. After settling, the Webbs named their homestead Spanish Point, in honor of the trader.
The Webbs had to travel quite a distance for their mail for nearly twenty years. In 1884, John Webb finally petitioned for a separate postal address for Spanish Point. They chose Osprey
as their postal address, since federal regulations required the use of only one word for the new address. A separate town eventually grew around that postal address. Although there is no similar documentation regarding the name of Sarasota, that federal one-word rule for postal designations may be the reason that Zara Zota or Sara Sota became Sarasota.
Sarasota has been governed by several different American counties, depending upon the era. Not becoming a state until 1845 Florida was acquired by the United States as a territory in 1819. Hillsborough County
was created from Alachua and Monroe counties in 1834 and many early land titles cite it as the county governing Sarasota. Hillsborough was divided in 1855, placing Sarasota under the governance of Manatee County until 1921, when three new counties were carved out of portions of Manatee. One of those new counties was called, Sarasota, and the city was made its seat. The boundary of the community once extended to Bowlees Creek, but that was redrawn to an arbitrary line in order to divide the airport so its oversight could include both counties. Property records and street addresses north of that new county line and south of the creek, however, remain as "Sarasota" due to established postal designations, although they remain governed by Manatee County.
To recover from the debt the state incurred through defeat in the Civil War, the central portions of Florida were drained and sold internationally to developers in the North and abroad during the 1880s.
In 1885 a Scots colony was established in Sarasota that related it as a tropical paradise that had been built into a thriving town. A town had been platted and surveyed before the parcels were sold by the Florida Mortgage and Investment Company. When the astonished investors in the "Ormiston Colony" arrived by ship in December they had to wade ashore, only to find that their primitive settlement lacked the homes, stores, and streets promised. They were even more disturbed by the snowfall that occurred a few weeks later.
Only a few Scots, such as the Browning family, remained in Sarasota along with a determined member of the developer's family, John Hamilton Gillespie. He was a manager for Florida Mortgage & Investment Company, and began to develop Sarasota following the plan for the failed colony. In 1887 he built the De Sota Hotel which opened on February 25 hosting a large social event and celebration. In May 1886 he completed a two hole golf course which is thought to be one of the first golf courses in America. By 1905 he had completed a nine hole 110-acre course to support his favorite pastime, golf
. Eventually tourists arrived at a dock built on the bay.
Rose Phillips Wilson and her husband C. V. S. Wilson founded The Sarasota Times newspaper in 1899. It was the first newspaper published in Sarasota and Rose Wilson continued publication of the paper alone until 1923 after her husband died in 1910. She participated in the leadership of the community through many organizations and provided editorial opinions on most early issues.
Well respected among her peers in journalism, the Tarpon Springs Leader ranked the Times under her ownership, as "the best weekly paper in the state" and after the state legislature passed a bill to create Sarasota County, it was to Rose Wilson that the telegram was sent to announce it. When a referendum endorsed the split from Manatee locally, Wilson changed the name of her newspaper to The Sarasota County Times.
She lived through the World War I period, the 1920s boom period, the depression, World War II, and Sarasota’s second boom period in the 1950s. After her retirement from publishing in 1923 Wilson continued her community work with many local organizations, including the influential Woman’s Club in Sarasota, into the 1940s. She devoted much of her time as teacher and mentor for youth at First Presbyterian Church and lived to be eighty-eight years old, when she died in 1964.
He also went into a business partnership with John Ringling to develop the barrier islands, a fateful decision that bankrupted him when his partner failed to live up to commitments on development agreements. In 1925 Burns built the El Vernona Hotel, naming it after his wife, Vernona Hill Freeman Burns. Shortly after the opening of the hotel, the land boom crash in Florida struck a fatal blow to his finances because of the unfulfilled partnership agreement. Ironically, it was the same former partner, John Ringling, who took advantage of the situation and purchased the hotel for a portion of its value, although several years later, with the crash of the stock market, Ringling would meet the same financial fate.
Beside the landmarks, bridges, and developments he built, Burns contributed to the attraction of many around the country to Sarasota. Among his five children, he also raised the most important historian for the community, his daughter, Lillian G. Burns.
Bertha Palmer
(Bertha Honoré Palmer) was the region's largest landholder, rancher, and developer after the turn of the 20th century, where she purchased more than 90000 acres (364.2 km²) of property. She was attracted to Sarasota by an advertisement placed in a Chicago newspaper by A. B. Edwards. They would maintain a business relationship for the rest of her life. The Palmer National Bank, established on Main Street at Five Points, remained a strong bank led by her sons through the depression and merged with Southeast Bank in 1976.
Bertha Palmer also owned a large tract of land that now is Myakka State Park. During this period this land was operated as a ranch. She developed and promoted many innovative practices that enabled the raising of cattle to become a large-scale reality in Florida. At her "Meadowsweet Farms", Palmer also pioneered large-scale farming and dairy in the area and made significant contributions to practices that enabled the development of crops that could be shipped to markets in other parts of the country. Her experimentation was coordinated with the state department of agriculture.
As war in Europe threatened, Bertha Palmer touted the beauty of Sarasota and its advantages to replace the typical foreign destinations of her social peers. Palmer made her winter residence on the land which the Webb family had homesteaded. She built a resort that would appeal to these new visitors to the area. She quickly established Sarasota as a fashionable location for winter retreats of the wealthy and as a vacation destination for tourists, which endured beyond the war years and blossomed for the new wealth that developed more broadly in the United States during the 1920s and, after the Second World War as well.
In her early publicity, Palmer compared the beauty of Sarasota Bay to the Bay of Naples, and also touted its sports fishing. As the century advanced, the bounty of the bay continued to attract visitors, until overfishing
depleted its marine life.
Palmer retained most of the original Webb Family structures and greatly expanded the settlement. The pioneer site has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
as Historic Spanish Point and is open to the public for a fee. Her tourist accommodations at The Oaks have not been preserved, however.
Also arriving in 1910, Owen Burns closely followed Bertha Palmer to Sarasota and with two purchases, he quickly became the largest landholder within what now is the city, therefore many of the huge Sarasota properties she owned are in what now is Sarasota County (which did not exist during her lifetime). Many of its roads bear the names she put on the trails she established. She did participate, however, in speculation in the city along with others, purchasing undeveloped land in great quantities, and many parcels bear her name or that of her sons among those in abstracts.
Her sons continued her enterprises and remained as investors and donors in Sarasota after the death of Bertha Palmer in 1918. Aside from drawing worldwide attention to the city as a vacation destination and a chic location for winter residences, as well as being renowned for the ranching and agricultural reforms she introduced, two state parks are located on properties she held, portions of the Oscar Scherer State Park
and the enormous Myakka River State Park
, that may be counted as her greatest tangible legacy to Sarasotans.
was developed in the mid-1920s and a bridge across the creek eliminated it as a natural barrier limiting development. Shell Beach became the location where the grand estates would be built on the highest land along the bay as well as where the Sapphire Shores and The Uplands developments are today.
Two sisters, Katherine McClellan and Daisietta McClellan, became real estate developers during this period. They created the McClellan Park subdivision, which is one of the most significant and successful residential neighborhoods south of downtown. Their plat
was filed in 1913. It deviated from the typical grid system used for large developments, created a closely knit community, and provided a yacht basin, tennis courts, and other recreational sport facilities.
Women have played a significant role in the development of Sarasota, perhaps not so contrary to many communities, but the history of Sarasota has documented their roles very publicly. Bertha Palmer was not so unusual here, Many other examples may be found by exploring the county records at the Sarasota County History Center.
An area in northern Sarasota attracted many of the Ringling brothers, who had created their wealth as circus magnates, at the turn of the century. The Ringling Brothers Circus
had not yet consolidated as a single entity.
Mary Louise and Charles N. Thompson platted Shell Beach in 1895. The Thompson home was the first residence on the property. It extended from what is now Sun Circle almost to Bowlees Creek. From 1911 Mable and John Ringling spent their winter stays in that house and eventually, they would purchase a large parcel of Thompson property for their permanent winter quarters in Sarasota. Along with being a land developer, Thompson was a manager with another circus
. He attracted several members of the Ringling family to Sarasota as a winter retreat as well as for investments in land.
First, the Alf T. Ringling family settled in the Whitfield Estates area with extensive land holdings. The families of Charles and John Ringling followed, living farther to the south. Soon, children and members of the extended family increased the presence of the Ringling family in Sarasota. Ringling Brothers Circus
established its winter home in Sarasota during 1919 following the death of Alf T., when Charles Ringling assumed many of his duties.
Charles Thompson had joined the staff of the Ringling Brothers Circus when it began to purchase smaller or failing circuses, and to operate them separately. In 1919, these holdings were consolidated into one huge circus, billed as "the greatest show on Earth". Only two of the original five founding brothers now survived, but other members of their families continued to participate in the business or serve on its board of directors. Performers and staff members began to settle in Sarasota, and established the Ringling Circus as part of the Sarasota community.
Following the end of World War I, an economic boom began in Sarasota. The city was flooded with new people seeking jobs, investment, and the chic social milieu that had been created by earlier developers.
On adjacent parcels of Thompson's Shell Beach where Ellen and Ralph Caples
built their winter retreat, Mable and John Ringling
built their compound. It soon would include the museum. Edith and Charles Ringling
built a compound that included a home for their daughter, Hester Ringling Landcaster Sandford
.
The next large Shell Beach parcel, immediately to the north, passed between Ellen Caples, Mable and John Ringling, and a few others several times without development until 1947. It was then developed as The Uplands. Some other historic names associated with that parcel are Bertha Palmer, her son Honoré, and A. B. Edwards, whose names are featured as familiar street names in Sarasota.
The tract abutting that parcel was re-platted in 1925 as Seagate with the intention of creating an entire subdivision. This is where Gwendolyn and Powel Crosley built their winter retreat in 1929. All of these historic homes and the museum have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
The now-historic neighborhood of Indian Beach Sapphire Shores grew immediately to the south of the area where these grand homes were built on the bay. Sapphire Shores provided homes to the professionals and retirees who wished to be, or were, closely associated with these wealthiest residents of the community. Indian Beach, which had been a separate community at one time, contained pioneer homes that survived among the fashionable new homes built during the boom era of the 1920s.
invested in land, developed property, and founded a bank. He participated in Sarasota's civic life and gave advice to other entrepreneurs starting new businesses in Sarasota. From his bank, he loaned money to fledgling businesses. Encouraging its creation, he donated land to the newly formed county—upon which he also built its government offices and courthouse as a gift to the community.
Ringling Boulevard was named for Charles Ringling. It is a winding road leading east from the bay front at what now is Tamiami Trail
toward the winter circus headquarters. It crosses Washington Boulevard where Charles Ringling built the Sarasota Terrace Hotel
, a high-rise in the Chicago style of architecture
, opposite the site which Ringling would donate for the county seat. It was readily accessible by train at the time.
Charles Ringling and his wife, Edith, began building their bay front winter retreat in the early 1920s. Charles Ringling died in 1926, just after it was completed. For decades Edith Ringling remained there and continued her role in the administration of the circus, assuming many duties of her husband, and her cultural activities in the community. Her daughter, Hester, and her sons were active in Sarasota's theatrical and musical venues. What came to be known internationally as the Edith Ringling Estate
is now the center of the campus of New College of Florida
.
invested heavily in developments on the barrier islands, known as keys
, which separate the shallow bay from the Gulf of Mexico
. Although he had several corporations and development projects in Sarasota, he worked in partnership with Owen Burns
to develop the keys through a corporation named, Ringling Isles Estates. Burns owned all of Lido Key. To facilitate development of these holdings a bridge was built to the islands by his partner, Owen Burns. Eventually Ringling donated the bridge to the city for the government to maintain. They named that route, John Ringling Boulevard. The center of Saint Armand key contains Harding Circle
and the streets surrounding it are named for other U.S. presidents. Dredge and fill by Owen Burns created even more dry land to develop, including Golden Gate Point. Winter residents, called snowbirds
, flocked to purchase these seasonal homes marketed to the well-to-do.
ended early for Sarasota. Florida was the first area in the United States to be affected by the financial problems that led to the Great Depression
. In 1926 development speculation began to collapse with bank failures on the eastern coast of Florida, much earlier than most parts of the country. The financial difficulties spread throughout Florida. John Ringling initially profited from the economic crash. Ringling had put his partner, Owen Burns, into bankruptcy by using money from the treasury of their corporation for use on another Ringling project that was failing. He later purchased the landmark El Vernona Hotel
from Burns at a fraction of its worth. John Ringling, too, however, lost most of his fortune. Shortly after the June 1929 death of his wife, Mable, his reversal began because his stock investments were affected.
Just before the market crashed, Ringling had purchased several other circuses with hopes of combining them with the existing circus and selling shares on the stock exchange. The crash ended that plan. While Ringling continued to invest in expensive artwork, he left grand projects unfinished, such as a Ritz hotel on one of the barrier islands. He abandoned plans for an art school as an adjunct to the museum. Ringling did lend his name to an art school established by others in Sarasota, however reluctantly.
