This Week Newsletter - May 12, 2010
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Looks Like It's About Time for Another Straw Poll
Back in March we conducted an unofficial straw poll to elicit your opinion about the proposed use of the Municipal Auditorium as a soundstage for the Ringling College of Art and Design. We had an overwhelming response, and presented our findings to the City Commission. Today the Belle Haven Apartments, an outstanding example of 1926 Mediterranean Revival architecture, stands vacant and awaiting development on the land which it is located, along with the adjacent property that used to house the Sarasota Quay. After that retail and entertainment complex was demolished, the new owners proposed the Sarasota Bayside project; it was touted as a major residential and retail development, and the Belle Haven was to be saved by moving it 400 feet to the north. Since the economy went sour the valuable property where the Quay stood is now a non-accessible grass field, with the Belle Haven remaining, tucked away in the back corner on 4th Street, next to the Hyatt Hotel. Over the last few years, there have been various problems with vandalism, vagrancy, and basement flooding at the Belle Haven. Also, since it is not occupied, the landscape is not being maintained and becoming overgrown. A chain-link fence surrounds the building which makes it appear as an eye-sore and target for even more problems. Granted, the Belle Haven is privately owned and managed by Irish American Management Services Limited, located in Naples, Florida. However, they are tasked with maintaining the structure and its grounds and security. Before this jewel of a building, showcasing our heritage during the Florida Boom years, meets the same fate as the beloved John Ringling Towers, we at Sarasota History Alive! would like to get your thoughts on the matter. Please read the historical designation information below in this same column, or watch our video about the Belle Haven before participating in our survey.
Tales of Sarasota
It must be time for a good camping trip, for Pete has many a spot picked out for a bicylist, hiker, boater, or 4-wheel driver; well, at least when he was a young adventurer. Heck, he weathered a hurricane to be in the right place at the wrong time, and even had to edure a sandy, mucky, overgrown worthless sandspur farm to find the sweet spot! Today that worthless sandspur farm has a more genteel name - Harbor Acres. Click here to join in the fun! 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 rascal that fortunately did not grace our shores. However, our newspaper ran an article about it, we suppose, as a warning to all available young ladies who were looking for love in all the wrong places.) Lascelles' Body ClaimedAfter Seven Years the Mummified Body of Bigamist is Claimed Asheville, N.C. - After standing unclaimed for seven years in embalmed solitude, dressed in full evening dress, with silk hat and cane, the mummified body of Sidney Lascelles, alias “Lord Douglas,” alias “Lord Beresford,” alias Charles J. Asquith, is on its way to Washington, D.C. consigned to Dr. McPherson Chrichton, presumably to be buried in crematory at that City. The body was claimed and identified by a Mrs. J.T. Summerfield of New Jersey who said that she was the sister-in-law of the deceased’s first wife, now living in Baltimore. She made affidavit to the effect and by her order the mummified body was shipped to Washington. The Belle Haven Apartments The three-story, “L”-shaped plan, stucco and cast stone Mediterranean Revival building located at 1133 Fourth Street was designed by Dwight James Baum as the Broadway or El Vernona Apartments. The reinforced concrete and hollow-tile construction complex was built by Ricketts and Hayworth, 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 the construction materials were received by the contracting firm by December of the same year.
By March 1926 the 55-room complex of twenty furnished apartments was ready for occupancy and the total cost of the complex was $250,000. The smaller apartments consisted of “a living room and dining room combination, kitchenette, tile bath and bedroom with twin beds.” The larger apartments with similar layouts provided two additional bedrooms. Each kitchen was fully equipped and “linens, silverware, hot and cold water, steam heat, maid service and janitor service,” were provided by the management. The site of the apartment complex overlooking Sarasota Bay, marked the northern gateway of the Broadway Development, which included the El Vernona Hotel, the Burns Realty complex and the new headquarters of the Sarasota Times newspaper. 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.
The Very Thing to Send (Electronically)
Oh, how perfectly convenient! Vintage e-Postcards of Sarasota to send to friends and family with a quick thought from you. Nobody has much free time to write and stamp a card these days, so check out our postcard service. It's fun and as 'easy as pie'. Click here to view the postcards, and try out this 'good time' feature.
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John Nolen's City Plans of Yesteryear Still Valid
Trained as a landscape architect, Nolen's ideas on city planning developed in sharp contrast to the ideas of the "City Beautiful Movement." That movement, which reached its zenith of popular interest in 1893 and was associated with the beautification of the physical environment, was criticized for its lack of attention to the social and economic aspects of cities. In 1909, Nolen was the keynote speaker for the first National Conference on City Planning and the Problems of Congestion, held in Washington, D.C. The topics discussed at that conference forged the relationship between urban planning and urban policy by challenging those present to consider not only the beautification of cities but also their physical and social organization. John Nolen had an enormous influence on civic design. He prepared some 400 city plans between 1905 and 1937, including a plan for the City of Venice in 1926. Most of his Florida projects were completed during the mid-1920s, when the state was experiencing phenomenal growth as part of the Florida Land Boom. In Sarasota alone the population grew from approximately 2,000 to 8,000 between 1920 and 1930. In his Sarasota plan, Nolen acknowledged the pressure this growth was having on the city by stating, "This growth has crowded the hotels, congested the streets, caused a shortage in business, residential and recreational facilities." Nolen’s comprehensive plan for Sarasota was completed in 1925. Read more... (photo credit: Sarasota County History Center)
Yesterday's Sarasota Calendar
Also, be sure and check out Whit's website at: www.ChickenHillNC.com. This Friday, in 1910, J.S. Maus and his son, builders in the area for several years, drew quite a crowd on Main Street as they dug up some interesting relics while widening the street. Five Indian skulls, other bones, beads, and pottery were among the contents of an apparent burial mound located near the site of Five Points Plaza. Ain't Life Grand?
