Sarasota, Florida
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Sarasota, already having that name when first settled by those of European descent in the late 1840s, was incorporated as a town in 1902 with John Hamilton Gillespie as mayor. It was replatted in 1912 and incorporated as a city in 1913. Sarasota is on the central west coast of Florida, USA. The city form of government last adopted has a city manager and council format. Its official limits include Sarasota Bay and several barrier islands—some natural and some artificial—locally called keys, facing the Gulf of Mexico. The coast of the Sarasota area also is known for its beaches, the most famous being on Siesta Key, Lido Key, and Longboat Key. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 52,715. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 54,349 [1]. The city is a principal of the Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the county seat for Sarasota County which was formed in 1921.GR6
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[edit] History
[edit] Prehistorical data
Fifteen thousand years ago, when humans first settled in Florida, the Gulf of Mexico was one hundred miles to the west. The accompanying graphic depicts the ancient shoreline in light blue. In this time period, hunting and gathering was the primary means of subsistence. This could only take place in areas where water sources existed for hunter and prey alike. Deep springs and catchment basins, such as Warm Mineral Springs, were close enough to the Sarasota area to provide camp sites, but not enough for permanent settlements. A more welcoming climate advanced southward in Florida as the Pleistocene glaciers began to melt and sea levels began rising the 350 feet necessary to provide the current shoreline.
Archaeological research in Sarasota documents more than ten thousand years of seasonal occupation by native peoples. For five thousand years while the current sea level existed, harvesting the bounty of Sarasota Bay was the primary source of protein. Europeans began to explore the area in the early 1500s. The first recorded contact was in 1513, when a Spanish expedition landed at Charlotte Harbor, just to the south. When the natives encountered the Spaniards, they insulted them in Spanish before a preemptive attack. Apparently, some of their members had enough contact previously with the Spaniards to learn the language and—not to trust them.
[edit] Early history of the area - to Bertha Palmer
Sarasota Bay is the region's greatest natural asset. Bertha Palmer (the region's largest landholder, rancher, and developer at the turn of the twentieth century) touted it as being as beautiful as the bay of Naples when she established Sarasota as a fashionable location for winter retreats and tourists. At that time, sports fishing was a great draw and it continued to attract visitors until over-fishing depleted the amazing fish, such as giant gar and tarpon, living in the bay.
One of the earliest pioneer locations preserved in the Sarasota Bay area, is Historic Spanish Point, where Bertha Palmer made her winter residence on land originally homesteaded by the Webb family at what they called, "Spanish Point". She retained most of their structures and greatly expanded the settlement. The pioneer site has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Historic Spanish Point and is open to the public for a fee. Tours of the 30-acre site explore the natural history and human occupation of through archaeology, historic preservation, and reenactment of some typical pioneer activities of a homestead family along Sarasota Bay.
In 1867 the Webb family met a Spanish trader in Key West who told them about a high bluff of land on Sarasota Bay that would be a good location for a new homestead. Upon settling, they named the homestead "Spanish Point" in honor of the trader. Massive shell mounds, called middens, indicate that the land had been settled frequently during the entire prehistoric human occupation of the bay area. A burial mound also is present, where excavators discovered a ceremonially interred alligator. The Webbs had to travel quite a distance for their mail and after almost twenty years, in 1884, John Webb finally petitioned for a separate postal address for Spanish Point. They chose Osprey as their postal address, since federal regulations required the use of only one word for the new address. A separate town eventually grew around that postal address. Although there is no similar documentation regarding the name of Sarasota, that federal one word rule for postal designations may be the reason that what for so long was two words—Zara Zota or Sara Sota—became Sarasota.
Their homestead site has not been preserved, but William Whitaker, born in Savannah, Georgia in 1821, is the first documented pioneer of European descent in what now is Sarasota. Fishermen, both Cuban and American built fish camps or ranchos along Sarasota Bay, but these were not settlements used throughout the year. After a period of time spent along the Manatee River at the village of Manatee, Whitaker built upon Yellow Bluffs, just north of the present day Eleventh Street. He sold dried fish and roe to Cuban traders working the coast and, eventually, began a cattle business in 1847.
In 1851, he married Mary Jane Wyatt, a member of a pioneer family that settled the village of Manatee, and they raised eleven children on Yellow Bluffs despite the hardships faced by solitary pioneers and even, a raid that destroyed their home by a formerly friendly Seminole chief, Holata Micco, dubbed Billy Bowlegs, after whom Bowlees Creek may have been named. The Whitakers rebuilt and prospered. When the Webbs arrived looking for the bluff described to them along Sarasota Bay, it was Bill Whitaker who knew just where it was, and led them to the site farther south on the bay where the Webb settlement is preserved as Spanish Point.