The board of the circus, which included Edith Ringling and other members of the family, removed John Ringling and placed another director, Samuel Gumpertz, in charge of the corporation. By the time of his death in 1936, John Ringling was close to bankruptcy. His estate was saved only because he had willed it, together with his art collection, to the state and he died just before he would have become bankrupt. A film about the estate that is shown to museum visitors, states that his bank balance was less than four hundred dollars when he died. His nephew, John Ringling North
, struggled for years to keep that legacy intact.
In 1925 John Nolen, a professional planner, was hired to develop a plan for the downtown of the city. He laid out the streets to follow the arch of the bay front with a grid beyond, that extended north to what is now Tenth Street and south to Mound. This followed more closely the way the city was developing at the time.
The names and numbers of the downtown streets were changed to the current ones. At that time the numbered streets began at Burns Square and Burns' triangular building separating the intersection of Orange and Pineapple Avenues, was on First Street. Nolen shifted the existing numbered streets to the north, beginning above what now is Main Street. The city hall, situated in the Hover Arcade at the foot of Main Street, was on the waterfront and the city dock extended from it. It was the hub of the new city. Vehicles and materials could pass through the arcade and railroad tracks led directly to the terminus.
The new plan accentuated that city hall on the bay front, was the nexus
of the city. Broadway, the road that connected the downtown bay front with the northern parts of the city along the bay had become part of the new Tamiami Trail
that was being created. The trail was a portion of U.S. 41 that connected Tampa to Miami (hence the contracted name) in 1928. United with U.S. 301 in northern Manatee County, the trail made a "dog's leg" turn toward the west at Cortez Road. In Sarasota it turned back toward the east to follow Main Street through downtown before rejoining U.S. 301 at Washington Boulevard.
This plan was abandoned in the 1960s when pressure to increase speeds on Tamiami Trail drove the demolition of the city hall and the redirection of the route past the bay front, severing the community from the waterfront. By the last decade of the century, automobile traffic had become so dominant that intersections beyond human-scale barred all but the most adventurous from attempting crossings on foot. At community planning charrette
s, designs began to circulate that called for the reunification of the downtown to the bay front and removal of the designation of the bay front road as a highway. New Urbanism
concepts focused upon restoring Sarasota to being a walkable community and taking the greatest advantage of its most beautiful asset, Sarasota Bay. Roundabouts were discussed as traffic calming devices that could be integrated into gracious designs for safe and efficient movement of automobiles among increased use by bicyclists and pedestrians, along with reduction of pollution.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 25.9 square miles (67.1 km²), of which 14.9 square miles ( 38.6 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28.5 km²) is water.
Sarasota has a humid subtropical climate, with hot summers, mild winters, and high humidity year-round. There are distinct rainy and dry seasons in Sarasota, with the rainy season lasting from June to September, and the dry season from October to May.
was 3,539.8 per square mile (1,366.9/km²). There were 26,898 housing units at an average density of 1,806.2 per square mile (697.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.91% White, 16.02% African American, 0.35% Native American, 1.02% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.74% from other races
, and 1.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.92% of the population.
There were 23,427 households out of which 19.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.3% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female head of household with no husband present, and 48.5% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the city the population was spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.
The per capita income
for residents of the city was $23,197. Females had a median income of $23,510 versus $26,604 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,077 and the median income for a family was $40,398. About 12.4% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.5% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.
From 2005-2007, Sarasota County had a total population of 368,000 - 192,000 (52 percent) females and 176,000 (48 percent) males. The median age was 49.7 years. Seventeen percent of the population was under 18 years and 30 percent was 65 years and older.
The Age Distribution of People in Sarasota County, Florida in 2005-2007
65 and over 30%
45 to 64 27%
25 to 44 21%
18 to 24 6%
Under 18 17%
Percent of population
For people reporting one race alone, 92 percent was White; 4 percent was Black or African American; less than 0.5 percent was American Indian and Alaska Native; 1 percent was Asian; less than 0.5 percent was Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 2 percent was Some other race. One percent reported two or more races. Seven percent of the people in Sarasota County was Hispanic. Eighty-seven percent of the people in Sarasota County was White non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
The per capita income for the county was $28,326 and females had a median income of $25,721 versus $32,114 for males.
The median income of households in Sarasota County was $49,030. Sixty-three percent of the households received earnings and 28 percent received retirement income other than Social Security. Forty-five percent of the households received Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $16,654. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.
In 2010 Sarasota had a population of 51,917. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 65.6% non-Hispanic white, 15.1% black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.3% Asian Indian, 1.0% other Asian, 0.2% non-Hispanic reporting some other race, 2.3% reporting two or more races and 16.6% Hispanic or Latino.
. The title of its government is City of Sarasota and it is governed by a five-person commission elected by popular vote, two members of which serve in the ceremonial positions of mayor and vice-mayor as chosen by the commission every April. Sarasota later was designated as the county seat
when Sarasota County was carved out of Manatee County in 1921 during the creation of several new counties.
Many aspects of the city are overseen by the county government ranging from parks, the bay, major waterways, county designated roads, the airport, fire departments, property and ad valorum taxes, voting, the health department, extension services, storm water control, mosquito control, the courts, the jail, libraries, and schools therefore election of county commissioners is important to city voters.
In January 2006, the city of Sarasota made national news when the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty ranked it number one on the groups' list of twenty "meanest cities" in America in their published report A Dream Denied: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities. The city's 2005 ordinance (05-4640) made it illegal to sleep outside on public or private property without permission.
The City of Sarasota offers the following services to residents within the incorporated city limits.
performances or movie screenings. It is situated at the intersection of Pineapple Avenue and Second Street, having been restored and used for opera
s. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sarasota is the home of the Sarasota Orchestra, which was founded by Ruth Cotton Butler in 1949 and known for years as the Florida West Coast Symphony. It holds a three-week Sarasota Music Festival that is recognized internationally and boasts that it attracts renowned teachers and the finest students of chamber music.
In the early 1950s, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
purchased a historic Italian theater, the Asolo (now called the Historic Asolo Theater). A. Everett "Chick" Austin, the museum's first director, arranged the purchase and reassembly of the theater for performances of plays and opera. The theater had been built in 1798 and was disassembled during the 1930s. Adolph Loewi, a Venetian collector and dealer, had purchased the theater and stored its parts until the purchase and shipment to Sarasota for the museum. The theater was rebuilt in a building that extended to the west of the northern wing of the museum, where John Ringling had intended his unrealized art school would be built. The new building, containing the historic theater, was separated from the museum by a small garden that featured statues of dwarfs. In the 1980s, the theater was used by a foreign film club that showed its films on Monday nights. When the club expanded, it built its own theater at Burns Court near Burns Square in downtown Sarasota.
Later a local architect, Stuart Barger, designed and oversaw the construction of another Asolo Theater, housed in the Florida State University Center for the Performing Arts. It is a multi-theater complex, located farther east on the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art property, being placed between Bay Shore Road and Tamiami Trail, and facing south toward Ringling Plaza. It was built around a rococo
, historic Scottish theater, which had been shipped to Florida. The new complex also provides venues and facilities for students of Florida State University
's MFA Acting program, the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training
. This was the administrative home of the Sarasota French Film Festival for several years. Venues around the city were used for films and events that focused upon French films and their stars.
In the 1960s the Van Wezels enabled the city to build a performing arts hall on the bay front. The auditorium, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
's successor firm, Taliesin Associated Architects
team under the direction of William Wesley Peters
. Wright's widow, Olgivanna Lloyd Wright
, who participated in the project, selected its purple color.
Other Sarasota cultural attractions include the Sarasota Ballet, Sarasota Opera
, Asolo Repertory Theatre
, Florida Studio Theatre, the Sarasota Players, the Banyan Theater Company, and many other musical, dance, artistic, and theatrical venues. Since 1998, the city has hosted the Sarasota Film Festival
annually. The festival attracts independent films from around the world. It claims to be one of Florida's largest film festivals. In 2009 the annual Ringling International Arts Festival
, held its premier and held its closing event in the historic Asolo theater, which had been moved and rebuilt again. The historic Venetian theater now is housed in the reception building for the museum where it is used for special events as well as performances, informative purposes, and another seasonal film series hosted by the museum.
In 2010, the Sarasota Chalk Festival
that is held yearly in the historic area Burns Square became the first international street painting
festival in the United States of America. Celebrating the 16th century performance art of Italian street painting the festival hosted Maestro Madonnaro Edgar Mueller from Germany who created the first street painting that changed images from day to night.
Sarasota is home to Mote Marine Laboratory
, a marine rescue, research facility, and aquarium; Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
; G-Wiz Museum; and Sarasota Jungle Gardens
, which carries on early tourist attraction traditions. It also has many historic sites and neighborhoods.
Colleges in Sarasota include New College of Florida
, a public liberal arts college; Keiser College of Sarasota, a private college; FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training (Florida State University
's MFA Acting Conservatory in conjunction with the Asolo Repertory Theatre
); Ringling College of Art and Design, a school of visual arts and design; and satellite campuses of Eckerd College
, based in St. Petersburg, Florida
; and Florida State University College of Medicine
, based in Tallahassee, Florida
. Other colleges in the city include East West College of Natural Medicine, an accredited college of acupuncture and Chinese medicine.
Nearby educational institutions with regional draw include State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota and a commuter branch of the University of South Florida
, based in Tampa
.
Italian architecture and culture is quite strong in the area because of the Ringling Museum. An unusually large amount of homes and buildings are designed in the Italian style, especially Venetian as influenced by Ringling's Ca'd'Zan. Italian inspired statues are also common and Michelangelo's David is used as the symbol of Sarasota.
The Sarasota School of Architecture
has developed as a variant of mid-century modernist architecture. It incorporates elements of both the Bauhaus
and Frank Lloyd Wright
's "organic" architecture. The style developed as an adaptation to the area's sub-tropical climate and used newly emerging materials manufactured or implemented following World War II. Philip Hiss was the driving force of this movement.
Fellow architects creating new adaptive designs were Paul Rudolph
and Ralph Twitchell. The second generation of the school includes Gene Leedy
, Jack West
, Victor Lundy, Mark Hampton, James Holiday, Ralph Zimmerman, as well as several who still practice in the community: William Zimmerman; Carl Abbott, Edward J. "Tim" Seibert, and Frank Folsom Smith.
Rudolph's Florida houses attracted attention in the architectural community around the world. He started receiving commissions for larger works, such as the Jewett Art Center at Wellesley College. In 1958 Rudolph was selected as director of the School of Architecture at Yale, shortly after designing the school's building. He led the school for six years before returning to private practice.
Recently a bank building designed and built by Jack West was renovated and reopened as the headquarters of Gateway Bank on Tamiami Trail at the intersection with Bahia Vista. This followed a preliminary proposal to demolish the building that met with a rapid objection from a leader of historic preservation in the community before the new project could gain approval within the city planning department. The building is graced by a sculpture by Jack Cartlidge that was installed when the building was built.
-designated Tampa-Saint Petersburg-Sarasota television market. The local television stations are ABC
-affiliate WWSB
and SNN Local News 6, a continuous local cable news operation run by Comcast
and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune
. WWSB is the only network station with studios in Sarasota. Other network and public television programming serving the community is offered by Fort Myers
and Tampa television stations. Comcast provides cable television
service. DirecTV
and Dish Network
provide direct broadcast satellite
television including Tampa Bay Area local and national channels to Sarasota residents.
Arbitron
has identified the Sarasota-Bradenton radio market as the seventy-third largest market in the country, and the sixth largest in the state of Florida. There are eight radio stations in the city: WSMR
(89.1FM, classical music), WSLR (96.5FM, variety-talk), WKZM
(104.3FM, religious; repeating WKES
Lakeland
), WCTQ
(106.5FM, country music), WSRZ (107.9FM, oldies), WLSS
(930AM, talk), WSRQ (1220AM, talk), WTMY
(1280AM, talk), WTZB
(105.9FM,
rock music; commonly known as The Buzz) and WSDV
(1450AM, adult standards). WHPT
(102.5 FM, classic rock) is licensed to Sarasota and has broadcasting facilities in northeastern Sarasota County, but has its studios in the Tampa Bay area and is focused on that region.
The community also is served by most radio stations from the Tampa Bay radio market, as well as some stations from the nearby Fort Myers radio market.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune
is the daily newspaper published in the city. Weekly newspapers include the Observer, Pelican Press
; Creative Loafing
is published monthly. The Bradenton Herald
from neighboring Manatee County also is distributed in the area.
, adjacent to the city-owned Pioneer Park. Recently, two historic buildings, the Crocker Church and the Bidwell-Wood House (the oldest remaining structure in the city), first restored by Veronica Morgan and members of the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation that she founded, became city property. The Sarasota County Historical Society facilitated the move. These structures were relocated to this park, despite protests from residents who objected to the loss of park area. Restoration is needed again for deterioration that occurred during the last decade.