Okay, I know we are heading for the "dog days of summer," but these German Wirehair hunting dogs look like they are already there. Even though the windows (ha!) are down, they sure look like they want to get up and have some run-around time, or a romp at the beach. Perhaps we could use their talents to give us a head's up if that nasty oil leak is heading towards our paradise. (photo credit: Sarasota County History Center)
History LocatorToday we are honoring the Miakka marker. It reads:
(photo credit: Greg Best)
Where Were We?The winner from our last quiz was Linda Maree. We would like to thank our generous sponsors for providing prizes. You too, can become a sponsor (see below). Click here to review the photo, question and the correct answer of last week's challenge.
This chummy shot shows Mac Christy, co-owner of Tucker's Sporting Goods, and Ted Williams, the famous Boston Red Sox left-fielder standing alongside a U.S. 41 sign. You are tasked with figuring out where on 41 were we? Guess we'll be nice and give you a hint. Note the metal finial in the background over Ted's left shoulder. (photo credit: Sarasota County History Center) Your prize this week is a Sarasota High School tote bag, and is created and supplied by Sarasota History Alive!
If you would like to be a sponsor of our "Where Am I?" quiz, please call us at (941) 951-7727. It only cost $25 per week for us to set up your ad, and then you only have to provide a prize for the winner. What could be easier?
Mrs. Potter Palmer's 161st Birthday TeaThe DAR Chapter House in historic Pioneer Park, 1232 Twelfth Street, is hosting a fashionable tea to celebrate Bertha Honore Palmer’s 161st birthday. Proceeds will benefit the DAR’s Grandma Moses Scholarship for Mature Women. Judith Leipold will be in attendance as Mrs. Potter Palmer. Period piano selections will be presented by Chrystalle Maria DeLuca. Hats and gloves enjoyed; period attire encouraged. Tickets are $15 in advance, and $20 at the door. Please make checks payable to: Sara DeSoto Chapter DAR, and mail to: Shirley Behrens, 5527 Duncanwood Place, Sarasota, FL, 34232-5805. Include your name, number of guests, phone number and email address when you send in your reservation and check; they must be postmarked by May 15, 2010.
The 'Best Catch' Photo Contest
Sarasota County Celebrates Historic Preservation MonthThe Sarasota County History Center will celebrate National Historic Preservation Month on Saturday, May 22, 2010, in Nokomis, one of the county's oldest communities.
Parking for all three events will be available at the Venice-Nokomis Bank building, 801 South Tamiami Trail, Nokomis. Since the National Trust for Historic Preservation created Preservation Week in 1971 to spotlight grassroots preservation efforts in America, it has grown into an annual celebration observed by small towns and big cities with events ranging from architectural and historic tours and award ceremonies to fundraising events, educational programs and heritage travel opportunities. Due to its overwheming popularity, in 2005, the Trust extended the celebration to the entire month of May and declared it Preservation Month to provide an even longer opportunity to celebrate the diverse and unique heritage of our country's cities and states and enable more Americans to become involved in the growing preservation movement. For more information about historic preservation in Sarasota County, call the Sarasota County Call Center at 941-861-5000. |
John Nolen of Cambridge, Massachusetts is often called the “Father of City Planning” because of his influence in establishing the field of professional planning from the allied fields of landscape architecture, architecture and civil engineering.
Every day of the year we highlight what took place in Sarasota's history, thanks to Whit Rylee and Tom Payne's extensive research and sense of humor. Frequently check our website's 
Your editor spends a great deal of time at the Sarasota County History Center finding interesting information for you to ponder. While there, he also comes across many photos that depict life at an earlier time in history. With that in mind, check out this week's mage.
One half mile south of this marker once stood a log structure where church services were held by circuit riding preachers. During the week the building was used as a school. William Rawls and A.M. "Gus" Wilson each donated land for what is now the church and cemetery. In 1886 the church was built and the graves of some of the early settlers dot the small cemetery. Gus Wilson served as State Senator from this area and played a prominent part in state and local government. One fourth mile NW of here, on Wilson Road is the site of the one room school built in 1914 now used as a community meeting house.
This Week's Clues:
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune has recently offered $1,000 for the best catch photos of fish you have caught. The contest is still going on, and the winner will be announced on May 31, 2010. Well, we couldn't resist and submitted our entry (really the honor goes to Jesse Tucker) of a 521 pound Sea Bass caught here in 1938. Sushi anyone?
Events for the day include: 8:30-9:15 a.m.; a tour and discussion of the pre-history of the Pocono Trail Preserve, which contains three prehistoric Native American Indian sites at 189 South Tamiaimi Trail. 9:30-10:15 a.m.; A plaque presentation at the restored Venice-Nokomis Bank to property owners who received historic designations over the past year. Light refreshments will be served at 801 South Tamiaimi Trail. 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon; a tour of the historic homes of Nokomis."Sarasota History Alive!" is a part of the "Florida History Alive!" network
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