Condominium development in the last two decades of the 1900s scraped away all evidence of the Whitaker settlement along the bay. To the east of Tamiami Trail, however, their family cemetery remains on property owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution, adjacent to a city park that now is called Pioneer Park. Recently historic buildings, the Crocker Church and the Bidwell-Wood House, have become city property after several amazing moves during attempts to preserve them. These two structures, that are listed on the National and Local Registers of Historic Places, have been relocated to this park—finally finding a refuge from the bulldozers of developers—although not without controversy, from neighbors who objected to the loss of any park area.
Women have played a significant role in the development of Sarasota, or at least, contrary to many communities, the history of Sarasota has documented their roles very publicly. Bertha Palmer was not so unusual here, the McClellan sisters were the developers of the subdivision, McClellan Park, that bears their name. It is one of the most significant and successful neighborhoods south of downtown. Many other examples may be found by exploring the county records at the Sarasota History Center.
[edit] 1920s boom time begins with a county designation
When first settled, Sarasota was designated as part of Hillsboro County. It later became designated as part of Manatee County when that new county was created. In 1921 Sarasota County was carved out of Manatee County, which then extended south from the natural southern boundary of Tampa Bay. The new county distinguished the booming Sarasota Bay area and its keys, that had been identified clearly on maps since the early 1700s—then spelled Zarazote—and extended inland. Sarasota, incorporated with a city government in 1913, was designated as the seat of the new county that would bear the same name.
Although the city limits of Sarasota were reduced to facilitate the new county boundary, residents of unincorporated areas continued to identify themselves as Sarasotans. The cultural identification of Sarasota extended north to Bowlees Creek, understandably since the creek, a natural barrier, is located half way between the "towns" of Sarasota and Bradenton. It was the next "town" to the north from Sarasota and its official boundary is north of Cortez Road. That was a great distance in the early 1920s and hence, Sarasota remains as the long established postal identification of those homes north of the new county line and south of the creek.
Within the new Sarasota County, other communities incorporated and grew into distinctive towns and cities. Some communities, such as Overtown, Indian Beach, Bay Haven, Bee Ridge, and Fruitville—all but faded from the memory of most, as metropolitan areas grew beyond them. Overtown expanded to include what is now designated as the historic Rosemary District and Newtown.
Sarasota's most notable attraction is the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the state art museum for Florida designed by John H. Phillips and completed in 1929. It is located on the expansive bay side estate where Cà d'Zan, the winter home of Mable and John Ringling designed by Dwight James Baum, was built by Owen Burns in 1925. A portion of Cà d'Zan is shown in the lead photograph for this article. Owen Burns was a large land holder in Sarasota and one of its most significant developers because of his diverse skills, promotion of the community, encouragement of investments through banking, and civic concerns. Cà d'Zan was restored in 2002 under the direction of Francis J. Bill Puig during his tenure as curator of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Several decades after the historic buildings, a separate museum devoted to the Ringling Brothers Circus also was founded on the estate. The circus museum has been greatly expanded, opening a new building in 2006. All are open to the public for a fee and museum figures indicate that 500,000 people tour the site each year.
The Mable and John Ringling estate was developed upon property that had been part of the Shell Beach subdivision platted by Mary Louise and Charles N. Thompson in 1895. The Thompson home was the first residence on the property. Mable and John spent their winter stays in that house from 1911. Along with being a land developer, Thompson was a manager with another circus, who had interested several members of the Ringling family in Sarasota as a winter retreat as well as for investments in land.
First, the Alf T. Ringling family settled in the Whitfield Estates area with extensive land holdings. The families of Charles and John followed, living farther to the south. Soon, children and members of the extended family increased the presence of the Ringling family in Sarasota. Ringling Brothers Circus established its winter home in Sarasota during 1919 following the death of Alf T., Charles Ringling assuming many of his duties. Charles Thompson had joined the staff of the Ringling Brothers circus when it began to purchase smaller or failing ones, to operate them separately. In 1919 these holdings were consolidated into one huge circus—billed as "the greatest show on Earth". There were now only two of the original five founding brothers alive, but members of their families continued to participate in the business or serve on the board of directors. Performers and staff members began to settle in Sarasota and the legacy of the Ringling Circus would be interwoven, forever, with the community.