In the late 1970s, Sarasota County purchased the Terrace Hotel that was built by Charles Ringling and renovated it for use as a county government office building. That structure and the adjacent courthouse that he donated to the new county in 1921 have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. The courthouse complex was designed by Dwight James Baum
.
In the next decade the landmark hotel built by Owen Burns
, the El Vernona, which had been turned into apartments became endangered. By then it was called the John Ringling Towers and was purchased by a phosphate miner, Gardinier, who wanted to turn it into his corporate headquarters. All of the tenants were turned out and plans were made for the restoration of the building. The city commissioners supported the plan initially, but lobbying to undermine the project began and one of the commissioners changed her vote. The project was denied at the final hearing. The enraged miner abandoned the city and subsequent owners, seeking to demolish it, made garish changes to the building to make it unappealing before finally leaving it open for vagrants to invade and pilfer.
A community campaign began to preserve the building complex that included the realty office of Owen Burns that had been renovated for use as a home by Karl Bickel. A historic preservation organization, the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation, was founded by Veronica Morgan to save the buildings and to promote historic preservation throughout the community. Through their efforts, combined with the help of many architects in the community, a hotel development group with a history of restoring historic hotels bought the property and both structures on the property were listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but it soon was sued by another developer who had made a bid for the property also. The buildings were subjected to a legal battle that was lost by the historic hotel developers. Eventually both buildings fell under the wrecking ball.
Remarkable preservation success occurred during the 1990s when the community exhibition hall, the Municipal Auditorium
, designed by Thomas Reed Martin and Clarence A. Martin, was listed on the National Register of Historic Paces and meticulously restored to its depression recovery era, 1937 WPA community project, completion status and its architectural glory—both inside and out. The city boasts that 100,000 people use it every year and it is a boon to the community for recreation, lawn sports, as well as being heavily attended for auctions, concerts, conventions, flea markets, galas, graduations, lectures, orchid and flower shows, and a full range of trade shows of interest to the community. Later the Federal Building, designed by George Albee Freeman (the designer of Seagate for the Crosleys) and Louis A. Simon, which initially had served as the post office was restored as well.
Most of the luxurious historic residences from the 1920s boom period along the northern shore of Sarasota Bay also have survived. This string of homes, built on large parcels of elevated land along the widest point of the bay, is anchored by the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art at its center. Among them is Cà d'Zan, the home of Mable and John Ringling, which was restored recently under the direction of Bill Puig.
Many significant structures from the comparatively recent "Sarasota School of Architecture" period of the mid-20th century, however, have not survived. Since they do not qualify under the age criteria set for historic preservation nominations their historical aspect often escapes public recognition. Others frequently are threatened by demolition plans for new development without consideration of their cultural and historical importance to the community instead of motivating the implementation of plans to retain the buildings and integrate them into new plans.
In 2006, the Sarasota County School Board slated one of Paul Rudolph
's largest Sarasota projects, Riverview High School
, for demolition. The board arrived at the decision despite protests by many members of the community, including architects, historic preservationists, and urban planners. Others supported the demolition as they believed the structure is no longer functional. The issue was divisive. The World Monuments Fund
included the school on its 2008 Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites in the category Main Street Modern.
Although the community of Sarasota was divided on the worth of Rudolph's structure, the international arts community was not. New urbanist
planner and architect, Andres Duany
, strongly supported retention of the school. When asked about the project by Kafi Benz
, a historic preservation leader at a public meeting in January 2007 in Sarasota, Duany stated that Sarasota would lose its international stature as an arts center if it allowed the demolition. The historic building was the main structure in the school complex and included a planetarium
. Plans existed to nominate Riverview High School to the National Trust for Historic Preservation
's list of the most endangered historic structures in the United States, America's Most Endangered Places
.
Following a March 2007 charrette
led by the National Trust for Historic Preservation
, a proposal was advanced to renovate and preserve Rudolph's buildings. The school board decided to allow a year to consider implementation of the innovative plan proposed to preserve the buildings, that would include building a parking garage with playing fields above it rather than demolishing the structures.
In early June 2008 the school board announced that the school would be demolished and that a parking lot would replace it. One year later, in June 2009, Riverview High School was demolished.
The warm climate helped the Sarasota area become a popular golf
destination, a sport brought to America by the Scots. One of them was John Hamilton Gillespie, an early pioneer of the game in Sarasota. The Sara Bay course in the Whitfield area was designed by golf architect Donald Ross. Bobby Jones
was associated with the community course in Sarasota. Many courses dot the area, including the one originally laid out for the hotel John Ringling planned on the southern tip of Longboat Key
.
Sport fishing attracted enthusiasts to Sarasota and the area because of the amazing bounty of the bay and it was one of the earliest attractions drawing the wealthy as well as the adventurous. Tarpon
was the biggest draw, but gigantic gar
as well as many other species abounded to attract people such as Owen Burns
to Powel Crosley. The first settled permanently and became one of the most important developers of Sarasota and the second, who more typically, built a winter retreat here and participated in the sport via the clubs, organizations, and tournaments focused on fishing.
In 1937 the Municipal Auditorium-Recreation Club
was built with funds provided by the Works Progress Administration
, the municipal government, and local residents and business owners. It became a center for sports, entertainment, and recreation. The sports activities have ranged from badminton, basketball, boating, lawn bowling, and shuffleboard, to tennis. The auditorium hosts clubs for cards, dancing, games, gardening, and numerous hobbies as well as having become the community meeting place for commercial and educational shows and the venue for local schools and charities to hold events and dances. Tourists are attracted to exhibitions provided by local businesses as well as vendors from national circuits. This building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
because of its architecture and for providing the enormous range of community activities that are scheduled at it every week.
Sarasota also is home to Ed Smith Stadium
, where the Baltimore Orioles
will conduct spring training camp starting in 2010. The Orioles also have minor league facilities at Twin Lakes Park. Both facilities will undergo major upgrades after spring training in 2010. The agreement with the Orioles also places a Cal Ripken Youth Baseball Academy in Sarasota. Previously, Ed Smith Stadium
was the spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds
and the minor league Sarasota Reds.
The Sarasota Marathon started in 2005. In 2010, declining sponsorship and marathon registration led organizers to change the event to a half marathon. The race begins and ends near the John and Mable Ringling Museum.
which is shared by Sarasota and Manatee counties. Five airlines offer service out of the airport to locations primarily in the United States and Canada
. The airport serves more than 1,300,000 passengers per year. The airport holds full Port of entry
status providing U.S. Customs inspections for international travelers. St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport
and Tampa International Airport
are located about an hour north from Sarasota, and Southwest Florida International Airport
in Ft. Meyers an hour and 45 min south of Sarasota. All 3 offer a wider range of national and international flights.
Sarasota County Area Transit
has a bus service called SCAT which offers service throughout the county and also offers limited connections with Manatee County Area Transit
. Sarasota County has joined the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority
to plan and build future transportation infrastructure including light rail
, commuter rail and longer range bus service. A key issue is providing Sarasota with access to the Florida High Speed Rail
. There is no Amtrak
train which stops in Sarasota, but Amtrak provides through bus service at Sarasota Station
out front of the Hollywood 20 Movie Theatre downtown, to the nearest Amtrak terminal in Tampa.
As a city located on the Gulf of Mexico, water transportation is a key consideration. The Intracoastal Waterway
is a 3000 mile(4,800-km) waterway
providing water access to and from the Atlantic coast for tugs, barges and leisure boats. Port Manatee
and the Port of Tampa
both provide nearby deep water ports.
Because of its location on the Gulf of Mexico and its proximity to several other large metropolitan areas, road transportation is critical to the Sarasota area. The major roads in the area include:
and the French city of Le Mans
in 836. The modern adaptation in the United States began in 1931. Hamilton, Ontario
, Canada
(1990) Perpignan
, France (1994) Tel Mond
, Israel
(1994) Vladimir
, Russia
(1994) Dunfermline
, Fife
, United Kingdom
(2002) Treviso
, Italy
(Feb. 2007) Xiamen
, Fujian Province, China
Mérida
, Yucatán
, México
(2010)
Sarasota County, Florida
Sarasota County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2008 estimate for the county was 372,057. Its county seat is Sarasota, Florida....
on the southwestern
Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida is a region of Florida , United States located along its gulf coast, south of the Tampa Bay area, west of Lake Okeechobee and mostly north of the Everglades...
coast of the U.S. state of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area
Tampa Bay Area
The Tampa Bay Area is the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay. Definitions of the region vary. It is often considered equivalent to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau currently...
and north of Fort Myers. Its current official limits include Sarasota Bay
Sarasota Bay
Sarasota Bay is an estuary located off the west coast of Florida in the United States.The bay and its surrounding area appeared on the earliest maps of the area, being named Zarazote on one dating from the early 18th century...
and several barrier islands between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
.
These islands separating Sarasota Bay from the gulf near the city, known as keys
Cay
A cay , also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans , where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people...
, include Lido Key
Lido Key
Lido Key is a barrier island of the coast of Sarasota, Florida in the United States. The island has sandy beaches that face the Gulf of Mexico. The island has a seasonal nightclub scene, as well as a park called "South Lido Park", which has a beach and a woodland trail...
and Siesta Key, which are famous worldwide for the quality of their sandy beaches.
Today the keys that are included in the boundary of Sarasota are Lido Key
Lido Key
Lido Key is a barrier island of the coast of Sarasota, Florida in the United States. The island has sandy beaches that face the Gulf of Mexico. The island has a seasonal nightclub scene, as well as a park called "South Lido Park", which has a beach and a woodland trail...
, St. Armands Key
St. Armands Key
St. Armands Key is an island in Sarasota Bay off the west coast of Florida in the United States.A Frenchman named Charles St. Amand bought property on the island in 1893. His name was misspelled in land deeds, and this misspelled name is still used today....
, Otter Key, Coon Key, Bird Key
Bird Key
Bird Key is an island in Sarasota Bay, south of the Ringling Causeway, between mainland Sarasota and St. Armands Key. Originally a small island connected to the Ringling Causeway by a tree lined causeway of its own, it was the home of John Ringling North, nephew of Circus Magnate, John Ringling...
, and portions of Siesta Key. Previously, Siesta Key was named Sarasota Key. At one time, it and all of Longboat Key were considered part of Sarasota and confusing contemporaneous references may be found discussing them.
Longboat Key is the largest key separating the bay from the gulf, but it is now evenly divided by the new county line of 1921. The portion of the key that parallels the Sarasota city boundary that extends to that new county line along the bay front of the mainland was removed from the city boundaries at the request of John Ringling in the mid-1920s, who sought to avoid city taxation of his planned developments at the southern tip of the key. Although they never were completed in the quickly faltering economy, those development concessions granted by the city never were reversed and the county has retained regulation of those lands ever since.
According to the U. S. Census Bureau, Sarasota had a population of 52,488 in 2007. In 1986 it became designated as a certified local government. Sarasota is a principal city of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Sarasota County.
It is among the communities included in a two-county federally mandated Metropolitan Planning Organization
Metropolitan planning organization
A metropolitan planning organization is a federally-mandated and federally-funded transportation policy-making organization in the United States that is made up of representatives from local government and governmental transportation authorities...
that includes all of Sarasota and Manatee counties and the chairs of the three elements of that organization belong to the eight-county regional planning organization for western central Florida.
President Bush was visiting an elementary school in Sarasota when the September 11 attacks took place.
Prehistorical data
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
was one hundred miles farther to the west. In this era, hunting and gathering
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
was the primary means of subsistence. This was only possible in areas where water sources existed for hunter and prey alike. Deep spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
s and catchment basins, such as Warm Mineral Springs
Warm Mineral Springs (spring)
The Warm Mineral Springs is a water-filled sinkhole located in North Port, Florida, a mile north of U.S. 41. The primary water supply is a spring vent deep beneath the pool's water surface. The site has functioned as a spa since the 1960s, and is an important geological and archaeological site. It...
, were close enough to the Sarasota area to provide camp sites, but too far away for permanent settlements.
As the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s slowly melted, a more temperate climate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
began to advance southward. Sea levels began rising; they ultimately rose another 350 feet (106.7 m), resulting in the Florida shoreline of today, which provided attractive locations for human settlements.
Archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
research in Sarasota documents more than ten thousand years of seasonal occupation by native peoples. For five thousand years while the current sea level existed, fishing in Sarasota Bay
Sarasota Bay
Sarasota Bay is an estuary located off the west coast of Florida in the United States.The bay and its surrounding area appeared on the earliest maps of the area, being named Zarazote on one dating from the early 18th century...
was the primary source of protein
Protein in nutrition
Proteins are polymer chains made of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds. Proteins and carbohydrates contain 4 kcal per gram as opposed to lipids which contain 9 kcal per gram....
and large mounds of discarded shells and fish bones attest to the prehistoric human settlements that existed in Sarasota and were sustained by the bounty of its bay.
