• Newsletter
• Video History
• Send A Postcard
• Calendar
• Walking Tours

Frank Higel

Venice was first settled in the 1870s by Richard Roberts who established a homestead on the beach near Dona Bay. He planted an orange grove and raised a limited amount of crops. In 1884, he sold a portion of his holdings to Frank Higel. Higel established a citrus operation involving the production of several lines of canned citrus items, including jams, pickled orange peel, lemon juice, and orange wine. The Higel family eventually dominated the Venice area until the mid-1910s. They were boat builders, fishermen, grove caretakers, and contractors. In 1911, the railroad was completed to Venice and soon there was interest in the development of the area.

Bertha Palmer

Mrs. Bertha Palmer, a Chicago businesswoman, purchased 60,000 acres for development. The Sarasota-Venice Company, Palmer's land development operation, platted a small area as the town of Venice and offered lots for sale. The settlement of Venice occurred slowly and Venice remained a small fishing resort and farming community through the first part of the 1920s.

The 1920s was a period in Florida history when land speculation and development hit an all time high. The stories of fast fortunes and quick land sales encouraged many owners to develop their land in hopes that they could profit from the boom. New subdivisions, promoted with fanfare, famous names and high pressure salesmanship became the standard. Places such as Coral Gables (near the small town of Miami) and Boca Raton offered land and a new American Riviera of Mediterranean houses and public buildings. These developments were generally for those in the upper income levels. Other developments appealed to the modest buyers who were also attracted to Florida through skillful promotion which was rivaled only by the tourist promotion in Florida today.

John Nolan

In 1925, Dr. Fred H. Albee, a well-known orthopedic surgeon, purchases 2,916 acres of land from the Venice-Sarasota Company. He had recently developed Nokomis and built the first luxury hotel there, the Pollyanna Inn. Albee retained John Nolen, a world renowned city planner, to design a city on his land. This city was to be called Venice.

Nolen was a pioneer city planner. He was involved in most American planning developments in the twentieth century. Between 1915 and 1930, Nolen developed a highly diverse planning practice and trained a number of the early professionals in the field. As a consultant, he undertook about 450 projects including the design of several Florida communities such as San Marco in Jacksonville and Bellaire near Clearwater. He also completed comprehensive plans for Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, and Clewiston. With this experience, Nolen embarked on the design of Venice which reflected his garden city approach to city planning.

Albee did not have a chance to implement his development plan before he was approached with a proposal from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers to purchase his land on October 6, 1925. This purchase was motivated by a desire by the BLE to increase the union's assets and holdings.

The BLE Realty Corporation was organized to handle the land and the Venice Company was set up to market and sell the property. At first, the BLE planned to market large tracts, but the idea was soon replaced by a plan to develop and build a city on the Gulf and to drain and develop small farming acreage inland. The Company retained John Nolen to complete a plan for a city on the Gulf, Venice in 1926. This plan differed somewhat from the earlier Albee plan done by Nolen. The BLE Realty Company selected George A. Fuller as the contractor and retained the New York architectural firm of Walker and Gillette, as supervising architects, and Prentiss French as landscape architect.

On June 10, 1926, the first street in Venice opened. Nassau Street ran from the terminus of the Tamiami Trail past the Hotel Venice, through Venezia Park and again into the Trail. By mid-June the project's first phase was complete with six miles of streets graded and a mile of seven-foot sidewalks and gutters completed.

Venice Avenue was paved while crews worked around the clock to build a road east of town to the area where small acreage farms were on sale. The Hotel Venice opened on June 21, 1926. It was described as a modest structure with "large windows, ventilating doors and ceiling fans". The hotel boasted its own ice machines, laundry, bake shop, and barber. There were 100 rooms with private baths and a fire sprinkler system. The dining room was a large room with a beamed cypress ceiling, Terrazzo floors and diagonally checked wall in Verde antique and white. The lobby also had a cypress beamed and plaster ceiling.

