A Hometown Sarasota Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving holiday is upon us again! Thanksgiving is more than just a day of parades, fond memories, football games and those special dinners our families cook. Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the seemingly everyday things we are fortunate enough to have in our lives, such as a turkey dinner on the table, a warm place to sleep, and a roof over our heads. Thanksgiving is an expression of gratitude - a day where we are reminded of the bounty of treasures that is a large part of our lives.

It gives us the opportunity to be surrounded by family and friends, and appreciate the numerous things we are blessed with. Sarasota is my hometown and I am fortunate enough to have an amazing group of people in my life that I am truly thankful for. 

My business as a Realtor in Sarasota, Florida relies on the recommendations and support of those close to me, and I want to take a moment and say a heartfelt thank you to my wife, Liz, who is the wind beneath my wings, to Re/Max Alliance Group and to all of the loyal people who continuously support me. 

Happy Thanksgiving from my home to yours!

The "Scary Bridge" to Siesta Key

Bridges in and around Sarasota and it’s world class beaches have played an important role in the development of Sarasota. My wife is a fourth generation Sarasotan and remembers her grandmother telling her stories about her great-great grandfather, who was one of the first physicians in the area. It was routine for him to row a boat or take a ferry (like the one in the photo below, top left) to reach Siesta Key and other barrier islands to tend to his patients. The trip by ferry from downtown Sarasota to Siesta (formerly known as Sarasota Key) took 20 minutes. It was not until 1917, that the first bridge was built between Siesta Key and the mainland. By 1927, the original Siesta Key Bridge was replaced with a more substantial structure, and the current drawbridge (on the infamous list of Ugliest Bridges) was built in 1972.


I remember the second Siesta Key bridge well…I called it the ‘pipe bridge’ because of the metal railings. It tended to be scary to drive across – it was very narrow with a sidewalk only on one side, and it was very close to the water. My wife’s father who lived on Siesta Key remembers staying on a bit too long as a hurricane was spinning in the gulf. When he finally decided to evacuate the family, waves were literally crashing over the bridge as he drove across Sarasota Bay to the mainland.

Many times, when approaching the north bridge, you’ll have to put your car in park while the bridge lifts for boats to pass.  It used to be annoying to me, but now I find that it is a relaxing event to watch the sailboats pass by. If you are looking for a home on Siesta Key or the mainland in Sarasota, give me a call and I will show you around and tell you some stories about growing up here in my beautiful hometown of Sarasota, Florida.



Credits: Sarasota History Alive, Florida DOT, Sarasota: A History, by Jeff LaHurd, uglybridges.com

Reeling 'Em in on The John Ringling Causeway

There are so many fun things to do in Sarasota, Florida and not surprisingly, one of the most popular is fishing. When I was a kid, that’s exactly where you would find me…on the John Ringling Causeway Bridge, fishing with my uncle. And I am talking about the FIRST bridge – the old, wooden one. When I moved to Florida at age two with my family, it didn’t take long for all our ‘long lost’ relatives to come visit us in sunny Sarasota and head out to the Ringling Causeway bridge to fish. It was as much a bridge for people as for cars. When word spread that the fish were running, both sides of the bridge quickly filled with anglers ready to reel ‘em in.


The John Ringling Causeway Bridge was opened for the first time in 1925 by John Ringling himself. The purpose was to get buyers from the mainland to the barrier islands, especially Bird Key, to buy land he had for sale. The John Ringling Causeway Bridge has been a unique part of Sarasota's history for more than 80 years.


There have been three Ringling Causeway bridges. Construction on the first Ringling Causeway began in 1925. Ringling opened this first new bridge by driving his famous green Rolls-Royce over the Ringling Causeway on January 1, 1926.


By 1950, it was becoming clear that the original Causeway was not up to the task of handling the increasing traffic. Bird Key was booming along with the rest of the nation, and thousands of ex-GI's who had trained in southwest Florida moved there after attending college on the GI Bill. In early 1951, the State Road Board decided that a new bridge was needed to replace the original Ringling Causeway. The first bridge was torn down. It had cost $1,000,000. The new Ringling Causeway, a draw-bridge, opened in 1959 at a cost of $20,000,000.