Early historical records
EuropeanEuropean ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s first explored the area in the early 16th century. The first recorded contact was in 1513, when a Spanish expedition landed at Charlotte Harbor
Charlotte Harbor (estuary)
Charlotte Harbor Estuary is a natural estuary spanning the west coast of Florida from Venice to Bonita Springs on the Gulf of Mexico and is one of the most productive wetlands in Florida...
, just to the south.
Having been identified on maps by the mid-18th century as Zara Zote, perhaps from an indigenous name, the sheltered bay and its harbor attracted fish and marine traders. Soon there were fishing camps, called ranchos, along the bay that were established by both Americans and Cubans who traded fish and turtles with merchants in Havana. Florida changed hands among the Spanish, the English, and the Spanish again.
After the 1819 acquisition of Florida as a territory by the United States and five years before it became a state in 1845, the army established Fort Armistead in Sarasota along the bay.
The fort is thought to have been located in the Indian Beach area, and research continues there. The army established the fort at a rancho operated by Louis Pacheco, an African slave working for his Cuban-American owner. Drawings of the fort give a clue to the location as well, showing a significant landmark point that still exists at Indian Beach. Shortly before the fort was abandoned because of severe epidemics, the chiefs of the Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
Indians gathered to discuss their impending forced march to the Oklahoma Territory. These were Native Americans who had moved into Florida during the Spanish occupation. Most of the indigenous natives of Florida, such as the Tocobaga
Tocobaga
Tocobaga was the name of a chiefdom, its chief and its principal town during the 16th century in the area of Tampa Bay. The town was at the northern end of what is now called Old Tampa Bay, an arm of Tampa Bay that extends northward between the present-day city of Tampa and Pinellas County...
and the Caloosa, had perished from epidemics carried by the Spanish. They mostly had maintained permanent settlements that were used from late Fall through Spring, moving to settlements farther north during the Summer.
Soon the remaining Seminole Indians were forced south into the Big Cypress Swamp and in 1842 the lands in Sarasota, which then were held by the federal government, were among those opened to private ownership by those of European descent via the Armed Occupation Act
Armed Occupation Act
The Florida Armed Occupation Act of 1842 was passed as an incentive to populate Florida. The Act granted 160 acres of unsettled land south of the line separating townships 9 and 10 South....
passed by the Congress of the United States. Even Louis Pacheco had been deported with the Indians to Oklahoma.
Pioneer families
Sarasota Bay
Sarasota Bay is an estuary located off the west coast of Florida in the United States.The bay and its surrounding area appeared on the earliest maps of the area, being named Zarazote on one dating from the early 18th century...
.
William Whitaker
William Whitaker (pioneer)
William Henry Whitaker was an American Seminole War veteran and pioneer who, under the provisions of the Armed Occupation Act, established the first permanent settlement in what is now Sarasota, Florida. There he traded mullet with Cubans to bring the first groves of economically important oranges...
, born in Savannah, Georgia in 1821, was the first documented pioneer of European descent to settle permanently in what became the city of Sarasota. Before his arrival, both Cuban and American fishermen had built fish camps or ranchos along Sarasota Bay, but these were not used throughout the year. After time spent along the Manatee River
Manatee River
The Manatee River is a river in Manatee County, Florida. The river arises in the northeastern corner of Manatee County and flows into the Gulf of Mexico at the southern edge of Tampa Bay. The Manatee River has a watershed that is approximately . Lake Manatee, an artificial reservoir, is located...
at the village of Manatee, Whitaker built upon Yellow Bluffs, just north of present day Eleventh Street. He sold dried fish and roe to Cuban traders working the coast. In 1847, he began a cattle business.
In 1851, Whitaker married Mary Jane Wyatt, a member of a pioneer family who had settled the village of Manatee, that was about thirteen miles (19 km) to the northeast along the river of the same name. They raised eleven children on Yellow Bluffs despite the hardships faced by solitary pioneers.
Bowlees Creek
Bowlees Creek is a Drainage basin located in the Manatee County, Florida, USA....
may have been named. They were not injured, but the house was burnt to the ground.
The Whitakers rebuilt and prospered. Unfortunately, their homestead site has not been preserved, having been developed in the 1980s. Their family cemetery remains, however. In the 1930s the Whitaker family gave the cemetery to the Daughters of the American Revolution
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
on the understanding that any lineal descendants of William and Mary Whitaker and their spouses could be buried there as long as space remained. There are eighty-five plots in all, with thirty-nine taken to date.
In 1867, the Webb family from Utica, New York
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
, came to Florida looking for a place to settle. After arriving in Key West, the pioneer family met a Spanish trader. He told them about a high bluff of land on Sarasota Bay that would make a good location for a homestead. When the Webbs arrived in Sarasota looking for the bluff, they described it to Bill Whitaker. He led them right to it because of the description. The site was several miles south of the settlement of the Whitakers. After settling, the Webbs named their homestead Spanish Point, in honor of the trader.
The Webbs had to travel quite a distance for their mail for nearly twenty years. In 1884, John Webb finally petitioned for a separate postal address for Spanish Point. They chose Osprey
Osprey, Florida
Osprey is a census-designated place in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,143 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bradenton–Sarasota–Venice Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
as their postal address, since federal regulations required the use of only one word for the new address. A separate town eventually grew around that postal address. Although there is no similar documentation regarding the name of Sarasota, that federal one-word rule for postal designations may be the reason that Zara Zota or Sara Sota became Sarasota.
Sarasota has been governed by several different American counties, depending upon the era. Not becoming a state until 1845 Florida was acquired by the United States as a territory in 1819. Hillsborough County
Hillsborough County, Florida
As of the census of 2000, there were 998,948 people, 391,357 households, and 255,164 families residing in the county. The population density was 951 people per square mile . There were 425,962 housing units at an average density of 405 per square mile...
was created from Alachua and Monroe counties in 1834 and many early land titles cite it as the county governing Sarasota. Hillsborough was divided in 1855, placing Sarasota under the governance of Manatee County until 1921, when three new counties were carved out of portions of Manatee. One of those new counties was called, Sarasota, and the city was made its seat. The boundary of the community once extended to Bowlees Creek, but that was redrawn to an arbitrary line in order to divide the airport so its oversight could include both counties. Property records and street addresses north of that new county line and south of the creek, however, remain as "Sarasota" due to established postal designations, although they remain governed by Manatee County.
To recover from the debt the state incurred through defeat in the Civil War, the central portions of Florida were drained and sold internationally to developers in the North and abroad during the 1880s.
In 1885 a Scots colony was established in Sarasota that related it as a tropical paradise that had been built into a thriving town. A town had been platted and surveyed before the parcels were sold by the Florida Mortgage and Investment Company. When the astonished investors in the "Ormiston Colony" arrived by ship in December they had to wade ashore, only to find that their primitive settlement lacked the homes, stores, and streets promised. They were even more disturbed by the snowfall that occurred a few weeks later.
Only a few Scots, such as the Browning family, remained in Sarasota along with a determined member of the developer's family, John Hamilton Gillespie. He was a manager for Florida Mortgage & Investment Company, and began to develop Sarasota following the plan for the failed colony. In 1887 he built the De Sota Hotel which opened on February 25 hosting a large social event and celebration. In May 1886 he completed a two hole golf course which is thought to be one of the first golf courses in America. By 1905 he had completed a nine hole 110-acre course to support his favorite pastime, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
. Eventually tourists arrived at a dock built on the bay.
Rose Phillips Wilson and her husband C. V. S. Wilson founded The Sarasota Times newspaper in 1899. It was the first newspaper published in Sarasota and Rose Wilson continued publication of the paper alone until 1923 after her husband died in 1910. She participated in the leadership of the community through many organizations and provided editorial opinions on most early issues.
Well respected among her peers in journalism, the Tarpon Springs Leader ranked the Times under her ownership, as "the best weekly paper in the state" and after the state legislature passed a bill to create Sarasota County, it was to Rose Wilson that the telegram was sent to announce it. When a referendum endorsed the split from Manatee locally, Wilson changed the name of her newspaper to The Sarasota County Times.
She lived through the World War I period, the 1920s boom period, the depression, World War II, and Sarasota’s second boom period in the 1950s. After her retirement from publishing in 1923 Wilson continued her community work with many local organizations, including the influential Woman’s Club in Sarasota, into the 1940s. She devoted much of her time as teacher and mentor for youth at First Presbyterian Church and lived to be eighty-eight years old, when she died in 1964.
Twentieth century development
The village of Sarasota was incorporated for local government as a town under state guidelines in 1902 with John Hamilton Gillespie as mayor. It was re-platted in 1912 and its government then was incorporated as a city in 1913, with A. B. Edwards as mayor.Owen Burns
Owen Burns had come to Sarasota for its famed fishing and remained for the rest of his life. Not only did he become the largest landowner in the city, but he founded a bank, promoted the development of other businesses, and built its bridges, landmark buildings, and mansions. He dredged the harbor and created new bay front points with reclaimed soils. He created novel developments such as Burns Court to attract tourists and built commercial establishments to generate additional impetus to the growing community.He also went into a business partnership with John Ringling to develop the barrier islands, a fateful decision that bankrupted him when his partner failed to live up to commitments on development agreements. In 1925 Burns built the El Vernona Hotel, naming it after his wife, Vernona Hill Freeman Burns. Shortly after the opening of the hotel, the land boom crash in Florida struck a fatal blow to his finances because of the unfulfilled partnership agreement. Ironically, it was the same former partner, John Ringling, who took advantage of the situation and purchased the hotel for a portion of its value, although several years later, with the crash of the stock market, Ringling would meet the same financial fate.
Beside the landmarks, bridges, and developments he built, Burns contributed to the attraction of many around the country to Sarasota. Among his five children, he also raised the most important historian for the community, his daughter, Lillian G. Burns.
Bertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer was an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist.- Biography :Born Bertha Matilde Honoré in Louisville, Kentucky, her father was businessman Henry Hamilton Honoré...
(Bertha Honoré Palmer) was the region's largest landholder, rancher, and developer after the turn of the 20th century, where she purchased more than 90000 acres (364.2 km²) of property. She was attracted to Sarasota by an advertisement placed in a Chicago newspaper by A. B. Edwards. They would maintain a business relationship for the rest of her life. The Palmer National Bank, established on Main Street at Five Points, remained a strong bank led by her sons through the depression and merged with Southeast Bank in 1976.
Bertha Palmer also owned a large tract of land that now is Myakka State Park. During this period this land was operated as a ranch. She developed and promoted many innovative practices that enabled the raising of cattle to become a large-scale reality in Florida. At her "Meadowsweet Farms", Palmer also pioneered large-scale farming and dairy in the area and made significant contributions to practices that enabled the development of crops that could be shipped to markets in other parts of the country. Her experimentation was coordinated with the state department of agriculture.
As war in Europe threatened, Bertha Palmer touted the beauty of Sarasota and its advantages to replace the typical foreign destinations of her social peers. Palmer made her winter residence on the land which the Webb family had homesteaded. She built a resort that would appeal to these new visitors to the area. She quickly established Sarasota as a fashionable location for winter retreats of the wealthy and as a vacation destination for tourists, which endured beyond the war years and blossomed for the new wealth that developed more broadly in the United States during the 1920s and, after the Second World War as well.
In her early publicity, Palmer compared the beauty of Sarasota Bay to the Bay of Naples, and also touted its sports fishing. As the century advanced, the bounty of the bay continued to attract visitors, until overfishing
Overfishing
Overfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans....
depleted its marine life.
Palmer retained most of the original Webb Family structures and greatly expanded the settlement. The pioneer site has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as Historic Spanish Point and is open to the public for a fee. Her tourist accommodations at The Oaks have not been preserved, however.
Also arriving in 1910, Owen Burns closely followed Bertha Palmer to Sarasota and with two purchases, he quickly became the largest landholder within what now is the city, therefore many of the huge Sarasota properties she owned are in what now is Sarasota County (which did not exist during her lifetime). Many of its roads bear the names she put on the trails she established. She did participate, however, in speculation in the city along with others, purchasing undeveloped land in great quantities, and many parcels bear her name or that of her sons among those in abstracts.
Her sons continued her enterprises and remained as investors and donors in Sarasota after the death of Bertha Palmer in 1918. Aside from drawing worldwide attention to the city as a vacation destination and a chic location for winter residences, as well as being renowned for the ranching and agricultural reforms she introduced, two state parks are located on properties she held, portions of the Oscar Scherer State Park
Oscar Scherer State Park
Oscar Scherer State Park is a Florida State Park located between Sarasota and Venice, near Osprey, amidst the heavily-developed southwest Florida coast. The address is 1843 South Tamiami Trail. There are more than 130,000 visitors a year.-History:...
and the enormous Myakka River State Park
Myakka River State Park
Myakka River State Park is a Florida State Park, that is located nine miles east of I-75 in Sarasota in Sarasota County and that includes portions of southeastern Manatee County. A small portion of the park was the gift of the family of Bertha Palmer to the state, being a portion of her massive...
