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Just what’s this station wagon got to do with Sarasota?

Sunday, February 23, 2025, 2-4 p.m.
Crocker Memorial Church for a Conversation at The Crocker

Norm Luppino will be our speaker at the February 23 Conversation at the Crocker, and he’ll be presenting on the Seagate estate, built by Powel Crosley, a man not as well-known in our area as he should be.

From Sarasota History Alive: Powel Crosley was a promoter, businessman and industrialist who had the knack of transforming ideas into reality. Between 1900 and 1940, in the field of radio, Crosley generated the

first automobile radio, the first push-button radio and the world’s most powerful radio station. Other items included one of the first mail-order specialty companies, the first portable freezer, the patent for shelves in the doors of refrigerators and freezers, the first lights on a major league baseball field and the first mass-produced small economy car.

( My favorite part of the Crosley story: First, he developed radios that were affordable to the masses and radios for cars, in the 1920s… and then, to give folks something to listen to, he founded a radio station, WLW. More on that, I’m sure, from Norm.)

Norm will trace ownership of the estate and how it functions today and how people can use the bayfront property.

Norm Luppino is an expert on the Crosley Estate and its history through the decades. He is also part of the Seagate group. He has a wonderful supply of photos for an illustrated lecture on Powel Crosley, his home and his impact on this part of Florida. Norm has been a resident of the Sarasota-Bradenton area since 1986 and his knowledge of the area is remarkable. Prior to becoming a licensed Realtor, Norm was a Planning Manager with the Manatee County Planning Department where he worked for 23 years. He was the case manager for many of the largest developments in the area, including Lakewood Ranch, University Park Country Club, Heritage Harbour, Harrison Ranch, and Waterlefe.

Crocker Memorial Church is one of two historically-important buildings on the Historical Society of Sarasota County’s campus in Pioneer Park, at 1260 12th Street, Sarasota FL. It is located between Tamiami Trail (RT. 41) and Cocoanut Avenue.

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