Article courtesy of John Manning

“We got the money for a pier! What do you mean we don’t own any bayfront?”

When you first come to Sarasota it usually doesn’t take long before you’ve seen the City of Sarasota’s Municipal Pier, Bayfront Park & Marina, and Marina Jack restaurant. Scenic, upscale, people- and dog-friendly are all adjectives you can use to describe the area. But it wasn’t always this way. A little history is in order.

Hamilton Disston (Philadelphia, PA) created the Florida Land and Improvement Company (FLIC); and struck a deal with the State of Florida beginning in 1881 to acquire 4 million acres for 25 cents an acre. He wanted to start selling large tracts of land to speculators. One of those tracts (246,052 acres titled to FLIC on June 12, 1883) included our area. But there was a problem. The tract was land-locked. Disston needed access to the bayfront to sell his land at a profit. So, Disston sent John J. Dunne to quietly acquire an outlet to the bayfront. On January 10, 1884 Dunne purchased 94 acres from A.E. Willard for $1,500 in what is now downtown Sarasota.

Disston got his outlet to the bayfront. Then he sold 50,000 acres to the Florida Mortgage & Investment Company (FMIC), a Scottish speculator, in early 1885. In turn FMIC surveyed, laid out and ultimately platted what is now downtown Sarasota. FMIC then sold packages of “a 40-acre farm estate & downtown lot in Sarasota” to mostly Scottish merchants with no experience as farmers for 100 pounds sterling. But there was a problem. None of the “Sarasota package” that the Scots bought into actually existed when they arrived here (December 28, 1885). There wasn’t even a pier to step onto from the ship. But that’s a story for another time.

Meanwhile, the deathly ill, on-site “Sarasota” manager for FMIC, A.C. Acton, went about building a oarding house (“Sarasota House”) & a wooden pier at the end of “Main Street.” By the end of March 1886, those projects were completed. Just in time for Acton to be replaced by the son of the president of FMIC (J. Hamilton Gillespie) in April 1886. Acton died six months later.

Sarasota got its first dependable, regular connection with the outside world with the arrival of the Mistletoe steamer out of Tampa (October 7,1895). The U.S. government had completed dredging channels directly from Tampa to Sarasota (1895) allowing for profitable runs between them. Future commissioner and mayor Harry Higel bought the pier from FMIC for $1,500; and became the Mistletoe’s first local agent.

In 1905, Higel offered to sell the pier to the town for what he originally paid. He was turned down. Five years later (1910) Higel again offered to sell the pier to the town for $5,000. Again, he was turned down. Higel then sold the pier to the Hover brothers (Lima, OH) in 1911 for $12,500. The Hovers made improvements to the pier and built the two-story Hover Arcade at the pier’s entrance.

In 1916 the city of Sarasota acquired the arcade building for $40,000. When Sarasota County was founded in 1921 its first offices were in the Arcade. After the Sara de Soto pageant (March 22-26, 1916) the citizens of Sarasota wanted a pier for entertainment uses. So, a bond referendum for $18,000 was passed (September 5, 1916) to build a pier. But there was a problem. The city only had 20 feet of bayfront which wasn’t large enough to build a pier. So, another bond referendum for $40,000 was passed (March 6, 1917) to buy the Hovers’ pier and arcade. Sarasota finally had a municipal pier!

Four years later the hurricane of October 24-25, 1921 wrecked the bayfront and the wooden pier. Yet another bond referendum in 1924 for $75,000 for a concrete pier. C’est la “very expensive” vie.

In September 1950 the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce proposed that Broadway Ave. (now North Tamiami Trail) be connected to Gulfstream Avenue. The Sarasota city commissioners wanted to beautify and show off the bayfront hoping to impress visitors to return and/or become property owners. The plan was to take a piece of the Luke Wood Park and reroute the expanded, 4-lane US 41 from Main Street through a new Bayfront Drive. Many, including world respected architects, voiced their disapproval to the plan citing it would cut off the city from Sarasota Bay. But to no avail. The city commission pushed ahead. Property owners along Gulfstream Ave. sued the city claiming they had riparian rights to the land. Dredge and fill work began in late 1957 and continued through litigation. The property owners’ litigation failed. Bayfront Drive was opened on February 1, 1959.

Next the Sarasota city commissioners wanted a public (city as lessor) – private (business as lessee) arrangement creating a “world-class marina” that would include a restaurant, shops, snack bar and 143 boat slips. A marina basin was created by dredging & filling a “rabbit-legged”, 11-acre peninsula which connected to the newly expanded mainland south of the pier. The peninsula was called Island Park; and finished in February 1964. The restaurant, shops, snack bar (now O’Leary’s Tiki Bar & Grill), updated pier, and marine facilities were leased to Marina Mar, Inc. on July 23, 1964. The Hover Arcade was demolished in 1967. But there was a problem. Marina Mar, Inc. defaulted on its lease on September 1967; and the property fell into a state of disrepair.

Enter car dealer and Holiday Inn owner Jack Graham from Effingham, IL to the rescue. Jack Graham, Inc. (JGI) made a deal with the city and assumed tenancy (from temporary tenant Gulf Oil Co.) on October 28, 1968. The deal was that Jack Graham, Inc. would not pay any taxes on the property (tax exemption) because Marina Jack was designated “a public good for the city.” Those city commissioners knew how to drive a hard bargain.

In early January 2009 the city and Marina Jack’s signed a new lease. Marina Jack would pay 3% of what it earns in rent – still no taxes. Yes, those city commissioners really knew how to drive a hard bargain.

On July 25, 2012 the Sarasota County Property Appraiser (Bill Furst) announced it had reached a settlement with Jack Graham, Inc. & the City of Sarasota over the tax exemption. The settlement had Jack Graham Inc. paying 50% of any future tax assessments and $250,00 in back taxes. Masterful negotiations. On September 27, 2016 Marina Jack merged with Suntex Marinas (Dallas, TX).

And that’s the short story of Sarasota’s Municipal Pier, Bayfront Park and Marina Jack.

John Manning is author of The Whimsical History Corner, A place where curious aspects of Sarasota County history are explored . This article was first published by The Friends of Sarasota History Center in their spring newsletter, 2023.