, that may be counted as her greatest tangible legacy to Sarasotans.
Other developments and early history
Other communities in the area were incorporated or began to grow into towns that were quite distinct from the bay front community whose plat ended at what is now Tenth Street. They have been absorbed as Sarasota grew, but some have retained their names and are recognized today as neighborhoods. Some communities, such as Overtown, Bay Haven, Indian Beach, Shell Beach, Bee Ridge, and Fruitville have all but faded from the memory of most living there now. Overtown expanded to include what now is designated as the historic Rosemary District and the boundaries of Newtown now merge with that. The Ringling College of Art and Design includes for its administration building, a hotel developed for the community of Bay Haven when Old Bradenton Road was the main thoroughfare north to the Manatee River. That route avoided having to cross the broadest portion of Bowless Creek. Tamiami TrailTamiami Trail
The Tamiami Trail is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 from State Road 60 in Tampa to U.S. Route 1 in Miami. The road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90....
was developed in the mid-1920s and a bridge across the creek eliminated it as a natural barrier limiting development. Shell Beach became the location where the grand estates would be built on the highest land along the bay as well as where the Sapphire Shores and The Uplands developments are today.
Two sisters, Katherine McClellan and Daisietta McClellan, became real estate developers during this period. They created the McClellan Park subdivision, which is one of the most significant and successful residential neighborhoods south of downtown. Their plat
Plat
A plat in the U.S. is a map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. Other English-speaking countries generally call such documents a cadastral map or plan....
was filed in 1913. It deviated from the typical grid system used for large developments, created a closely knit community, and provided a yacht basin, tennis courts, and other recreational sport facilities.
Women have played a significant role in the development of Sarasota, perhaps not so contrary to many communities, but the history of Sarasota has documented their roles very publicly. Bertha Palmer was not so unusual here, Many other examples may be found by exploring the county records at the Sarasota County History Center.
An area in northern Sarasota attracted many of the Ringling brothers, who had created their wealth as circus magnates, at the turn of the century. The Ringling Brothers Circus
Ringling Brothers Circus
The Ringling Brothers Circus was a circus founded in the United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling Brothers: Albert , August , Otto , Alfred T. , Charles , John , and Henry...
had not yet consolidated as a single entity.
Mary Louise and Charles N. Thompson platted Shell Beach in 1895. The Thompson home was the first residence on the property. It extended from what is now Sun Circle almost to Bowlees Creek. From 1911 Mable and John Ringling spent their winter stays in that house and eventually, they would purchase a large parcel of Thompson property for their permanent winter quarters in Sarasota. Along with being a land developer, Thompson was a manager with another circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
. He attracted several members of the Ringling family to Sarasota as a winter retreat as well as for investments in land.
First, the Alf T. Ringling family settled in the Whitfield Estates area with extensive land holdings. The families of Charles and John Ringling followed, living farther to the south. Soon, children and members of the extended family increased the presence of the Ringling family in Sarasota. Ringling Brothers Circus
Ringling Brothers Circus
The Ringling Brothers Circus was a circus founded in the United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling Brothers: Albert , August , Otto , Alfred T. , Charles , John , and Henry...
established its winter home in Sarasota during 1919 following the death of Alf T., when Charles Ringling assumed many of his duties.
Charles Thompson had joined the staff of the Ringling Brothers Circus when it began to purchase smaller or failing circuses, and to operate them separately. In 1919, these holdings were consolidated into one huge circus, billed as "the greatest show on Earth". Only two of the original five founding brothers now survived, but other members of their families continued to participate in the business or serve on its board of directors. Performers and staff members began to settle in Sarasota, and established the Ringling Circus as part of the Sarasota community.
Following the end of World War I, an economic boom began in Sarasota. The city was flooded with new people seeking jobs, investment, and the chic social milieu that had been created by earlier developers.
Caples'-Ringlings' Estates Historic District
The Caples'-Ringlings' Estates Historic District is a U.S. historic district located in Sarasota, Florida. The district is bounded by the Sarasota Bay, US 41, Parkview and North Shore Avenue...
built their winter retreat, Mable and John Ringling
John Ringling
John Nicholas Ringling now is the most well-known of the seven Ringling brothers, five of whom merged the Barnum & Bailey Circus with their own Ringling Brothers Circus to create a virtual monopoly of traveling circuses and helped shape the circus into what it is today.-Early circus life:John was...
built their compound. It soon would include the museum. Edith and Charles Ringling
Charles Ringling
Charles Edward Ringling was one of the Ringling brothers, who owned the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was in charge of production and greatly admired by the employees, who called him "Mr...
built a compound that included a home for their daughter, Hester Ringling Landcaster Sandford
Charles Ringling
Charles Edward Ringling was one of the Ringling brothers, who owned the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was in charge of production and greatly admired by the employees, who called him "Mr...
.
The next large Shell Beach parcel, immediately to the north, passed between Ellen Caples, Mable and John Ringling, and a few others several times without development until 1947. It was then developed as The Uplands. Some other historic names associated with that parcel are Bertha Palmer, her son Honoré, and A. B. Edwards, whose names are featured as familiar street names in Sarasota.
The tract abutting that parcel was re-platted in 1925 as Seagate with the intention of creating an entire subdivision. This is where Gwendolyn and Powel Crosley built their winter retreat in 1929. All of these historic homes and the museum have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
The now-historic neighborhood of Indian Beach Sapphire Shores grew immediately to the south of the area where these grand homes were built on the bay. Sapphire Shores provided homes to the professionals and retirees who wished to be, or were, closely associated with these wealthiest residents of the community. Indian Beach, which had been a separate community at one time, contained pioneer homes that survived among the fashionable new homes built during the boom era of the 1920s.
Charles Ringling as developer
Charles RinglingCharles Ringling
Charles Edward Ringling was one of the Ringling brothers, who owned the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was in charge of production and greatly admired by the employees, who called him "Mr...
invested in land, developed property, and founded a bank. He participated in Sarasota's civic life and gave advice to other entrepreneurs starting new businesses in Sarasota. From his bank, he loaned money to fledgling businesses. Encouraging its creation, he donated land to the newly formed county—upon which he also built its government offices and courthouse as a gift to the community.
Ringling Boulevard was named for Charles Ringling. It is a winding road leading east from the bay front at what now is Tamiami Trail
Tamiami Trail
The Tamiami Trail is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 from State Road 60 in Tampa to U.S. Route 1 in Miami. The road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90....
toward the winter circus headquarters. It crosses Washington Boulevard where Charles Ringling built the Sarasota Terrace Hotel
Charles Ringling
Charles Edward Ringling was one of the Ringling brothers, who owned the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was in charge of production and greatly admired by the employees, who called him "Mr...
, a high-rise in the Chicago style of architecture
Chicago architecture
The architecture of Chicago has influenced and reflected the history of American architecture. The city of Chicago, Illinois features prominent buildings in a variety of styles by many important architects...
, opposite the site which Ringling would donate for the county seat. It was readily accessible by train at the time.
Charles Ringling and his wife, Edith, began building their bay front winter retreat in the early 1920s. Charles Ringling died in 1926, just after it was completed. For decades Edith Ringling remained there and continued her role in the administration of the circus, assuming many duties of her husband, and her cultural activities in the community. Her daughter, Hester, and her sons were active in Sarasota's theatrical and musical venues. What came to be known internationally as the Edith Ringling Estate
Charles Ringling
Charles Edward Ringling was one of the Ringling brothers, who owned the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was in charge of production and greatly admired by the employees, who called him "Mr...
is now the center of the campus of New College of Florida
New College of Florida
New College of Florida is a public liberal arts college located in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded originally as a private institution and is now an autonomous honors college of the State University System of Florida.-History:...
.
John Ringling in partnership with Owen Burns
John RinglingJohn Ringling
John Nicholas Ringling now is the most well-known of the seven Ringling brothers, five of whom merged the Barnum & Bailey Circus with their own Ringling Brothers Circus to create a virtual monopoly of traveling circuses and helped shape the circus into what it is today.-Early circus life:John was...
invested heavily in developments on the barrier islands, known as keys
Cay
A cay , also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans , where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people...
, which separate the shallow bay from the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. Although he had several corporations and development projects in Sarasota, he worked in partnership with Owen Burns
Owen Burns
Owen Burns was born in Fredericktown in Cecil County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. He was an entrepreneur, banker, builder, and land developer who at one time owned the majority of Sarasota, Florida and developed or built many of its historic structures, developments, roads, seawalls, and...
to develop the keys through a corporation named, Ringling Isles Estates. Burns owned all of Lido Key. To facilitate development of these holdings a bridge was built to the islands by his partner, Owen Burns. Eventually Ringling donated the bridge to the city for the government to maintain. They named that route, John Ringling Boulevard. The center of Saint Armand key contains Harding Circle
Harding Circle Historic District
The Harding Circle Historic District is a U.S. historic district located in Sarasota, Florida.The district is on St. Armand's Key, adjacent to Lido Key, and is centered around Harding Circle, in the middle of the key, around which is the retail area of the key.The circle was named after Warren G...
and the streets surrounding it are named for other U.S. presidents. Dredge and fill by Owen Burns created even more dry land to develop, including Golden Gate Point. Winter residents, called snowbirds
Snowbird (people)
The term snowbird is used to describe people from the U.S. Northeast, U.S. Midwest, or Canada who spend a large portion of winter in warmer locales such as California, Arizona, Florida, Texas, the Carolinas, or elsewhere along the Sun Belt region of the southern and southwest United States,...
, flocked to purchase these seasonal homes marketed to the well-to-do.
Leading edge of the 1920s crash
The Roaring TwentiesRoaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North America, but also in London, Berlin and Paris for a period of sustained economic prosperity. The phrase was meant to emphasize the period's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism...
ended early for Sarasota. Florida was the first area in the United States to be affected by the financial problems that led to the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. In 1926 development speculation began to collapse with bank failures on the eastern coast of Florida, much earlier than most parts of the country. The financial difficulties spread throughout Florida. John Ringling initially profited from the economic crash. Ringling had put his partner, Owen Burns, into bankruptcy by using money from the treasury of their corporation for use on another Ringling project that was failing. He later purchased the landmark El Vernona Hotel
El Vernona Hotel-John Ringling Hotel
The El Vernona Hotel-John Ringling Hotel is a historic hotel in Sarasota, Florida, United States. It is located at 111 North Tamiami Trail. On March 5, 1987, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The building was razed in 1998 to make room for the Sarasota...
from Burns at a fraction of its worth. John Ringling, too, however, lost most of his fortune. Shortly after the June 1929 death of his wife, Mable, his reversal began because his stock investments were affected.
Just before the market crashed, Ringling had purchased several other circuses with hopes of combining them with the existing circus and selling shares on the stock exchange. The crash ended that plan. While Ringling continued to invest in expensive artwork, he left grand projects unfinished, such as a Ritz hotel on one of the barrier islands. He abandoned plans for an art school as an adjunct to the museum. Ringling did lend his name to an art school established by others in Sarasota, however reluctantly.
The board of the circus, which included Edith Ringling and other members of the family, removed John Ringling and placed another director, Samuel Gumpertz, in charge of the corporation. By the time of his death in 1936, John Ringling was close to bankruptcy. His estate was saved only because he had willed it, together with his art collection, to the state and he died just before he would have become bankrupt. A film about the estate that is shown to museum visitors, states that his bank balance was less than four hundred dollars when he died. His nephew, John Ringling North
John Ringling North
John Ringling North was the owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus from 1937 to 1943 and from 1947 to 1967. In 1967 he sold the circus to Irvin Feld.-Biography:...
, struggled for years to keep that legacy intact.
A new city plan
The names and numbers of the downtown streets were changed to the current ones. At that time the numbered streets began at Burns Square and Burns' triangular building separating the intersection of Orange and Pineapple Avenues, was on First Street. Nolen shifted the existing numbered streets to the north, beginning above what now is Main Street. The city hall, situated in the Hover Arcade at the foot of Main Street, was on the waterfront and the city dock extended from it. It was the hub of the new city. Vehicles and materials could pass through the arcade and railroad tracks led directly to the terminus.
The new plan accentuated that city hall on the bay front, was the nexus
Centre (geometry)
In geometry, the centre of an object is a point in some sense in the middle of the object. If geometry is regarded as the study of isometry groups then the centre is a fixed point of the isometries.-Circles:...
of the city. Broadway, the road that connected the downtown bay front with the northern parts of the city along the bay had become part of the new Tamiami Trail
Tamiami Trail
The Tamiami Trail is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 from State Road 60 in Tampa to U.S. Route 1 in Miami. The road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90....
that was being created. The trail was a portion of U.S. 41 that connected Tampa to Miami (hence the contracted name) in 1928. United with U.S. 301 in northern Manatee County, the trail made a "dog's leg" turn toward the west at Cortez Road. In Sarasota it turned back toward the east to follow Main Street through downtown before rejoining U.S. 301 at Washington Boulevard.
