On this date in 1970, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall opened.

Designed by the late Frank Lloyd Wright’s firm, Taliesin Associates Architects, the building was called by its critics the “purple cow” or “purple people seater.”

How much do YOU know about the Van Wezel?

The Van Wezel was painted purple because:

1. Purple was a good foil to the turquoise waters of Sarasota Bay.
2. Mr. Wright’s widow suggested it.
3. Purple is the color of royalty, and Sarasota looked forward to the “royalty of performers” appearing in the theater.
4. The paint was donated by a local paint dealer, and that’s the color he chose.

Why did the One Eyed One Horned Flying Purple People Eater come to Earth?

1. His spaceship crashed in the Grand Canyon.
2. He wanted to get a job in a rock-&-roll band.
3. He craved a Starbuck’s every day.
4. He liked short shorts.

The first Broadway show in the Van Wezel was

1. Cactus Flower
2. Fiddler on the Roof
3. Guys and Dolls
4. The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd

Who were Lewis and Eugenia Van Wezel?

1. They built the first year-round residence on Lido Key.
2. Lewis was a diamond buyer for Tiffany’s.
3. Eugenia’s brother-in-law was Gustaf Nobel.
4. They built a downtown building known as the Eugenic.

Answers: In each case, the correct answer is #2, except for the last. All the choices are correct about the Van Wezels! You will be awarded extra points if you pronounce Van Wezel as “Van Way-zel”, not “Van Weasel.”

Did you know? Tours of the Van Wezel backstage areas and the Fine Arts Society art collection are offered to the public the first Tuesday of the month, October through May. More info.

And if you can’t remember all the lyrics of One Eyed One Horned Flying Purple People Eater, here it is on YouTube. Tequila.

With thanks to Yesterday’s Sarasota Calendar by J. Whitcomb Rylee, the Van Wezel web site and Sarasota History Alive! for these tidbits. Photo from LouisWery.com.