Sarasota was ready for the boom that began following the end of World War One. It now had people flooding into it—for jobs, for investment, and for the chic social milieu burgeoning in discovery of new destinations and lifestyles.
[edit] Shell Beach jewels on Sarasota Bay
Later, on adjacent parcels of Shell Beach where Ellen and Ralph Caples built their winter retreat, Mable and John Ringling built their compound that would soon include the museum, and Edith and Charles Ringling built a compound that included a home for their daughter, Hester Ringling Landcaster Sandford. The next large Shell Beach parcel, immediately to the north, passed between Ellen Caples, Mable and John Ringling and a few others several times without development until 1947 as the Uplands. Some other historic names associated with that parcel are, Bertha Potter Palmer, her sons Lockwood and Honore, and A. B. Edwards, whose names are featured as familiar street names. The tract abutting that parcel was replatted in 1925 as Seagate, where Gwendolyn and Powel Crosley built their winter retreat in 1929. All of these historic homes and the museum have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The now-historic neighborhood of Indian Beach Sapphire Shores grew immediately to the south of the area where these grand homes were built on the bay. Sapphire Shores provided homes to the professionals and retirees who wished to be, or were, closely associated with these wealthiest residents of the community. Indian Beach, which had been a separate community at one time, even contained pioneer homes that persisted among the fashionable new homes built in the boom era of the 1920s.
[edit] Charles Ringling as developer
Charles Ringling invested in land, developed property and founded a bank; he also participated in Sarasota's civic life. He donated land for the newly-formed county to build its government offices and courthouse. Ringling Boulevard is named for him. That winding road led east from Tamiami Trail toward the winter circus headquarters and crosses Washington Boulevard where Charles Ringling built the Sarasota Terrace Hotel, a high-rise in the Chicago style of architecture, opposite the site he would donate for the county seat. The hotel and the courthouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Charles Ringling devoted a great deal of time advising others about beginning new businesses in order to help Sarasota advance.
Charles died in 1926, just after the gracious home Edith and he built, was completed. For decades Edith Ringling remained there and continued her role in the circus and her cultural activities in the community, as did Hester and her sons, who were very active in the theatrical and musical venues in Sarasota. What came to be known internationally as the Edith Ringling Estate is now the home of New College of Florida.
[edit] John Ringling in partnership with Owen Burns
John Ringling invested heavily in the barrier islands, known as keys, which separate the shallow bay from the Gulf of Mexico. He worked in partnership with Owen Burns to develop the keys through a corporation named, Ringling Isles Estates. To facilitate development of these holdings a bridge was built to the islands by his partner, Owen Burns, and eventually donated to the city for the government to maintain. They named that route, John Ringling Boulevard. Dredge and fill created even more dry land to develop. Winter residents, called snowbirds, flocked to purchase the seasonal homes marketed to the well to do.
[edit] Leading edge of the crash
The roaring twenties ended early for Sarasota. Florida was the first area in the United States affected by the financial problems that eventually lead to the Great Depression. 1926 was the beginning of that collapse of speculation in Florida, much earlier than most parts of the country. John Ringling initially profited from the problems of others. After having put his partner, Owen Burns, into bankruptcy by raiding the treasury of their corporation for use on another project that was failing, he purchased the landmark, El Vernona Hotel, at a fraction of its worth from Burns, who had named it after his wife. Eventually however, John Ringling too, lost most of his fortune. Shortly after the June 1929 death of his wife, Mable, his reversal began. He purchased several other circuses with hopes of combining them with the existing circus and selling shares on the stock exchange, just before the market crashed. He continued to invest in expensive artwork, but grand projects, such as a Ritz hotel on one of the barrier islands, were left unfinished. Plans for an art school as an adjunct to the museum were abandoned, although he lent his name to another art school being established by others in Sarasota. The board of the circus removed John Ringling and placed another director, Samuel Gumpertz, in charge of that corporation. By the time of his death in 1936, John Ringling also was close to bankruptcy. His estate was saved only because he had willed it and his art collection to the state and, that his nephew, John Ringling North, struggled for years to keep that legacy intact.
[edit] Sarasota emerges as a cultural center
Sarasota began to acquire a reputation as an artists' colony in the early 1920s. In the years that followed, artists of many disciplines, including writers, performers, musicians, and architects, have been attracted to the community. Sarasota is the home of Florida West Coast Symphony, founded by Ruth Cotton Butler in 1949, and its famous Sarasota Music Festival which draws students, musicians, professors, and lovers of chamber music from around the world for a three-week event of international importance; Sarasota Ballet; Sarasota Opera; Florida Studio Theater, The Sarasota Players; and numerous other musical, dance, artistic, and theatrical venues.
