Author: saradesota

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Even the kids & the grandkids support Sarasota history!

The Historical Society of Sarasota County loves the Keith Farmhouse restoration!
Did you know that the Farmhouse Market, in Phillippi Estate Park, is managed by Friends of Sarasota County Parks? This non-profit volunteer organization improves the life of current-day Sarasotans and visitors as well as helps maintain our ties to our past history.

Bring your children to the 4th Annual Children’s Day in the Park, at Phillippi Estate Park on Wed. March 11th, from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

In addition to the sights and yummy tastes of the weekly market, there will be games of skill and balance by Krisztina. Plenty of vendors in the Arts/Crafts, live music by Siesta John and local authors too.

You can even bring your pooch to this weekly Farmhouse Market, where you find over 50 purveyors of locally grown and produced fresh produce, fish, honeys, teas, pet items, and much, much more! No-hassle free parking.

Children’s Day has always been the biggest day at the Market, so come early and stay late!
Phillippi Estate Park is located at 5500 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota on the Phillippi River.

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How and Why Sarasota Became a Place for Jazz

Jazz history expert and two musicians tell the tale in words and jazz tunes

In our March 10 Conversation at the Crocker, you’ll hear, in words and music, the reasons why there are upwards of 200 active professional jazz musicians living in the Manatee-Sarasota area.

Did you know this area supports more than a dozen places in Bradenton, Sarasota and Venice offering jazz music any night of the week?

 

 

Join the Jazz Club’s Gordon Garrett when he leads a Conversation at The Crocker, on Tuesday, March 10, starting at 7 p.m. at the Crocker Memorial Church, 1260 12th Street (Pioneer Park), Sarasota. He will be joined on stage by Continue reading →
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Exploring Sarasota County History

It’s the perfect time of year, here in Sarasota, to venture forth and see some of the sights in our county that you have always meant to visit.

Put down the top and see the county!

Put down the top and see the county!

The History & Preservation Coalition has, for your print-out-and-take-with pleasure, a colorful PDF map of what THEY call Historical Resources and what WE call cool spots to see. Included are URLs, so be sure to visit the various sites of the sights to see when they are open to the public.

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County Park, food, art, and jazz. What more could we want?

The Historical Society loves how everything in the county is intertwined. Some of our volunteers are volunteers elsewhere. Perhaps members of the Wood family, who lived in the Bidwell-Wood House from 1896 until the 1960’s, visited the Keiths or the Prodies at the Keith Mansion. So we are proud to help our current-day peers preserve and protect history, and of course, we love food, art and jazz as well as history! So join us at an event on the Trail, just a few miles south of our Pioneer Park location:

 

Light Chasers at the Bidwell-Wood House

The plein air painters often visit our historic buildings at the Historical Society of Sarasota County.

On Wednesday February 25 the Phillippi Farmhouse Market, a venture of the Friends of Sarasota County Parks,  welcomes the Light Chasers (Sarasota’s Plein Air Painters) to a Quick Draw Painting Contest.  At 10 a.m. the air horn signals the start of the painting in the market and all over the park.  The painters have just two hours to create an original painting: will they paint the Farmhouse> The Mansion? The colorful kayaks bobbing in Phillippi Creek? You’re welcome to wander the grounds and peer over the artists’ shoulders as they strive to envision an award-winning artwork of this bit of Sarasota history!

 

Bill Farnsworth, Master Artist from Venice, will judge the paintings and award prizes. You can buy the paintings right off the easel right then or attend one of the art shows and sales at the Edson Keith Mansion on Friday, Feb 27 – 6 – 8 p.m. (Gala Opening Night – $25.00/ticket) or come Sat Feb 28, 5 – 8 p.m. FREE, or Sunday, March 1 – noon – 5 p.m. FREE.

 

Along with Sunday’s art show and sale will be Jazz in the Park, a free jazz concert from noon – 5 p.m. at the Gazebo, sponsored by the Jazz Club and the kickoff to Jazz Week in Sarasota.The Quick Draw Contest and art shows and sales in the Edson Keith Mansion will raise funds for the restoration of the Keith Farmhouse in the Park.  This was the original building erected on the estate in 1916 – 99 years ago.

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Brown Bag Book Lunch: Discuss & munch with the author of “Shade in the Sunshine State”

AAuthor Liz Coursenuthor, editor, and publisher Elizabeth H. Coursen will be featured at this month’s Brown Bag Book Lunch at the Historical Society of Sarasota County on Wed. Feb. 18, in the historic Crocker Memorial Church. She will be speaking on Continue reading →

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Good news and fun photos in the latest issue of the newsletter!

Marsha Fottler, VP, Historical Society of Sarasota County

Marsha Fottler is one of the most active and involved members of HSoSC, and serves as vice president.

As an Historical Society, we still produce a real, hard-copy newsletter for our members and to hand out to folks interested in learning about us, joining us in membership, attending some of our many events and exploring whether we are worth financial support small or large.

