Bridge Over Troubled Waters

We apologize for the pun, but all the debate over the renaming of the John Ringling Causeway Bridge the Gil Waters Bridge, caused quite a fuss last week. Needless to say, everyone breathed a sigh of relief after the matter was swiftly rectified and Mr. Waters will now be honored in a more appropriate and dignified manner.

We heard from Sue Blue, V.P. of the Historical Society of Sarasota County, and we believe she has the right idea to further straighten out this brouhaha.

(photo credit: Sarasota County History Center)

She wrote, " The most good, I feel, that has come from the question of re-naming the bridge, is the fact that a 17 year old high school student cared enough about Sarasota history to begin a petition asking for a restoration of the name John Ringling...I just think it would be great if the board (HSOSC) would extend to Alex Yoder, a senior at Booker High, an invitation to accept an honorary life time membership to the Historical Society in recognition of his avid interest in Sarasota history.

This is most notable and praiseworthy considering that he wrote his research paper on John Ringling in an English class....not a history class...history is not really an element any longer of high school education....and that he cared enough to voice his opinion on this matter, inviting others to join him. We, as "leaders" and "old timers" should encourage young people to join us in preserving our heritage...and studying our history." Well put, Sue!

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On the same controversial topic, we requested author and historian Jeff LaHurd to weigh in on the history of the Ringling Causeway Bridge with an excerpt from his book titiled, Quintessential Sarasota:

"There is no trace today of the original John Ringling Causeway-the one built by the great man himself. A drive to its former starting place at the end of Golden Gate Point reveals not a clue that here was the gateway to a bridge that spanned both the bay and the length of time that Sarasota was a small town.

It was as much a bridge for people as for cars. Not many years ago, when word spread that the fish were running, both sides of the bridge quickly filled with anglers ready to reel ‘em in. At times like that, many downtown stores would lock their doors as the merchants grabbed pole and tackle box and heeded the call.

Of course, Ringling had more in mind for his bridge than to serve as a platform for avid fishermen; more, too, than an altruistic desire to open Lido Key to the automobile. He built the bridge, first and foremost, to help sell his island development, John Ringling Estates.

(photo credit: Harriett Stieff Collection)

Construction began on Jan. 1, 1925, and continued without delay until the bridge was completed exactly one year later. When John Ringling stated his green Rolls Royce at 1:30 on the afternoon of Jan. 1, 1926, for the maiden trip, he traversed a bridge heralded as one of the greatest engineering accomplishments in the South. Material included 25 railroad carloads of cement, 1,000 kegs of nails, 96 loads of timber and lumber, 35 loads of gravel, 20 loads of sand and numerous miscellaneous items. The bill was reported to have come to between $750,000 and $1 million.

The finished product was a splendid sight. Its white, ornately carved railings stretched proudly 8,300 feet to "the tropical island which Mr. Ringling has transformed into what is perhaps the greatest development in the state," as the Sarasota Herald described it.

Sarasotans had closely followed the bridge's progress. Finally, on Feb. 7, 1926, they got their chance to take a trip across. For the grand opening festivities, the Czecho-Slovakian band, hired by Ringling a few months earlier, gave rousing concerts in an especially constructed band shell. Hourly bus transportation was scheduled to and from the Ringling headquarters on Main Street. Before the day was over, thousands from all over the state had poured onto the key to marvel at what the paper called a "tropical Utopia" of broad boulevards, canals, palm trees and "alluring parkways."

In June of 1927, on the day that Lucky Lindy was being greeted by millions of hero worshippers in New York City, the Sarasota Herald's headline blared, "RINGLING GIVES CAUSEWAY TO CITY" and the story said, "There are no words adequate with which to express our appreciation for this wonderful donation...It will only be natural that beautiful homes and fine estates will be erected on the keys. And when this is done, Sarasota will be the cynosure of all America and the world."

But by 1959, the beautiful causeway had sadly deteriorated. The railings had broken off and been replaced with wood, and the span itself was not up to the rigors of modern traffic. The quiet days of small-town Sarasota were just about over; a faster-paced era was soon to begin, and for it, the second Ringling Causeway was constructed which itself has been replaced.

The next time you speed across the current bridge on your way to St. Armands key and "the cynosure of all America," look over to your left, to the end of Golden Gate Point. Thirty years ago, there was a beautiful bridge over there, its white railings shining in the sun, its pavement lined with contented fisherman."

Story Compliments of Jeff La Hurd

Images from the Hariett Steiff Collection

Jack West's Nokomis Beach Pavilion

The Nokomis Beach Pavilion was built in 1954 to serve as Sarasota County's first beach pavilion. Designed by architect Jack West, a prominent member of the Sarasota School of Architecture, the pavilion and associated plaza provide a classic example of the minimalist forms associated with mid-century modern architecture.

(photo credit: Sarasota County History Center)

The complex consists of an open pavilion and a building which originally housed restrooms, changing rooms, and showers, both of which are connected by a covered walkway. In addition the site included an expansive paved plaza with a planting area and fountain. Elements of these structures typical of the Sarasota School of Architecture include flat thin roofs on multiple planes, ribbon windows, a design that creates a strong interplay between interior and exterior spaces, and a bathhouse built of stacked Ocala block.

To learn more about the Nokomis Beach Pavilion, click here.

(Editor's note: In the near future Jack West's beach pavilion in Nokomis will be re-dedicated as a historical structure. We will let you know the particulars when they are available.)