In 1926 A. B. Edwards built a versatile theater that could be adapted for vaudeville or as a movie house. In the early 1950s an entire historic Italian theater, the Asolo, was purchased for the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art—to be rebuilt for performances of plays and opera—by A. Everett "Chick" Austin, the first director of the museum. The theater was built in 1798 and disassembled during the 1930s. Adolph Loewi, a Venetian collector and dealer, purchased the theater and stored it in his personal collection until the purchase and shipment to Sarasota for the museum. Later the theater was used for a burgeoning foreign film club that eventually expanded and built its own theater at Burns Court near downtown Sarasota. In the 1960s the Van Wezels made it possible for the city government to build a signature performing arts hall on the bay front that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin team under the direction of his wife, Olga (Olgivanna) Lazovich Hinzenburg, who selected the distinctive, purple sunset color. Later, Stuart Barger designed and oversaw the construction of another Asolo. It is a multi-theater complex, farther east on the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art property, built around a rococo, historic Scottish theater, that was shipped overseas also. The new complex provides several other venues—traditional and experimental—as well as offices and study facilities for students of Florida State University's theater arts and film program.
The city has annually hosted the Sarasota Film Festival since 1998. The festival attracts independent films from around the world, and has become one of Florida's largest film festivals.
The community also is renowned as the home of the Sarasota School of Architecture, a variant of mid-century modernist architecture incorporating elements of both the Bauhaus and Wright's "organic" architecture. The Sarasota School developed as an adaptation to the area's sub-tropical climate, using newly emerging materials manufactured or implemented following World War II. Philip Hiss was the driving force of this movement.
Fellow architects in the adaptive designs were Paul Rudolph and Ralph Twitchell. The second generation of the school includes Gene Leedy, Jack West, Victor Lundy, Mark Hampton, James Holiday, Ralph Zimmerman, as well as several who still practice in the community, William Zimmerman; Carl Abbott, Edward J. "Tim" Seibert, and Frank Folsom Smith.
Rudolph's Florida houses attracted attention in the architectural community, and he started receiving commissions for larger works such as the Jewett Art Center at Wellesley College.
He took over the school of architecture at Yale in 1958, shortly after designing the school's building, and stayed for six years until he returned to private practice.
One of Paul Rudolph's largest Sarasota projects, Riverview High School, which is shown at right, currently is threatened with demolition by the county school board even though many members of the community, architects, historic preservationists, and urban planners are protesting their plans for demolition.
Rudolph's renowned work is admired among the international arts community and disdain has been expressed that demolition is being sought in plans to replace the buildings with a parking lot.
Asked for his knowledge of the international opinion regarding the plans during a public meeting in January of 2007 in Sarasota, Andres Duany stated that Sarasota would lose its own stature as a center for the arts, if the community allows the demolition. The historic building is the main structure in the school complex and includes a planetarium. Plans exist to place Riverview High School on the National Trust for Historic Preservation list of the most endangered historic structures in the United States, America's Most Endangered Places.
Three months later, following a March 2007 charrette led by the Trust for Historic Preservation, a proposal was advanced that would preserve the buildings and the school board has stated that they will allow a year to consider implementation. See the article for the school for more details.
Sarasota is home to Mote Marine Laboratory, a premier marine rescue, research, and aquarium; Marie Selby Botanical Gardens with its renowned orchid collection; G-Wiz Museum, a science museum of hands on-appeal to children of all ages; Sarasota Jungle Gardens, which carries on early tourist attraction traditions; as well as many historic sites and neighborhoods.
Colleges in Sarasota include New College of Florida, a highly acclaimed public liberal arts college which serves as the honors college for the state; Keiser College of Sarasota, a private college offering majors in high-demand fields, Ringling School of Art and Design, a school of visual arts and design; and a satellite campus of both Eckerd College (based in St. Petersburg, Florida) and University of South Florida (based in Tampa, Florida). Several two-year colleges include Sarasota County Technical Institute and Manatee Community College.
[edit] Historic sites in Sarasota
For such a small community, Sarasota has many historic sites. The official list is growing constantly as residents realize the value of preserving their built environment and explore their local history.
Although many of the oldest modest structures built in Sarasota have been lost to the wrecking ball, the concentration of the most significant luxurious historic residences built during the 1920s boom period along the northern shore of Sarasota Bay have survived. This string of homes, built on extremely large parcels of high land along the widest point of the bay, is anchored by the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art at its center.