Bird Key and the other barrier islands became hugely-popular boating communities in the last half of the 20th century and by the year 2000, the Ringling drawbridge was opening as many as 18 times a day. Traffic was snarling, and the situation grew increasingly aggravating and even dangerous. A plan was developed for a high-span, segmented, precast concrete Ringling Causeway. Work on the third John Ringling Causeway in 2001 and completed the work in 2003. The $68,000,000 bridge is a visually stunning masterpiece of architectural design and is now known around the world as a symbol of the greater Sarasota area. The City of Sarasota and private donors tossed in $1,500,000 for landscaping. The landscaping and bridge are both magnificent and appropriate, as the John Ringling Causeway remains the only way to get “by land” to beautiful Bird Key.



If you are looking for a home in Sarasota, on Bird Key, Lido or Longboat Key, Florida, give me a call and I will share some beautiful properties in paradise and tell you some fun facts and stories about my home town.

Credits: St. Armand’s Circle Association, CNN iReport, Chelsey Lucas , Sarasota County Department of Historical Resources, Jeff LaHurd, SarasotaHistoryAlive.com, 4Sarasota.com

The Lido Beach Casino's Magical Seahorses

If a magical creature like a Seahorse can exist, it’s seems to me that the world is open to anything you can dream up. Some of my fondest teenage memories are of the Lido Beach Casino and the seahorses. The majestic eight-foot tall seahorses were the design of the building’s architect, Ralph Twitchell. They were cast of concrete in molds created from full-sized, hand drawn templates. They were then attached to the façade of the casino to create an eye-catching motif on the second story promenade of the building. For almost 30 years they stood as sentinels casting an eye out to sea and affording the perfect backdrop for a magical photo portrait in paradise.

The iconic seahorses and The Lido Beach Casino offered something for everyone, and especially for me and my teenage friends in the late 50’s and early 60’s. We spent every summer day playing volleyball, swimming in the huge pool and hanging out at the Bather’s Grill (pictured above top right), chowing down hot dogs and burgers and girl-watching. As a life-long resident, the Lido Casino was an enduring symbol for me and although it only stood for 29 years, I can still picture in my mind this magnificent structure with the four giant seahorses looking towards the Gulf of Mexico.

My wife’s late father, artist John Hardy, used to reminisce of his ‘time with the seahorses’. He was in the Air Force in the mid to late 40’s and remembered being bused from MacDill Air Base in Tampa to the Lido Casino and said it was unlike anything he had ever seen. It was one of the reasons he moved to Sarasota after WWII along with his acceptance into Ringling College of Art and Design. He would be delighted to know that an exact replica of the seahorses is at the Hartman Gallery, then owned by Bill and Marty Hartman, fellow students at Ringling.

It was a sad day when we all found out that the Casino was to be torn down due to damage from salt, sea and sun and it was demolished in 1969. Before it was completely razed, a number of the seahorses were carefully removed. Then the building was gone and the seahorses disappeared from sight. (They are now privately owned). But…those seahorses as replicas kept popping up, first at the Sarasota Quay, which has since been torn down and now at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, at the Mote Marine Aquarium and the Hartman Gallery.

The memories remain for me and all who enjoyed the marvelous Lido Beach Casino complex. So now when I cast my memories back, it's nice to know I can still go see my magical seahorses in my Hometown. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Sarasota, Florida, call me at 941-957-3311 and I will find your dream property and tell you some stories about growing up in Sarasota.
Here is a wonderful video about the famous Lido Beach Casino:

https://youtu.be/URYFZ1L7JDI

  

Credits: Jeff LaHurd, Lidokey.net, laurelparkhistoricdistrict.com

Sarasota's Bustling Five Points

Drawing by John Hardy for the Sarasota Herald Tribune circa 1951

The bustling roundabout intersection known as ‘Five Points’ is, historically, the anchor of downtown Sarasota. Located at the Pineapple, Main and Central Intersection, this downtown spot is well-known to us ‘Hometowners’. 

My memories go back to the mid-fifties and include pushing my little sister, who was on a float in the Sara de Soto Pageant Parade, down Main Street, headed for the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium. I remember feeling awkward and almost embarrassed being on display at the time, but now it’s a fond memory. I also remember passing by Five Points on the way to the City Pier to get permits with my dad, who was a builder here in the fifties and sixties. The Sarasota government offices were located on the pier at that time before moving to their downtown location. (More on this in a future Blog!)

Many activities thrived and culminated at Five Points back then. My wife remembers blisters on her heals from marching down Main Street to Five Points with the Sarasota High School marching band back in the late sixties. Her mom often told stories of her participation in the parade and the filming of the movie, The Greatest Show on Earth, about the Ringling Brothers Circus...and I was in the crowd watching the grand parade as it was being filmed.