This plan was abandoned in the 1960s when pressure to increase speeds on Tamiami Trail drove the demolition of the city hall and the redirection of the route past the bay front, severing the community from the waterfront. By the last decade of the century, automobile traffic had become so dominant that intersections beyond human-scale barred all but the most adventurous from attempting crossings on foot. At community planning charrette
Charrette
A charrette , is often Anglicized to charette and sometimes called a design charrette. It consists of an intense period of design activity.-Charrettes in general:...
s, designs began to circulate that called for the reunification of the downtown to the bay front and removal of the designation of the bay front road as a highway. New Urbanism
New urbanism
New Urbanism is an urban design movement, which promotes walkable neighborhoods that contain a range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually continued to reform many aspects of real estate development, urban planning, and municipal land-use...
concepts focused upon restoring Sarasota to being a walkable community and taking the greatest advantage of its most beautiful asset, Sarasota Bay. Roundabouts were discussed as traffic calming devices that could be integrated into gracious designs for safe and efficient movement of automobiles among increased use by bicyclists and pedestrians, along with reduction of pollution.
Another speculation crash
The boom of the 1950s failed to end in a crash, but almost a hundred years after the first speculation crash that affected her so badly in the mid-1920s, http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080127/REALESTATE/801270839/1201 Sarasota became identified as the epicenter of the 2008 real estate crash. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b792b28a-46b3-11dc-a3be-0000779fd2ac.html http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20070811/REALESTATE/708110634 It followed financial credit problems that began with poorly financed mortgages failing because of massive real estate speculation that began in the late 1990s and escalated dramatically during the early 2000s. http://audio.thisamericanlife.org/player/CPRadio_player.php?podcast=http://www.thisamericanlife.org/xmlfeeds/355.xml&proxyloc=http://audio.thisamericanlife.org/player/customproxy.php Once the values of the properties began to fall the mortgages purchased with consideration of "equity value" derived from the rapid increases in property values due to speculation, became problematic. The properties were no longer worth the value of the mortgages, some by great differences. The rate of foreclosures is increasing as the values remain low and governments are losing taxes to support services because of the decline in values. This became almost a nation-wide problem and occurred in other countries as well. Although not over yet, it is likely to be labeled as another boom period-crash, not in undeveloped land and not just in Florida, but this time it began with equity-based home mortgages and has led to a major financial crisis.Geography and climate
Sarasota is located by 27°20′14"N 82°32′7"W (27.337273, -82.535318).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 25.9 square miles (67.1 km²), of which 14.9 square miles ( 38.6 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28.5 km²) is water.
Sarasota has a humid subtropical climate, with hot summers, mild winters, and high humidity year-round. There are distinct rainy and dry seasons in Sarasota, with the rainy season lasting from June to September, and the dry season from October to May.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 52,715 people, 23,427 households, and 12,064 families residing in the city. The population densityPopulation density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 3,539.8 per square mile (1,366.9/km²). There were 26,898 housing units at an average density of 1,806.2 per square mile (697.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.91% White, 16.02% African American, 0.35% Native American, 1.02% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.74% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.92% of the population.
There were 23,427 households out of which 19.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.3% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female head of household with no husband present, and 48.5% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the city the population was spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.
The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for residents of the city was $23,197. Females had a median income of $23,510 versus $26,604 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,077 and the median income for a family was $40,398. About 12.4% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.5% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.
From 2005-2007, Sarasota County had a total population of 368,000 - 192,000 (52 percent) females and 176,000 (48 percent) males. The median age was 49.7 years. Seventeen percent of the population was under 18 years and 30 percent was 65 years and older.
The Age Distribution of People in Sarasota County, Florida in 2005-2007
65 and over 30%
45 to 64 27%
25 to 44 21%
18 to 24 6%
Under 18 17%
Percent of population
For people reporting one race alone, 92 percent was White; 4 percent was Black or African American; less than 0.5 percent was American Indian and Alaska Native; 1 percent was Asian; less than 0.5 percent was Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 2 percent was Some other race. One percent reported two or more races. Seven percent of the people in Sarasota County was Hispanic. Eighty-seven percent of the people in Sarasota County was White non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
The per capita income for the county was $28,326 and females had a median income of $25,721 versus $32,114 for males.
The median income of households in Sarasota County was $49,030. Sixty-three percent of the households received earnings and 28 percent received retirement income other than Social Security. Forty-five percent of the households received Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $16,654. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.
In 2010 Sarasota had a population of 51,917. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 65.6% non-Hispanic white, 15.1% black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.3% Asian Indian, 1.0% other Asian, 0.2% non-Hispanic reporting some other race, 2.3% reporting two or more races and 16.6% Hispanic or Latino.
Government
Sarasota municipal government was last incorporated in 1913, adopting the city type of local government found in the United StatesLocal government in the United States
Local government in the United States is generally structured in accordance with the laws of the various individual states. Typically each state has at least two separate tiers: counties and municipalities. Some states have their counties divided into townships...
. The title of its government is City of Sarasota and it is governed by a five-person commission elected by popular vote, two members of which serve in the ceremonial positions of mayor and vice-mayor as chosen by the commission every April. Sarasota later was designated as the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
when Sarasota County was carved out of Manatee County in 1921 during the creation of several new counties.
Many aspects of the city are overseen by the county government ranging from parks, the bay, major waterways, county designated roads, the airport, fire departments, property and ad valorum taxes, voting, the health department, extension services, storm water control, mosquito control, the courts, the jail, libraries, and schools therefore election of county commissioners is important to city voters.
In January 2006, the city of Sarasota made national news when the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty ranked it number one on the groups' list of twenty "meanest cities" in America in their published report A Dream Denied: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities. The city's 2005 ordinance (05-4640) made it illegal to sleep outside on public or private property without permission.
The City of Sarasota offers the following services to residents within the incorporated city limits.
- Sarasota Police DepartmentSarasota Police DepartmentThe Sarasota Police Department is a full-service law enforcement agency for the City of Sarasota, Florida and operate inside the municipal city limits to provide police services to 67,000 residents, 5,000 college students, approximately 5,000 tourists, and up to 100,000 citizens workers for...
- Public Works - Garbage pick-up
- Utilities Department - Water
- Parks - City owned, County operated, including the Van Wezel.
Culture
In 1926, A. B. Edwards built a theater that could be adapted for either vaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performances or movie screenings. It is situated at the intersection of Pineapple Avenue and Second Street, having been restored and used for opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sarasota is the home of the Sarasota Orchestra, which was founded by Ruth Cotton Butler in 1949 and known for years as the Florida West Coast Symphony. It holds a three-week Sarasota Music Festival that is recognized internationally and boasts that it attracts renowned teachers and the finest students of chamber music.
In the early 1950s, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is the state art museum of Florida, located in Sarasota, Florida. It was established in 1927 as the legacy of Mable and John Ringling for the people of Florida...
purchased a historic Italian theater, the Asolo (now called the Historic Asolo Theater). A. Everett "Chick" Austin, the museum's first director, arranged the purchase and reassembly of the theater for performances of plays and opera. The theater had been built in 1798 and was disassembled during the 1930s. Adolph Loewi, a Venetian collector and dealer, had purchased the theater and stored its parts until the purchase and shipment to Sarasota for the museum. The theater was rebuilt in a building that extended to the west of the northern wing of the museum, where John Ringling had intended his unrealized art school would be built. The new building, containing the historic theater, was separated from the museum by a small garden that featured statues of dwarfs. In the 1980s, the theater was used by a foreign film club that showed its films on Monday nights. When the club expanded, it built its own theater at Burns Court near Burns Square in downtown Sarasota.
Later a local architect, Stuart Barger, designed and oversaw the construction of another Asolo Theater, housed in the Florida State University Center for the Performing Arts. It is a multi-theater complex, located farther east on the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art property, being placed between Bay Shore Road and Tamiami Trail, and facing south toward Ringling Plaza. It was built around a rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
, historic Scottish theater, which had been shipped to Florida. The new complex also provides venues and facilities for students of Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
's MFA Acting program, the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training
Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training
The Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training or FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training is a three-year graduate program culminating in a Master of Fine Arts degree in Acting...
. This was the administrative home of the Sarasota French Film Festival for several years. Venues around the city were used for films and events that focused upon French films and their stars.
In the 1960s the Van Wezels enabled the city to build a performing arts hall on the bay front. The auditorium, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall is a theater in Sarasota, Florida.The 1,736 seat hall's 1968-69 construction was partly funded by a bequest from local residents Lewis and Eugenia Van Wezel....
, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
's successor firm, Taliesin Associated Architects
Taliesin Associated Architects
Taliesin Associated Architects is an architectural firm founded by Frank Lloyd Wright to carry on his architectural vision after his death. It was headquartered at Taliesin West and had up to 14 principals who had all worked under Wright. One of their first major projects was Rocky Mountain...
team under the direction of William Wesley Peters
William Wesley Peters
William Wesley Peters was a noted architect and engineer, apprentice to and protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright.Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, Peters was educated at Evansville College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...
. Wright's widow, Olgivanna Lloyd Wright
Olgivanna Lloyd Wright
Olgivanna Lloyd Wright was the third and final wife of Frank Lloyd Wright and had significant influence in his life and work, due in part to her extensive Theosophical associations. She was a Serb Montenegrin dancer...
, who participated in the project, selected its purple color.
Other Sarasota cultural attractions include the Sarasota Ballet, Sarasota Opera
Sarasota Opera
Sarasota Opera is a professional opera company in Sarasota, Florida, USA, which owns and performs in the now-renovated 1,119-seat Sarasota Opera House. The 2011-2012 season is currently featuring Puccini’s Madama Butterfly in the fall...
, Asolo Repertory Theatre
Asolo Repertory Theatre
The Asolo Repertory Theatre or Asolo Rep is a professional theater in Sarasota, Florida. It is the largest Equity theatre in Florida, and the largest Repertory theatre in the Southeastern United States. Asolo Rep is a resident regional theatre company which also invites in guest artists...
, Florida Studio Theatre, the Sarasota Players, the Banyan Theater Company, and many other musical, dance, artistic, and theatrical venues. Since 1998, the city has hosted the Sarasota Film Festival
Sarasota Film Festival
The Sarasota Film Festival has been held annually since 1999 in Sarasota, Florida. The festival is held in April and has become one of the top ten independent festivals in North America...
annually. The festival attracts independent films from around the world. It claims to be one of Florida's largest film festivals. In 2009 the annual Ringling International Arts Festival
Ringling International Arts Festival
The Ringling International Arts Festival is an annual festival resulting from the partnership between the Ringling Museum of Art and the Baryshnikov Arts Center....
, held its premier and held its closing event in the historic Asolo theater, which had been moved and rebuilt again. The historic Venetian theater now is housed in the reception building for the museum where it is used for special events as well as performances, informative purposes, and another seasonal film series hosted by the museum.
In 2010, the Sarasota Chalk Festival
Sarasota Chalk Festival
Sarasota Chalk Festival is an American cultural event celebrating a sixteenth century performing art form of Italian street painting. The festival is focused around the street artists who are known as Madonnari in Italy because historically, they recreated images of the Madonna...
that is held yearly in the historic area Burns Square became the first international street painting
Street painting
Street painting, also commonly known as pavement art, chalk art, and sidewalk art, is the performance art of rendering original and non-original artistic designs on pavement such as streets, sidewalks, and town squares with impermanent and semi-permanent materials such as chalk.-Origin:Street...
festival in the United States of America. Celebrating the 16th century performance art of Italian street painting the festival hosted Maestro Madonnaro Edgar Mueller from Germany who created the first street painting that changed images from day to night.
Sarasota is home to Mote Marine Laboratory
Mote Marine Laboratory
Mote Marine Laboratory is an independent not-for-profit marine research organization based on City Island in Sarasota, FL. The laboratory aims to advance the science of the sea, both through its marine and estuarine research labs and through the public Mote Aquarium and its affiliated educational...
, a marine rescue, research facility, and aquarium; Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens are extensive botanical gardens dedicated to research and collections of epiphytes, especially orchids and bromeliads, and their canopy ecosystems...
; G-Wiz Museum; and Sarasota Jungle Gardens
Sarasota Jungle Gardens
Sarasota Jungle Gardens has been a tourist attraction in Sarasota, Florida in the United States since 1936. It offers ten acres, or four hectares, of botanical plantings along with bird and animal shows...
, which carries on early tourist attraction traditions. It also has many historic sites and neighborhoods.
Colleges in Sarasota include New College of Florida
New College of Florida
New College of Florida is a public liberal arts college located in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded originally as a private institution and is now an autonomous honors college of the State University System of Florida.-History:...
, a public liberal arts college; Keiser College of Sarasota, a private college; FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training (Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
's MFA Acting Conservatory in conjunction with the Asolo Repertory Theatre
Asolo Repertory Theatre
The Asolo Repertory Theatre or Asolo Rep is a professional theater in Sarasota, Florida. It is the largest Equity theatre in Florida, and the largest Repertory theatre in the Southeastern United States. Asolo Rep is a resident regional theatre company which also invites in guest artists...