Amongst myriad other tasks, our Vice President, Marsha Fottler, writes, edits, produces, and even drives to the printer, our newsletter. Be sure to thank her, next time you see her!

Here’s our Newsletter Page where you can view, download, even print out the electronic version of our current newsletter, and explore past issues as well

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A lovely day for a walk in the past

A walk along the beach is always wonderful. Exploring downtown can be very rewarding (and stopping for a bite and sip every 40 feet or so is always an option). Our parks are beautiful. And so many neighborhoods are as well. So get out into our beautiful winter weather and treat yourself to a walk in the past!

Explore Laurel Park

Click to visit the Laurel Park web site.

Here’s the Laurel Neighborhood Walking Tour PDF. Print it out, lace up your walking shoes, and enjoy this lovely neighborhood!

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What the built future of Sarasota could look like.

An imaginary future city.Are There More Modern Buildings in Our Future?

Four young turks of architecture think so. Come and hear what they have to say and what the built future of Sarasota could look like.

No matter how you feel about modern architecture, you’ll want to be in the audience on the evening of Tuesday, February 10, at 7 p.m. when Sarasota Herald-Tribune real estate editor and architecture lecturer Harold Bubil leads a conversation with four ambitious and highly talented young architects who discuss how future of Sarasota will look if they have any influence. And they do, since they’re all working on important projects in town. Joining Bubil on stage at the Crocker Memorial Church are: Tatiana White, Chris Leader, Leonardo Lunardi and Damien Blumetti. A power point presentation narrated by Harold Bubil will place the modern movement in context with Sarasota’s past styles of residential, commercial and municipal architecture.

If you’re a newcomer to town, seasonal visitor or tax paying full-time resident, you’re bound to learn a lot about buildings and homes you see everyday around town. But, you’ll also see what could be down the road for Sarasota in terms of the homes we live in and the buildings we shop in, bank in and places where we receive medical care. Are we clinging to Mediterranean revival and cottage styles or committing to leading-edge modern design based on principles of the Sarasota School of Architecture that reigned in post-war years through the 1960s? Find out and then express your own views.

Now in its third year and presented by the Historical Society of Sarasota County (HSOSC), Conversations at The Crocker is a series of interactive monthly discussions that highlight aspects of Sarasota’s history and looks at past events and people who have influenced today’s Sarasota. All Conversations take place at the historic Crocker Memorial Church in Pioneer Park, 1260 12th Street, Sarasota. Community welcome. 7 p.m. Free to HSOSC members and students; $10, guests.

The futuristic rendering appears here.

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A Trip Down Memory Lane

Map of Sarasota, 1925

This October 1925 map of downtown Sarasota is from, we believe, the newspaper.

Dwell Real Estate has a blog entry with lots of fun Sarasota-in-the-past photos. Credit given: Photos and information courtesy of Yesterday’s Sarasota by Del Marth.

Take a look!

For actual copies of the Sarasota papers from 1925 on, visit here.

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Brown Bag Book Lunch: Discuss & munch with famed The Living Gulf Coast author

The Living Gulf Coast author leads a discussion at the Historical Society of Sarasota County January 21 2015Charles Sobczak, author of our favorite guide book, “The Living Gulf Coast – A Nature Guide to Southwest Florida”, will be the featured author at this month’s Brown Bag Book Lunch at the Historical Society of Sarasota County on Wed. Jan. 21st, in the historic Crocker Memorial Church.

Sobczak, a resident of Sanibel Island, has been a featured lecturer with ROAD SCHOLARS (formerly Elderhostel.) He is only one of two authors in the county whose books are used as companion guides to their local programs. His first novel, “Six Mornings on Sanibel is currently in its seventh printing. His nature guide, entitled, “Living Sanibel – A Nature Guide to Sanibel and Captiva Islands” quickly became the best-selling book on Sanibel and rose to #34 nationally on Amazon.com for nature guides.

His lectures are memorable for their relevance and his sense of humor and his Gulf Coast book has been a Best Seller at the Historical Society. If you have a copy, bring it to discuss… if you don’t, you can buy one at this Brown Bag Book Lunch!

Bring your lunch, drinks will be provided on the Back Porch of the historic Bidwell House. Join history, book, and nature lovers for this month’s BBBL Wednesday January 21 at 11:30 am Free to members, $5.00 per guest. The Historical Society is located in Pioneer Park, just east of Tamiami Trail, at 1260 12th Street . Plenty of free parking. Call the Society at  941-364-9076 during office hours, 10 to 2 Monday-Friday for more information.

(Can’t make this month’s meeting? Interested in our History Book Club as well? Read more.)

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This Day in History: Happy 45th, Van Wezel!

van wezel from louiswerycomOn 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.

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Conversation at the Crocker: Ringling’s Private Rail Car

PullDavid Duncan working on the Wisconsin, John Ringling's private Pullman car. Hear Mr. Duncan speak at Conversation at the Crocker, January 13. For more info see http://HSoSC.comman car historian and restorer of John Ringling’s private railroad car, the Wisconsin car in Sarasota talks about rail travel of the Gilded Age and how John and Mable Ringling traveled in luxury aboard a fabulous custom car.