The key feature of the Venice development was the plaza area along Venice Boulevard. The original plan called for a 200-foot boulevard with a 100-foot parkway in the center terminating in a plaza. It was the gateway to Venice Beach.

Residential construction started in July 1926, with the construction of three large residences in Gulf View. These large houses, located on Venice Avenue, were the most expensive to be built in town. At the same time, five homes were announced as moderate priced homes in the Edgewood section. These houses were designed by M.M. Gleichman of Tampa. A few days after that announcement, thirty homes were announced for construction in Edgewood with a combined value of $135,000.

Construction activity continued as more residences and business blocks were constructed. In October 1926, it was announced that the Hotel San Marco would be built. This was a three story, 92-room hotel, designed by noted Tampa architect, Franklin O. Adams. The building was constructed of concrete block walls and steel columns with a stucco exterior.

As Venice began to take shape as a community, a definite feeling and character was being established. This was the result of design review requirements set forth in all deeds. The New York firm of Walker and Gillette were the supervising architects and were given power by the BLE to approve all design work prior to construction. The design requirements provided that all construction would be in "Northern Italian" design. A thematic design concept was a common one in the 1920s in Florida and did have the effect of establishing a unique character to the community. The Venice standards included the use of sloping roofs with colored tile and smooth stucco. The designs were generally simple with limited ornamentation. Awning colors were regulated since they were, in many cases, the only color on the houses which were generally painted white or light tones. Window and door placement were also regulated. The setting of the building was also reviewed including setback, orientation and relationship to neighboring buildings.

The Venice School opened on October 29, 1926, with 60 pupils. By November, 68 building permits had been issued with a total value of $2,200,000. It was reported in January 1927, that 128,065 feet of sidewalks, 14,195 feet of sewers, 83,563 cubic feet of paving, five miles of electric lines, two miles of street lights and 21 miles of drainage ditches were completed. Streets in Venezia Park, Gulf View and Edgewood subdivisions were being paved, totaling 17.9 miles. Also in January, it was reported that 191 buildings, totaling $3,160,000, were complete, while only two had been built by the Venice Company. In December 1927, the City of Venice was chartered and incorporated. The same month, the Edgewood property owners petitioned to be annexed into the City of Venice.

While development and construction continued, the Florida boom was wavering. Sales started to decline in developments all over Florida. Bad national press, rumors of real estate swindles and rampant speculation in addition to changing Federal tax laws, contributed to the loss of faith and excitement on the part of prospects.

The situation was bleak in the early 1930s. City employees went unpaid and the electric street lights were turned off because the bills could not be paid. Eventually the BLE real estate operations went into receivership and the BLE holdings were liquidated through Miakka Estates, Inc. Most of the unsold land eventually reverted to Albee and other creditors in the 1930s.

Slowly the town managed to pull itself up. In 1932, the Kentucky Military Institute rented the Hotel Venice and the Hotel San Marco as a winter school for its cadets. They purchased the property on December 15, 1939.

Dr. Albee purchased the Park View Hotel in 1933 and established the Florida Medical Center in Venice. He assembled a medical staff and the hospital developed into a successful teaching hospital. In 1943, the Venice Army Air Base acquired the Florida Medical Center as an area hospital with Dr. Albee retaining ownership.

World War II had a major influence on many Florida cities. The Venice Army Air Base was established on the vacant land south of Venice, and acquired by the U.S. government in May, 1942. The 27th Service Group was relocated from MacDill Field in Tampa to provide training for support services to combat air units. In June, 1943, the 13th Fighter Squadron, 53rd Fighter Group was transferred to Venice from Ft. Myers and later the 14th Fighter Squadron was also moved to the field. They were operational training units for combat fighter pilots and ground crewmen.

After World War II, the City of Venice flourished. Today it is renowned as one of the most outstanding planned communities in Florida with a wealth of Northern Italian Renaissance-styled structures.

Comments

You must be logged in to leave a comment.