Her dad, artist John Hardy, labeled Five Points as ‘The Hub of a Great Art Center’ in the late forties. He was attending Ringling School of Art (as it was known back then) and worked at the Sarasota Herald Tribune as the Art Director. His drawing of Five Points for the Herald Tribune depicted here shows lots of activity during those bustling days before the malls took much of the downtown business away to the suburbs of Sarasota. The centerpiece of the drawing is the stone monument, which was installed in 1928, honoring our Sarasota soldiers who served us proudly. The monument was moved to Gulfstream Avenue on the Bayfront in 1954 because it was considered a traffic hazard. I remember it as the focal point of downtown Sarasota and will hold on to my memories!

If you are looking for real estate in downtown Sarasota, call me at 941-315-1185 and I can show you today's beautiful Sarasota and tell you stories about the wonderful history of my Hometown.

Here’s a great article about Five Points and the Monument by ABC 7/My Suncoast’s Linda Carson. As Linda said: “It still remains the heart of Sarasota.”

http://www.mysuncoast.com/news/local/sarasota-s-five-points-the-hub-of-sarasota-since-its/article_3fba1f8e-27d7-11e4-9fb3-001a4bcf6878.html

School Days

Sarasota County has many great schools. As a Realtor in Sarasota with Re/Max Alliance Group, I am often asked by buyers about our schools. I am a hometown ‘boy’ who grew up in Sarasota, and I was in the very first graduating class of Cardinal Mooney High School. I began my school days on the very first day of the existence of St. Martha’s School in 1950 and my last year of high school was at the Fruitville Road location of Cardinal Mooney High. It seemed that they were literally building the school right ahead of my class, and in fact, some classes were held in the church pews until the classroom was ready!

Cardinal Mooney High School was established by Archbishop Joseph P. Hurley and first opened in 1959 in temporary quarters at Bell Shopping Plaza with classes held in eight rented stores. We went to nearby St. Martha's Elementary School for physical education classes and did reference work at the public library. 

In early 1960 a 34-acre tract of land on Fruitville Road was purchased as the permanent location for Cardinal Mooney High School. Students moved into the first classroom buildings in November, 1960 and I graduated two years later. Today, Sarasota County Schools have 41,395 students attending 62 schools in grades PK and K-12. My how we’ve grown!

There are many great schools in Sarasota County:

Public Schools List: http://www.sarasotacountyschools.net/schools.aspx

Private Schools List : http://www.privateschoolreview.com/florida/sarasota-county

If you are looking for a great home to raise your kids near any of our schools in Sarasota, Florida, I can assist with finding just the right location. Call me at 941-315-1185.

Times Gone By

I have lived in Sarasota all my life and have been with Re/Max Alliance Group for more than 15 years. My hometown of Sarasota has seen many changes over the decades. For a very long time, my wife and I used to shop at the Publix and eat lunch at the restaurants at the Ringling Shopping Center. For now, at least we can still park under a tree and ‘brown bag it’ in the parking lot. It’s a little sad for those of us who remember the good ‘ol days.

In 1955, the excitement around town was the opening of Sarasota's first shopping center on Ringling Boulevard.  The Ringling Shopping Center with Publix Supermarket as its anchor, opened for business on what had been a golf driving range. The first stores in the center were Beauteria Beauty Shop, Belk-Lindsey, Coach Butterfield Toys, Center Shoe Repair, Jimmy Crews Barber Shop, Crowders Bros. Hardware, Darby Cleaners, Diana Shops, Grants Sweet Shop, the S&H Stamp Reception Center, Touchton Rexall Drug Store and F.W. Woolworth.

By the end of the 1950’s, Sarasota shoppers had two major shopping centers to take their business to. The second shopping center, South Gate, opened in 1957, commerce shifted away from downtown, and the once lively downtown area went into a downward spiral.  Except for some cosmetic upgrades and changes in the stores though, the Ringling Shopping Center remained as is had always been until 2010. At that point Publix moved to it’s Tamiami Trail location in the former Sarasota Herald Tribune Building and tentative plans were made to open a neighborhood Walmart at the old Ringling Shopping Center location. Those plans were rejected in 2013 and our little shopping center is now mostly vacant. But the good news is that the Sarasota Downtown has revived into a very vibrant destination to live, work and play.

As for the Ringling Shopping Center, we still enjoy our bag lunches and our happy memories of days gone by. Maybe someday that little former gem of a shopping center will be revived. In the meantime, I am going strong, serving the real estate needs of  Sarasota...my home town. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Sarasota, call me at 941-315-1185.

Credits: Jeff LaHurd, Sarasota Patch, The Observer