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.
For actual copies of the Sarasota papers from 1925 on, visit here.
Charles 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.)
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.”
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.
Pull
man 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).
The Historical Society celebrated its 25th Historical LeBarge Cruise early in November, and were delighted to offer commentary courtesy of famed local historian John McCarthy.
If you couldn’t make the November tour with us, make plans now to join us in March! Email Linda Garcia, our Site Manager, at hsosc1@gmail.com for your reservations now.
Our newest board member Virginia Hoffman (second from left) enjoyed her birthday celebration on the cruise with other board members (l. to r.) BrendaLee Hickman , Bill Kleber, and Meade Ferguson.
Funds raised help the private non-profit Society preserve and protect two of the oldest historic buildings in Sarasota County. Visit the Bidwell-Wood House (1882) and the Crocker Memorial Church (1901) Monday-Friday 10am to 2pm, or during any of our special events on our Calendar of Events. Pioneer Park is located just east of 41 at 12th Street.
This series of four get-togethers starts on Wednesday, December 17, 2014 from 11:30am to 1:30pm. Local authors will discuss their books and offer insights in the Crocker Memorial Church starting at 11:30am followed by a question and answer period. Then the group will have their BYOB brown-bag lunch on our serene Back Porch with beverages supplied by HSOSC.
On December 17 Bea Hartman will illustrate chapter sites from her “Florida Treasures – 55 Great Sites on the National Register of Historic Places“. You will be able to purchase an autographed copy at the meeting.
The series continues with
These events are free for HSOSC members and $5 for guests.
Also new beginning in January, HSOSC is starting a History Book Club headed up by president Howard Rosenthal and new member Anita Palladino.
First book reading is “Sarasota A History” by Jeff LaHurd.
These meetings will take place on the 3rd Thursday of the month at 1pm from January thru April in the Crocker Memorial Church.
Saturday, Novmeber 15, 2014
9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Crocker Memorial Church
1260 12th Street (Pioneer Park)
One block east of N. Tamiami Trail at 12th Street
941-364-9076
Presented by the Historical Society of Sarasota County in cooperation with area interior designers who have donated specialty items from their galleries and inventory.
Come and find custom toss pillows, lamps, occasional furniture, extraordinary designer fabric and wallpaper, tabletop sculpture, framed paintings and prints, mirrors, garden ornaments, silk flower and foliage arrangements and a special holiday section with gift items for the season. Proceeds help maintain the historic Bidwell-Wood House (1882) and the Crocker Memorial Church (1901).
Shop for fun, amazing and gorgeous designer bargains and help support historic preservation in our town. It only happens every other year so don’t miss out!
You still have time to order a brick for the front walkway in time for the dedication inlay for this year on Saturday November 15, 2014. This is the day for the Tag Sale in the Crocker Memorial Church and the Historical Trolley Tour that morning….returning in time for the dedication.
The Historical Society of Sarasota County salvaged the bricks from Main Street and Lemon Avenue when the station depot was being demolished. We have them laid as the walkway into the 1882 Bidwell-Wood House, Sarasota County’s oldest surviving residence, for a lasting memorial.
You can honor anyone including yourself, or an event (marriage? Birth? Anniversary? Memorial?) with an etched historic brick. A donation of $100 or more creates a permanent reminder of your loved one and participation in Sarasota History. Each year the new etched bricks are laid in November to honor those who support Sarasota history with a dedicated brick in the walkway.
To have a brick etched for you, your family, or a loved one, simply contact Linda Garcia, our Site Manger, via phone at 941-364-9076 Mon-Fri 10 to 2, or 24/7 via email at hsosc1@gmail.com. Mastercard and Visa accepted, as are those old-fashioned things, checks in the mail! You’ll receive a personal invitation to our ceremony on our campus at 1260 12th Street (1/2 block east of Tamiami Trail), Sarasota, in Pioneer Park on Saturday November 15.
25th FLOATING HISTORY LESSON SETS SAIL ON NOVEMBER 2, 2014
The Historical Society of Sarasota County (HSOSC) is hosting its 25th Historical Cruise and Tour of Sarasota Bay on the LeBarge tour boat on Sunday, November 2, 2014 from 11am to 1pm. The cruise will feature narration by popular local historian John McCarthy. Guests can expect a complimentary continental breakfast and a cash bar at noon.
Norma Kwenski, Volunteer Extraordinaire, grabs the catbird seat on LeBarge, next to our commentator, always-captivating John McCarthy, one of Sarasota’s leading historians.
This specialty cruise tour has been a favorite with residents and tourists alike who want to learn more about the bygone people and places that have impacted the development of Sarasota County. Guests cruise along the shoreline of Sarasota Bay and enjoy the sunshine and refreshments while John McCarthy paints a picture of the formative years in Sarasota’s growth.
Historical Cruise Guests should be at the LeBarge slip, south of Marina Jack in Sarasota’s Bayfront Park by 10:15am, rain or shine. Proceeds benefit preservation projects and community outreach programs at the Historical Society of Sarasota County.
To reserve your seats, contact Linda Garcia at HSOSC Monday-Friday from 10a – 2p at 941-364-9076 or anytime by email: hsosc1@gmail.com
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
But 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.
The pump organ repairman angel arrived this summer!!Mr. Robert Senseman visited the Bidwell-Wood House in June when his mother Lois Ann Senseman arrived to film her Ordinary Historian video. Her grandfather, his great grandfather, was the yacht captain for John and Mabel Ringling. While touring the house we mentioned that the JDeal pump organ in the parlor was in need of a strap repair on one of the pedals.
Mr. Senseman offered to do the repair. Amazingly he took the organ and did a full refurbishment and repair and brought it back better than ever. We cannot thank him enough.
The early 1800’s organ was donated to the Historical Society of Sarasota County by Mike Lesnick of Bradenton.
See the pump organ in action in the MySuncoast tv coverage of our building. Linda has hidden talents!
Congratulations to our recording secretary, JoRita Stevens, for being selected as a “Goodwill Ambassador” of the year.There’s truth in Continue reading
You didn’t have to register to vote. You did have to be a member of the militia. And there was no such thing as Sarasota County… heck, there wasn’t even a Manatee County.
Here’s what political districting looked like in 1843 when Florida voted to become a State in the United States of America.
(Click the map, which is courtesy of State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, to enlarge)
Linda Garcia, our invaluable Site Manager, writes about the wonders of our summer interns:
We were contacted last winter by a 2nd year New College History student, Joy Feagan, to see if we would be interested in a summer intern. We had never had that opportunity in the past so we Continue reading
The Historical Society of Sarasota County 