); Ringling College of Art and Design, a school of visual arts and design; and satellite campuses of Eckerd College
Eckerd College
Eckerd College is a private 4-year coeducational liberal arts college at the southernmost tip of St. Petersburg, Florida, in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area. The college is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.- Campus :...
, based in St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
; and Florida State University College of Medicine
Florida State University College of Medicine
The Florida State University College of Medicine, located in Tallahassee, Florida, is one of sixteen colleges comprising the Florida State University . The College is an accredited medical school, offering the Doctor of Medicine degree for physicians. The College of Medicine also offers a Ph.D....
, based in Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
. Other colleges in the city include East West College of Natural Medicine, an accredited college of acupuncture and Chinese medicine.
Nearby educational institutions with regional draw include State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota and a commuter branch of the University of South Florida
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
, based in Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
.
Italian architecture and culture is quite strong in the area because of the Ringling Museum. An unusually large amount of homes and buildings are designed in the Italian style, especially Venetian as influenced by Ringling's Ca'd'Zan. Italian inspired statues are also common and Michelangelo's David is used as the symbol of Sarasota.
Sarasota School of Architecture
The Sarasota School of Architecture, sometimes called "Sarasota Modern," is a regional style of post-war architecture that emerged on Florida's Central West Coast...
has developed as a variant of mid-century modernist architecture. It incorporates elements of both the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
and Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
's "organic" architecture. The style developed as an adaptation to the area's sub-tropical climate and used newly emerging materials manufactured or implemented following World War II. Philip Hiss was the driving force of this movement.
Fellow architects creating new adaptive designs were Paul Rudolph
Paul Rudolph (architect)
Paul Marvin Rudolph was an American architect and the dean of the Yale School of Architecture for six years, known for use of concrete and highly complex floor plans...
and Ralph Twitchell. The second generation of the school includes Gene Leedy
Gene Leedy
Gene Leedy is an architect based in Winter Haven, Florida.Gene Leedy has been one of the pioneers of the modern movement in Florida and was one of the founders of the now famous "Sarasota School of Architecture," including Paul Rudolph, Victor Lundy, Mark Hampton and others...
, Jack West
Jack West
Jack M. West was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne and University in the Victorian Football League .-References:...
, Victor Lundy, Mark Hampton, James Holiday, Ralph Zimmerman, as well as several who still practice in the community: William Zimmerman; Carl Abbott, Edward J. "Tim" Seibert, and Frank Folsom Smith.
Rudolph's Florida houses attracted attention in the architectural community around the world. He started receiving commissions for larger works, such as the Jewett Art Center at Wellesley College. In 1958 Rudolph was selected as director of the School of Architecture at Yale, shortly after designing the school's building. He led the school for six years before returning to private practice.
Recently a bank building designed and built by Jack West was renovated and reopened as the headquarters of Gateway Bank on Tamiami Trail at the intersection with Bahia Vista. This followed a preliminary proposal to demolish the building that met with a rapid objection from a leader of historic preservation in the community before the new project could gain approval within the city planning department. The building is graced by a sculpture by Jack Cartlidge that was installed when the building was built.
Media
Sarasota is part of the NielsenNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
-designated Tampa-Saint Petersburg-Sarasota television market. The local television stations are ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
-affiliate WWSB
WWSB
WWSB Channel 40 is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Florida Suncoast that is licensed to Sarasota. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 24 from a transmitter on Rutland Road in the unincorporated Manatee County community of Rye, about 5 miles ESE of Parrish...
and SNN Local News 6, a continuous local cable news operation run by Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is a daily newspaper located in Sarasota, Florida.It is owned by The New York Times Company, who purchased it in 1982, and part of its regional news group. Along with Comcast, the newspaper operates a local 24-hour...
. WWSB is the only network station with studios in Sarasota. Other network and public television programming serving the community is offered by Fort Myers
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
and Tampa television stations. Comcast provides cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
service. DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
and Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
provide direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite is a term used to refer to satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception.A designation broader than DBS would be direct-to-home signals, or DTH. This has initially distinguished the transmissions directly intended for home viewers from cable television...
television including Tampa Bay Area local and national channels to Sarasota residents.
Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
has identified the Sarasota-Bradenton radio market as the seventy-third largest market in the country, and the sixth largest in the state of Florida. There are eight radio stations in the city: WSMR
WSMR (FM)
WSMR is a radio station licensed to Sarasota, Florida, USA. It is currently owned by the University of South Florida and programs a classical music format. Its programming is repeated on W280DW 103.9 FM in Brandon, which serves listeners in Pasco and northern Hillsborough counties. This translator...
(89.1FM, classical music), WSLR (96.5FM, variety-talk), WKZM
WKES
WKES is a radio station broadcasting a religious radio format. Licensed to Lakeland, Florida, USA, it serves the Tampa Bay area from its studios at Keswick Christian School in Seminole...
(104.3FM, religious; repeating WKES
WKES
WKES is a radio station broadcasting a religious radio format. Licensed to Lakeland, Florida, USA, it serves the Tampa Bay area from its studios at Keswick Christian School in Seminole...
Lakeland
Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...
), WCTQ
WCTQ
WCTQ is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Sarasota, Florida, USA, it serves the Sarasota / Bradenton area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications....
(106.5FM, country music), WSRZ (107.9FM, oldies), WLSS
WLSS
WLSS is a radio station serving the Sarasota, Florida area with a News/Talk format. It broadcasts on AM frequency 930 kHz and is under ownership of Salem Communications....
(930AM, talk), WSRQ (1220AM, talk), WTMY
WTMY
WTMY is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to Sarasota, Florida, USA, the station is currently owned by Polnet Communications, Ltd. and features programing from Premiere Radio Networks and Fox Sports Radio like Dan Patrick. Local shows include "Spitz on Sports, The Sports...
(1280AM, talk), WTZB
WTZB
WTZB is a commercial radio station located in Englewood, Florida, broadcasting to the Sarasota, Florida area on 105.9 FM. WTZB airs a modern rock music format branded as "The Buzz".-External links:*...
(105.9FM,
rock music; commonly known as The Buzz) and WSDV
WSDV
WSDV is an adult standards music radio station owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications for the Sarasota-Bradenton market. It was the Sarasota affiliate of 970 WFLA until 2002....
(1450AM, adult standards). WHPT
WHPT
WHPT is a Cox Radio station located in the Sarasota, Tampa Bay, and St. Petersburg Florida areas, but can be heard as far south as Fort Myers and Naples, from its transmitter near SR 70, near the northeastern corner of Sarasota County. While the station's license and transmitter is based within...
(102.5 FM, classic rock) is licensed to Sarasota and has broadcasting facilities in northeastern Sarasota County, but has its studios in the Tampa Bay area and is focused on that region.
The community also is served by most radio stations from the Tampa Bay radio market, as well as some stations from the nearby Fort Myers radio market.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is a daily newspaper located in Sarasota, Florida.It is owned by The New York Times Company, who purchased it in 1982, and part of its regional news group. Along with Comcast, the newspaper operates a local 24-hour...
is the daily newspaper published in the city. Weekly newspapers include the Observer, Pelican Press
Pelican Press
The Pelican Press was founded in 1971 as an independently-owned monthly newspaper published from Siesta Key, Florida. within a year, it became a weekly publication and circulation was expanded to areas in the greater Sarasota area....
; Creative Loafing
Creative Loafing
CL Inc. is the Tampa, Florida-based publisher of three city newsweeklies and their associated websites. Each of the papers focuses on local news, politics, arts and entertainment, and restaurants...
is published monthly. The Bradenton Herald
Bradenton Herald
The Bradenton Herald is a McClatchy newspaper in Bradenton, Florida, in the United States. Since 2006, The Bradenton Herald has published an edition called the Lakewood Ranch Herald that focuses on local coverage of the rapidly growing eastern region of Manatee County.-History:* 1922: Founded...
from neighboring Manatee County also is distributed in the area.
Historic buildings and sites
By the end of the 20th century, many of Sarasota's more modest historical structures had been lost to the wrecking ball. Condominium development erased all evidence of the Whitaker settlement along the bay. To the east of Tamiami Trail, however, their family cemetery remains on property owned by the Daughters of the American RevolutionDaughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
, adjacent to the city-owned Pioneer Park. Recently, two historic buildings, the Crocker Church and the Bidwell-Wood House (the oldest remaining structure in the city), first restored by Veronica Morgan and members of the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation that she founded, became city property. The Sarasota County Historical Society facilitated the move. These structures were relocated to this park, despite protests from residents who objected to the loss of park area. Restoration is needed again for deterioration that occurred during the last decade.
In the late 1970s, Sarasota County purchased the Terrace Hotel that was built by Charles Ringling and renovated it for use as a county government office building. That structure and the adjacent courthouse that he donated to the new county in 1921 have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The courthouse complex was designed by Dwight James Baum
Dwight James Baum
Dwight James Baum was an American architect most active in New York and in Sarasota, Florida.-Biography:Baum was born in Newville, New York and moved to Syracuse as a young man, eventually graduating from Syracuse University in 1909 with an architecture degree...
.
In the next decade the landmark hotel built by Owen Burns
Owen Burns
Owen Burns was born in Fredericktown in Cecil County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. He was an entrepreneur, banker, builder, and land developer who at one time owned the majority of Sarasota, Florida and developed or built many of its historic structures, developments, roads, seawalls, and...
, the El Vernona, which had been turned into apartments became endangered. By then it was called the John Ringling Towers and was purchased by a phosphate miner, Gardinier, who wanted to turn it into his corporate headquarters. All of the tenants were turned out and plans were made for the restoration of the building. The city commissioners supported the plan initially, but lobbying to undermine the project began and one of the commissioners changed her vote. The project was denied at the final hearing. The enraged miner abandoned the city and subsequent owners, seeking to demolish it, made garish changes to the building to make it unappealing before finally leaving it open for vagrants to invade and pilfer.
A community campaign began to preserve the building complex that included the realty office of Owen Burns that had been renovated for use as a home by Karl Bickel. A historic preservation organization, the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation, was founded by Veronica Morgan to save the buildings and to promote historic preservation throughout the community. Through their efforts, combined with the help of many architects in the community, a hotel development group with a history of restoring historic hotels bought the property and both structures on the property were listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but it soon was sued by another developer who had made a bid for the property also. The buildings were subjected to a legal battle that was lost by the historic hotel developers. Eventually both buildings fell under the wrecking ball.
Remarkable preservation success occurred during the 1990s when the community exhibition hall, the Municipal Auditorium
Municipal Auditorium-Recreation Club
]The historic Sarasota Municipal Auditorium is a unique, multi-purpose facility owned and operated by the municipal government of Sarasota. The auditorium has of potential exhibit space on its main floor and also contains an unusual Art Deco style stage measuring .The Municipal...
, designed by Thomas Reed Martin and Clarence A. Martin, was listed on the National Register of Historic Paces and meticulously restored to its depression recovery era, 1937 WPA community project, completion status and its architectural glory—both inside and out. The city boasts that 100,000 people use it every year and it is a boon to the community for recreation, lawn sports, as well as being heavily attended for auctions, concerts, conventions, flea markets, galas, graduations, lectures, orchid and flower shows, and a full range of trade shows of interest to the community. Later the Federal Building, designed by George Albee Freeman (the designer of Seagate for the Crosleys) and Louis A. Simon, which initially had served as the post office was restored as well.
Most of the luxurious historic residences from the 1920s boom period along the northern shore of Sarasota Bay also have survived. This string of homes, built on large parcels of elevated land along the widest point of the bay, is anchored by the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art at its center. Among them is Cà d'Zan, the home of Mable and John Ringling, which was restored recently under the direction of Bill Puig.
Many significant structures from the comparatively recent "Sarasota School of Architecture" period of the mid-20th century, however, have not survived. Since they do not qualify under the age criteria set for historic preservation nominations their historical aspect often escapes public recognition. Others frequently are threatened by demolition plans for new development without consideration of their cultural and historical importance to the community instead of motivating the implementation of plans to retain the buildings and integrate them into new plans.
Paul Rudolph (architect)
Paul Marvin Rudolph was an American architect and the dean of the Yale School of Architecture for six years, known for use of concrete and highly complex floor plans...
's largest Sarasota projects, Riverview High School
Riverview High School (Sarasota, Florida)
Riverview High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Sarasota, Florida, United States. Riverview educates students from ninth grade to twelfth grade. The school has 2,654 students and 161 teachers...
, for demolition. The board arrived at the decision despite protests by many members of the community, including architects, historic preservationists, and urban planners. Others supported the demolition as they believed the structure is no longer functional. The issue was divisive. The World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training....
included the school on its 2008 Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites in the category Main Street Modern.
