The "Old" SHS Building Keeps on Teaching!

Good schools are always important when buying a new home in Sarasota or any community for that matter. I attended school here in Sarasota from grade one in 1950 all the way through high school graduation as I reminisced in a previous blog post. But the schools I went to were by far not the oldest. Here’s a little history!

Sarasota's first school, built around 1878, was located on the south side of Main Street east of Pineapple Avenue next door to the old Kress Building. It was a small, one-room building 16 feet wide and 25 feet and the children sat on homemade benches and desks that were quite different from those in present times. In 1899, a two-room school was built on 8^th  Street between the railroad and Central Avenue (what was then 8^th Street is now 2^nd Second Street). By the winter of 1903-1904 the school was badly overcrowded. A new building was constructed for $3,900 during the summer of 1904. Sources are conflicting as to the location of the building. One source says the school was located on Main Street east of Pine. Another source says the school was erected on Golf Street on the future site of Central School in 1936, where the downtown U.S. Post Office was later located. The two-story building contained four classrooms on the first floor and one classroom and an auditorium on the second floor. That school opened September 19, 1904 with an enrollment of 124 students.

During the spring and summer of 1913, a new brick building was built at a total cost of $23,000. School trustees predicted that the building's 11 classrooms and its auditorium would fulfill Sarasota's needs for at least ten years. The old frame building constructed in 1904 was sold and moved off the lot. When classes opened September 15, 1913, 200 girls and 153 boys were enrolled. The following fall it was decided to add two more grades and make the school a full-fledged high school as well as an elementary school…It seems that this is when Sarasota High School actually began. The old frame building which the new brick building had replaced was brought back and put to use. Located in back of the new brick building, it housed the younger children.

By 1927 Sarasota was once again in need of a new school building. School began on Tuesday, September 6, 1927, in a huge new building, which is now fondly referred to as "the Old Building". Several available figures conflict as to the cost of the building. Prices range from $317,000 to $345,000 to half a million dollars.

The 57,000 square foot building opened its doors to students from the 7th-12th grade in the fall of 1927 and flourished for almost 70 years. 

In 1984, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Although the “Old Building” school closed its doors in 1996, my wife and I and other members of the community felt attached to the building and we were inspired along with others to champion a new purpose. 

Fast-forward to 2002, the start of a two-year process of community involvement and consensus-building known as the Sarasota High School New Life Initiative. Funders of the New Life Initiative included the School Board, the City of Sarasota, Sarasota County, the Selby Foundation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and private donors. More than 200 potential uses of the 93 year old historic building were considered. In October 2004, the School Board voted to lease the historic Sarasota High School building to Ringling College of Art and Design to transform the building into the 27 million dollar Sarasota Art Museum. Fast forward (through a lot of challenges!)  to December 2019...the doors are now OPEN and it is stunning! 

I taught Computer Basics in that old building for several years (anyone remember DOS?!) and my wife graduated from SHS. Her sister also graduated from SHS and went on to achieve three Bachelor Degrees in Art in college thanks to her art teacher at SHS who inspired her.  Liz was on the fund-raising committee which successfully raised 2.5 million dollars towards keeping the Sarasota High School name as part of the new museum. It is appropriately named “The SHS Alumni Auditorium”.

Today, the Sarasota High School historic building has been given a new life as a modern art museum. As hometown Sarasotans, we are grateful that this memorable educational institution will be preserved and be a place to be enjoyed for many years to come and that the historic Sarasota High School "Old" building will continue to be a central part of this community and will continue to focus on education.

If you are considering moving to Sarasota and buying a new home, our school system has an outstanding reputation. Contact me at RE/MAX Alliance Group and we will start your search for a new home and a great school!