Work began on the redesign and improvement of Gillespie's Golf Course, now owned by Owen Burns and the Burns Realty Company. This was done under the direction of Owens brother, Mr. E.O. Burns and Leonard Reid, who helped Colonel Gillespie lay out the original course. The 120-acre tract was on East Main Street and is today occupied by the Court House, Sheriffs Department, Ringling Shopping Center, and a substantial inventory of similarly valuable property.

Nearly a century ago, two lovers built a grand castle on the island we know as Bird Key.

 

He came as a humorist and entertainer. He left as an accused, but never tried, murderer. Rube Allyn's decade in Sarasota was one of great contrasts. In "The Story of Sarasota," Karl Grismer described him as " a cross between a genius and a bum...(with) the eloquence of an old-time Shakespearean actor...a man of mood...long hair...seldom if ever bathed...never wore socks...an excellent writer."

This three-story, "L" - shaped plan, stucco and cast stone Mediterranean Revival building was designed by Dwight James Baum as the Broadway or El Vernona Apartments. Today it is commonly known as the Belle Haven. The reinforced concrete and hollow-tile construction complex was built by Ricketts and Haworth, owned by the Burns Realty Company and opened for occupancy in March of 1926. The construction permit was issued for the complex by the end of October 1925 and construction materials were received by the contracting firm by December of the same year. By March 1926 the 55room complex of twenty furnished apartments was ready for occupancy and the total cost of the complex was $250,000.