Although the community of Sarasota was divided on the worth of Rudolph's structure, the international arts community was not. New urbanist
New urbanism
New Urbanism is an urban design movement, which promotes walkable neighborhoods that contain a range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually continued to reform many aspects of real estate development, urban planning, and municipal land-use...
planner and architect, Andres Duany
Andrés Duany
Andrés Duany is an American architect and urban planner.Duany was born in New York City but grew up in Cuba until 1960. He attended The Choate School and received his undergraduate degree in architecture and urban planning from Princeton University...
, strongly supported retention of the school. When asked about the project by Kafi Benz
Kafi Benz
Kafi Benz is an American writer and artist who began participation in social entrepreneurship through environmental preservation and regional planning in 1959 as a member of the Jersey Jetport Site Association, which opposed plans by the New York Port Authority to found a new airport in the Great...
, a historic preservation leader at a public meeting in January 2007 in Sarasota, Duany stated that Sarasota would lose its international stature as an arts center if it allowed the demolition. The historic building was the main structure in the school complex and included a planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
. Plans existed to nominate Riverview High School to the National Trust for Historic Preservation
National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is an American member-supported organization that was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods through a range of programs and activities, including the publication of Preservation...
's list of the most endangered historic structures in the United States, America's Most Endangered Places
America's Most Endangered Places
Each year since 1987, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has released a list of places they consider the most endangered in America. The number of sites included on the list has varied, with the most recent lists settling on 11...
.
Following a March 2007 charrette
Charrette
A charrette , is often Anglicized to charette and sometimes called a design charrette. It consists of an intense period of design activity.-Charrettes in general:...
led by the National Trust for Historic Preservation
National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is an American member-supported organization that was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods through a range of programs and activities, including the publication of Preservation...
, a proposal was advanced to renovate and preserve Rudolph's buildings. The school board decided to allow a year to consider implementation of the innovative plan proposed to preserve the buildings, that would include building a parking garage with playing fields above it rather than demolishing the structures.
In early June 2008 the school board announced that the school would be demolished and that a parking lot would replace it. One year later, in June 2009, Riverview High School was demolished.
Sports and recreation
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
destination, a sport brought to America by the Scots. One of them was John Hamilton Gillespie, an early pioneer of the game in Sarasota. The Sara Bay course in the Whitfield area was designed by golf architect Donald Ross. Bobby Jones
Bobby Jones (golfer)
Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones Jr. was an American amateur golfer, and a lawyer by profession. Jones was the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete on a national and international level...
was associated with the community course in Sarasota. Many courses dot the area, including the one originally laid out for the hotel John Ringling planned on the southern tip of Longboat Key
Longboat Key, Florida
Longboat Key is a town in Manatee and Sarasota counties along the central west coast of the U.S. state of Florida, located on the barrier island of the same name. Longboat Key is south of Anna Maria Island, between Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. It is almost equally divided between Manatee...
.
Sport fishing attracted enthusiasts to Sarasota and the area because of the amazing bounty of the bay and it was one of the earliest attractions drawing the wealthy as well as the adventurous. Tarpon
Tarpon
Tarpons are large fish of the genus Megalops. There are two species of Megalops, one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific oceans.They are the only members of the family Megalopidae.- Species and habitats :...
was the biggest draw, but gigantic gar
Gar
In American English the name gar is strictly applied to members of the Lepisosteidae, a family including seven living species of fish in two genera that inhabit fresh, brackish, and occasionally marine, waters of eastern North America, Central America, and the Caribbean islands.-Etymology:In...
as well as many other species abounded to attract people such as Owen Burns
Owen Burns
Owen Burns was born in Fredericktown in Cecil County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. He was an entrepreneur, banker, builder, and land developer who at one time owned the majority of Sarasota, Florida and developed or built many of its historic structures, developments, roads, seawalls, and...
to Powel Crosley. The first settled permanently and became one of the most important developers of Sarasota and the second, who more typically, built a winter retreat here and participated in the sport via the clubs, organizations, and tournaments focused on fishing.
In 1937 the Municipal Auditorium-Recreation Club
Municipal Auditorium-Recreation Club
]The historic Sarasota Municipal Auditorium is a unique, multi-purpose facility owned and operated by the municipal government of Sarasota. The auditorium has of potential exhibit space on its main floor and also contains an unusual Art Deco style stage measuring .The Municipal...
was built with funds provided by the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
, the municipal government, and local residents and business owners. It became a center for sports, entertainment, and recreation. The sports activities have ranged from badminton, basketball, boating, lawn bowling, and shuffleboard, to tennis. The auditorium hosts clubs for cards, dancing, games, gardening, and numerous hobbies as well as having become the community meeting place for commercial and educational shows and the venue for local schools and charities to hold events and dances. Tourists are attracted to exhibitions provided by local businesses as well as vendors from national circuits. This building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
because of its architecture and for providing the enormous range of community activities that are scheduled at it every week.
Sarasota also is home to Ed Smith Stadium
Ed Smith Stadium
Ed Smith Stadium is a baseball field located in Sarasota, Florida. The stadium was built in 1989 to replace Payne Park as a Spring Training and Minor League Baseball site. In 2010, the Baltimore Orioles began playing spring games at the ballpark.-History:...
, where the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
will conduct spring training camp starting in 2010. The Orioles also have minor league facilities at Twin Lakes Park. Both facilities will undergo major upgrades after spring training in 2010. The agreement with the Orioles also places a Cal Ripken Youth Baseball Academy in Sarasota. Previously, Ed Smith Stadium
Ed Smith Stadium
Ed Smith Stadium is a baseball field located in Sarasota, Florida. The stadium was built in 1989 to replace Payne Park as a Spring Training and Minor League Baseball site. In 2010, the Baltimore Orioles began playing spring games at the ballpark.-History:...
was the spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
and the minor league Sarasota Reds.
The Sarasota Marathon started in 2005. In 2010, declining sponsorship and marathon registration led organizers to change the event to a half marathon. The race begins and ends near the John and Mable Ringling Museum.
Transportation
The major airport in the area is Sarasota-Bradenton International AirportSarasota-Bradenton International Airport
Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport is an airport located between Bradenton and Sarasota, Florida. The airport is shared by both Manatee County and Sarasota County . Most airlines refer to the airport on destination maps and flight status displays as just "Sarasota", as that is the more...
which is shared by Sarasota and Manatee counties. Five airlines offer service out of the airport to locations primarily in the United States and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The airport serves more than 1,300,000 passengers per year. The airport holds full Port of entry
Port of entry
In general, a port of entry is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has a staff of people who check passports and visas and inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. International airports are usually ports of entry, as are road and rail crossings on a...
status providing U.S. Customs inspections for international travelers. St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport
St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport
St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport is a joint civil-military airport located in unincorporated Pinellas County, Florida, north of St. Petersburg, serving St...
and Tampa International Airport
Tampa International Airport
Tampa International Airport is a major public airport located six nautical miles west of the central business district of Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. This airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority...
are located about an hour north from Sarasota, and Southwest Florida International Airport
Southwest Florida International Airport
-Statistics:-Accidents and incidents:* November 28, 2007 - A single-engine fixed wing aircraft crashed about 9:20 a.m. one mile west of Runway 6. The crash killed the pilot...
in Ft. Meyers an hour and 45 min south of Sarasota. All 3 offer a wider range of national and international flights.
Sarasota County Area Transit
Sarasota County Area Transit
Sarasota County Area Transit provides public transportation for Sarasota County, Florida and is operated by the county. SCAT maintains 24 fixed-line bus routes plus a dial-a-ride paratransit service . Bus service is offered throughout Sarasota County from 5am until midnight 7 days a week...
has a bus service called SCAT which offers service throughout the county and also offers limited connections with Manatee County Area Transit
Manatee County Area Transit
Manatee County Area Transit provides public transportation for Manatee County, Florida and is operated by the county. MCAT maintains 13 fixed-line bus routes plus a dial-a-ride paratransit service . Bus service is offered throughout Manatee County from 530am until 7pm 6 days a week...
. Sarasota County has joined the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority
Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority
The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, or TBARTA, is a transportation agency of the U.S. state of Florida which was created on July 1, 2007...
to plan and build future transportation infrastructure including light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
, commuter rail and longer range bus service. A key issue is providing Sarasota with access to the Florida High Speed Rail
Florida High Speed Rail
Florida High Speed Rail was a proposed high-speed rail project in the U.S. state of Florida. Initial service would have run between the cities of Tampa and Orlando, with plans to then extend service to South Florida, terminating in Miami. Trains with a top speed of to would have run on dedicated...
. There is no Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
train which stops in Sarasota, but Amtrak provides through bus service at Sarasota Station
Sarasota Station
Sarasota Station provides an Amtrak connection.-Description:Amtrak provides "Thruway" bus service to Tampa and Orlando. This originates from Ft. Myers....
out front of the Hollywood 20 Movie Theatre downtown, to the nearest Amtrak terminal in Tampa.
As a city located on the Gulf of Mexico, water transportation is a key consideration. The Intracoastal Waterway
Intracoastal Waterway
The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals...
is a 3000 mile(4,800-km) waterway
Waterway
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Waterways can include rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and canals. In order for a waterway to be navigable, it must meet several criteria:...
providing water access to and from the Atlantic coast for tugs, barges and leisure boats. Port Manatee
Port Manatee
Port Manatee is a deepwater seaport located in northern Manatee County, Florida. It is the fifth largest of Florida's 14 deepwater seaports. The port is served by mostly cargo ships, but the Regal Empress cruise ship did sail out of the port until the early 2000s.- External links :*...
and the Port of Tampa
Port of Tampa
The Port of Tampa is located on the western coast or Suncoast of Florida, approximately 25 miles from open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The boundaries of the Port district includes parts of Tampa Bay, Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay and the Hillsborough River.The port of Tampa is the...
both provide nearby deep water ports.
Because of its location on the Gulf of Mexico and its proximity to several other large metropolitan areas, road transportation is critical to the Sarasota area. The major roads in the area include:
-
I-75Interstate 75Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...
- The only freeway in the area, I-75 is located 5 miles from the center of town and is a major interstate leading south to Miami and north to TampaTâmpaTâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...
. -
U.S. 41U.S. Route 41U.S. Route 41 is a north–south United States Highway that runs from Miami, Florida to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, was U.S...
Tamiami Trail - A major north-south route through Sarasota enters central Sarasota from the south before heading west at the south end of U.S. 301. After briefly following Bayfront Drive the Trail heads north again paralleling the coast. -
U.S. 301U.S. Route 301U.S. Route 301 is a spur of U.S. Route 1 running through the South Atlantic States. It currently runs 1,099 miles from Glasgow, Delaware at U.S. Route 40 to Sarasota, Florida. It passes through the states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida...
- Heading north from its intersection with U.S. 41, U.S. 301 follows Washington Boulevard running parallel to U.S. 41 and Interstate 75. -
SR 780 - 3rd Street/Fruitville Road - A main east/west throughway linking U.S. 41, U.S. 301, and Interstate 75. -
SR 789Florida State Road 789A 19-mile-long road along the Florida’s Gulf Coast, State Road 789 spans Bird Key, St. Armands Key, and Lido Key, in Sarasota; Longboat Key ; and Anna Maria Island...
- Starts out as John Ringling Causeway before heading to Bird KeyBird KeyBird Key is an island in Sarasota Bay, south of the Ringling Causeway, between mainland Sarasota and St. Armands Key. Originally a small island connected to the Ringling Causeway by a tree lined causeway of its own, it was the home of John Ringling North, nephew of Circus Magnate, John Ringling...
and Lido KeyLido KeyLido Key is a barrier island of the coast of Sarasota, Florida in the United States. The island has sandy beaches that face the Gulf of Mexico. The island has a seasonal nightclub scene, as well as a park called "South Lido Park", which has a beach and a woodland trail...
, SR 789 turns north and becomes Gulf of Mexico Drive a major road on the islands between Sarasota and Bradenton.
Gallery
Sister cities
The city commission has chosen to designate the following cities as sister cities, a term used to describe cooperative agreements between communities in geographically and politically distinct areas, with the stated contemporary objective of promoting cultural and commercial ties. A twining tradition began with an agreement between two towns, the German city of PaderbornPaderborn
Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...
and the French city of Le Mans
Le Mans
Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
in 836. The modern adaptation in the United States began in 1931. Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(1990) Perpignan
Perpignan
-Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the...
, France (1994) Tel Mond
Tel Mond
Tel Mond is a town in the Israeli Sharon region, located east of Netanya and north of Kfar Sava.-History:Tel Mond was founded in 1929 by Sir Alfred Moritz Mond, later known as Lord Melchett, a former British minister and president of the British Zionist Federation...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
(1994) Vladimir
Vladimir
Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(1994) Dunfermline
Dunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(2002) Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(Feb. 2007) Xiamen
Xiamen
Xiamen , also known as Amoy , is a major city on the southeast coast of the People's Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of and population of 3.53 million...
, Fujian Province, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
Mérida
Mérida, Yucatán
Mérida is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Yucatán and the Yucatán Peninsula. It is located in the northwest part of the state, about from the Gulf of Mexico coast...
, Yucatán
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
, México
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
(2010)