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The lure of the water has brought people to this part of Florida for millennia. Prehistoric residents left along the shore numerous middens that testify to the significant role fish and seafood played in their diet. After the Spanish landed to hunt for the rumored fortune in gold, but before permanent settlers arrived to tame the land, fishermen from Cuba established ranchos along the coastline. Here they caught, dried, and packed fish for later sale in Cuba.

Fishing for sport as well as sustenance became popular with tourists and winter residents near the end of the 19th Century. Guests at the Webb Tourist Resort in Osprey and at the Englewood Inn enjoyed boating and fishing during their stay.

As bridges were built between the mainland and the keys in the late 1910s and the 1920s, people began to enjoy the Gulf beaches more than they had before. Holiday celebrations, such as those for the Fourth of July, included foot and auto races on the beach. Beaches became a popular place for horseback riding. Even early airplanes landed on the beaches. After Franklin Field (on Fruitville Road) was purchased for a subdivision in 1924, Sarasota Mayor E.J. Bacon offered Sarasota (along Big Pass) and Crescent Beaches as ideal landing places for Army aircraft on maneuvers.

Casinos and bathhouses sprang up on stretches of land that had been home primarily to the mosquito and water birds. When the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers built its new city of Venice, it kept a bathing pavilion that had been built in 1925 by the previous landowner, Dr. Fred Albee.

After the roads were laid out, the pavilion was on the Esplanade near Ormand Street and was promoted as part of the public beach. While John Ringling’s subdivision was being built on St. Armands and Lido keys, Ringling and two business associates had the Lido Pavilion and individual bath houses constructed on the Gulf side of Lido Key. A long fishing dock extended into the water in front of the pavilion. In 1940 the pavilion’s successor, the Lido Casino, opened a new era in beach facilities. A project of the City of Sarasota, the Lido Casino, with its Art Deco style and large cast concrete seahorses, became popular with teens and adults for swimming, dining, dancing, and shopping.

Over time, public beaches have focused more on water and sand sports, with some space for picnic tables. Private commercial establishments have picked up the dining, dancing, and shopping opportunities along the beach.

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