“It is rare for a
private railroad car
to be restored with
such care, attention to detail and respect to the historic fabric”

Ride the rails into the past with Pullman Railroad car expert and the restorer of the famed Wisconsin custom railroad car with David W. Duncan when he leads a Conversation at The Crocker, on Tuesday, January 13, starting at 7 p.m. at the Crocker Memorial Church, 1260 12th Street (Pioneer Park), Sarasota.

David W. Duncan is a Pullman Railroad car historian and he has been the consultant on the Wisconsin for The Ringling Museum. His hands-on work and expertise have been instrumental in the restoration process of this historic railroad car. Duncan will be joined on stage by Ron McCarty, Curator of Ca’d’Zan at The Ringling Museum.

A Pullman Car was a standard of luxury in the early part of the 20th century and John Ringling wanted one. Having established a relationship with the Pullman firm by buying second-hand cars for use by the circus, Ringling commissioned Pullman to build a private car for his personal use in 1904. The name Wisconsin was chosen to honor the state that was home to the Ringling brothers and their circus.

On March 16, 1905, Ringling took delivery of the Wisconsin from Pullman’s Calumet Shop. He used the car as a place to stylishly entertain and impress friends, family, business associates and politicians. And the car enabled him to conduct circus business as he traveled across the country. Ringling’s first trip aboard the car was to Baraboo, Wisconsin, the family’s hometown. Later that year, John Ringling and Mable Burton were married in Hoboken, New Jersey.

“It is rare for a private railroad car to be restored with such care, attention to detail and respect to the historic fabric,” says Ron McCarty about Duncan’s work on the Wisconsin. “Now at the museum, visitors to Sarasota can glimpse a means of transportation that only a few ever experienced. This restored jewel of the Gilded Age tells the story of a bygone era and the community can learn all about it at the Conversation at The Crocker on the evening of January 13.” All aboard !

Organized and presented by the Historical Society of Sarasota County and sponsored by SARASOTA Magazine, this public conversation (accompanied by rare photos) is free to Historical Society members and students. Guests, $10. Proceeds help maintain the two historic properties at Pioneer Park, The Bidwell-Wood House (1882, Sarasota’s oldest private residence) and the Crocker Memorial Church (1901).

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Black Bottom, Overtown, Newtown, Rosemary District: What, where, when.

History of Newtown is the subject of a Conversation at the Crocker event. 

James Brown of Sarasota FL will lead the Conversation at the Crocker on October 14 2014.

James Brown, educator, historian and a man born and raised in Newtown, leads a discussion on the History of Newtown, on Tuesday, October 14 starting at 7 p.m. at the Crocker Memorial Church, 1260 12th Street, Sarasota. Historical Society members and students free. Guests $10. 364-9076 for more information.

Educators, business leaders, and the Mayor of Sarasota will gather on the stage of the Crocker Memorial Church on Tuesday, October 14, to talk among themselves and with the audience about the History of Newtown, Sarasota’s African-American community.  The conversationists will also talk about the two communities that preceded Newtown, called Black Bottom and Overtown. Those neighborhoods were in the area now called the Rosemary District.

An inter-active discussion hosted by the Historical Society and open to the public. Come and ask questions and be heard. It’s part of our history!

This lively and informative discussion (with visuals to set everything into context) is open to the public and begins at 7 p.m. Historical Society members and students are admitted free. Guests, $10.

Participating in this Conversation will be: educator James Brown (Conversation leader), Mayor Willie Shaw, educator Dorothye Smith and Newtown businessmen Henry Battie and Jetson Grimes.

The Crocker Memorial Church is the headquarters for the Historical Society and is located in Pioneer Park at 1260 12th Street.

Organized by the Historical Society of Sarasota County and sponsored by SARASOTA Magazine, Conversations at The Crocker events highlight specific aspects of Sarasota’s past and examines pivotal events and people who have influenced today’s Sarasota.

Conversations take place at The Crocker Memorial Church and proceeds help to maintain the Bidwell-Wood House (1882, Sarasota’s oldest private residence) and the Crocker Memorial Church (1901). Docent-led tours of the two buildings are available before each Conversation event. For more information, call the Historical Society’s office, Mon-Fri, 10a to 2p, at 941-364-9076

Yup, it WAS “the good old days”
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Yup, it WAS “the good old days”

Nowadays it takes 5 fishermen and a boat to catch a kingfish.

Kingfish trophyBut back in the day…

Sept 30 1913: For easy fishing, stay at the Bay Island Hotel. On the first day of kingfish season, a 4′, 27-pound beauty, complete with a mullet in its mouth, jumped 10 feet from the bay, over the seawall, and onto the lawn where it was corralled by a guest. Mr. Faubel, the manager, quickly pointed out the fine fishing on his lawn. — Entry in Yesterday’s Sarasota calendar by J. Whitcomb Rylee

Photo from http://www.insideflorida.com/

More on the Bay Island Hotel from Sarasota History Alive.