A Pier With Few Peers

How many of you out there remember the Municipal Pier before it became Marina Jack? Even if you don't remember it, or the Hover Arcade, we have a video to bring you up to speed!

To see how it all began at the lower end of Main Street in downtown Sarasota, just Click here for an up close and personal recollection of that favorite spot from those of us who have lived here for quite a spell. 

(photo credit: Sarasota County History Center)

Tales of Sarasota

By now you all know that Pete and Diane owned the Sarasota Lock and Key shop on State Street. If you never went in there, is sure was a great trip down memory lane.

One day Pete went out on a call and ended up involved in solving a dilema that perplexed many a good man. It took place in the Vischer building next to Little Five Points. Tag along and find out what all the fuss was about. Click here to read Pete's blog.

The Sarasota Times

(The Sarasota Times newspaper was our area's first. Rose Wilson was the publisher and editor for many years after her husband passed away. Sarasota History Alive! would like to share artices from this paper with you that reflect on our heritage.

Today we have chosen one that tells of John Ringling and how the formidable circus brothers came to develop their famous venue. The Sarasota Times took an article from the August 21, 1919 issue of  American Magazine to post on its front page to inform its readers how it all began.

John Ringling in a New Role - Leading Circus Owner - One of Ringling Brothers Who Rose From Amateurs to World's Greatest Showmen

August 21, 1919

Friends of Mr. John Ringling, of Ringling Brothers, and one of Sarasota’s most prominent winter residents, had never suspected that he was an accomplished author, and were consequently most agreeably surprised to read in the September American Magazine, a most interesting article from his pen, telling of the rise of himself and his brothers from an amateur concert company to the world’s greatest showmen.

Underneath the photographs of Messrs. Alfred T., John and Charles Ringling, the following historical sketch of these celebrated men is carried by the magazine:

“The Ringling Brothers, sons of a harness maker in McGregor, Iowa have become the world’s greatest showmen. They dominated the business, owning the Ringling; the Barnum and Bailey, and the Forepaugh-Sells circuses.

“Originally there were seven of the Ringling Brothers: John, Al, Otto, Alf T., Charles, Henry and A.G.  None of the family had any experience or knowledge in the show business; but Al, the eldest boy, especially, and John, Otto, Alf T. and Charles seem to have been born showmen. The gave entertainments and ‘shows’ in barns, in improvised tents, in halls, when they were children, Al training the younger boys almost as soon as they learned to walk, especially in instrumental music. They went out as a concert troupe before some of them had reached their teens. From the first it was team work that made them succeed. They worked hard, and each bore his share of the burden. Each had his special duties, but all played in the orchestra, and while four would play, the other would rush to the stage to do his act.

“Possibly the most remarkable feature of the family has been their division of work, which has developed each one along different lines.

“John became the route agent, and knows America as we know the front hall at home; Alf T. assumed charge of publicity, and knows practically every newspaper man in the United States; Charles had charge of ‘opposition’, and of the advance billing, the man who made a new language on the bill boards; Al was the producer, who chose the acts and directed the performances. Otto was financial man, and at his death he bequeathed his part of the shows to Henry. A.G. died early in his career. Read more... 

(photo credit: Sarasota County History Center)

The Federal Building

The Federal Building located at 111 South Orange Avenue was constructed as a U.S. Post Office with a WPA federal subsidy of $175,000 appropriated by Congress in 1931. Plans for the Neoclassical Revival Style Post Office were prepared by George Albree Freeman, his associate, Harold N. Hall and supervising architect, Louis A. Simon. The test borings for the foundation were prepared by the local Sarasota contractor, C.W. Matheny and the plans of George Albree Freeman and H.N. Hall were approved at the Washington D.C. level by August of 1932.

A contemporary newspaper clipping described the building as a “Classical design of the Corinthian type, fireproofed throughout with steel structure piling in the foundations. The most modern plumbing, heating and ventilating equipment will be installed. One radical innovation in the new Post Office will be the use of marble and aluminum where metal is ordinarily employed in parts of the building used by the public.” Although Neoclassical Revival in style, several design elements and materials were indeed innovative for the time; in particular, the suppressed or implied parapet which appears at the western elevation and the use of aluminum in the interior.

The Federal Building or Post Office is an example of the fourth building period phase (1930 – 1935) in the city of Sarasota. Following a collapse of the land boom in Sarasota and the subsequent national Depression, new construction projects signaling recovery were heralded in the local press. The arrival of the S.H. Kress Company building in Sarasota received major press coverage in 1931 and the allocation in 1931 of Federal funds for the erection of the Post Office received equally enthusiastic coverage. Although the supervising contracting firm was the Worsham Brothers of Knoxville, Tennessee, Federal money and new construction created construction jobs in Sarasota. Read more...

Do you like Saints or Sinners?

The Saints & Sinners Tour is sure to delight the long time resident as well as those visiting Sarasota for the first time. The two hour tour invites guests to examine a unique cast of historical characters and decide for themselves who were the saints, and who were the sinners. To learn more about the tour visit us online or give us a call 951-7727.