Many of the distinct Sarasota neighborhoods are beginning to establish historic districts ahead of pressure for redevelopment. A surprising number of eligible structures remain and encouragement to preserve is increasing.
The following list includes some of the Sarasota sites that have been registered as historic to date.
- American National Bank Building
- Appleby Building
- Atlantic Coast Line Passenger Depot
- Bacheller-Brewer Model Home Estate
- Bacon and Tomlin, Inc.
- Bay Haven School
- Bee Ridge Woman's Club
- Bidwell-Wood House
- Frank and Matilda Binz House
- Bispham-Wilson Historic District
- Blalock House
- William J. Burns House
- Burns Court Historic District
- Burns Realty Company-Karl Bickel House
- Caples and Ringling Estates Historic District
- Ellen and Ralph Caples residence
- John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
- John and Mable Ringling residence, Cà d'Zan
- Edith and Charles Ringling residence
- Hester Ringling Landcaster Sanford residence
- Casa Del Mar
- Central-Cocoanut Historic District
- City Waterworks
- Corrigan House
- Crisp Building
- Crocker Church
- F.A. DeCanizares House
- DeMarcay Hotel
- Earle House
- Edwards Theatre
- El Patio Apartments
- El Vernona Apartments-Broadway Apartments
- El Vernona Hotel-John Ringling Hotel
- Field Estate
- Frances-Carlton Apartments
- Dr. Joseph Halton House
- Harding Circle Historic District - on Saint Armand's Key
- House at 507 Jackson Drive
- Edson Keith Estate
- Dr. Walter Kennedy House
- S. H. Kress Building
- Hilton Leech House and Amagansett Art School
- Levillain-Letton House
- Maine Colony Historic District
- Municipal Auditorium-Recreation Club
- Out of Door School
- Overtown Historic District
- Christy Payne Mansion
- Capt. W. F. Purdy House
- L.D. Reagin House
- Leonard Reid House
- Rigby's La Plaza Historic District
- Rosemary Cemetery
- Roth Cigar Factory
- Sanderling Beach Club
- Sarasota County Courthouse
- Sarasota Herald Building
- Sarasota High School
- Sarasota Times Building
- Sarasota Woman's Club
- George Schueler House
- Seagate
- South Side School
- Southwick-Harmon House
- Thoms House
- U.S. Post Office-Federal Building
- J. G. Whitfield Estate
- H.B. William House
- Dr. C. B. Wilson House
- Worth's Block
[edit] Transportation and broadcasting
The city is home to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (also known by its IATA designation, SRQ) which serves both Manatee and Sarasota counties. That designation was adopted by SRQ Magazine, an informative local magazine and by SRQ Racing, a local automotive community, and is often used by people who identify with the city and area.
The local television affiliates are WWSB, which airs ABC programming, along with a continuous local cable news operation run by Comcast, and Sarasota Herald-Tribune branded as SNN 6. WWSB is the only network with studios in Sarasota. Other network programming is offered by Fort Myers and Tampa television stations.
[edit] Contemporary sports
The warm climate helped the Sarasota area become a mecca for enthusiasts of golf. The Sara Bay course in the Whitfield area was designed by the great golf architect Donald Ross. Many courses dot the area, including the one originally laid out for the hotel John Ringling planned on the southern tip of Longboat Key.
Sarasota also is home to Ed Smith Stadium, where the Cincinnati Reds, Cincinnati's major league baseball MLB team, trains in spring for the upcoming season, and is home to the minor league Sarasota Reds.
Additionally, Sarasota is the location of the annual UPA ultimate frisbee national tournament.
[edit] News items
- Sarasota's first postmaster, Charles Abbe, was murdered brutally on Siesta Key.
- In 1974, WXLT anchor Christine Chubbuck committed suicide during a live television broadcast.
- In 1991, actor Paul Reubens was arrested for lewd conduct in an adult movie theater by county sheriffs, which ultimately led to the demise of his then-popular persona "Pee-Wee Herman".
- Sarasota was where the murder of Nancy Campbell-Panitz took place in 2000.
- On September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush was in Sarasota when the World Trade Center was attacked by terrorists. He was at Emma E. Booker Elementary School at the time.
- Sarasota was the location of the Carlie Brucia kidnapping in 2004.
[edit] Geography
Sarasota is located at (27.337273, -82.535318).GR1
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 67.2 km² (25.9 mi²). 38.6 km² (14.9 mi²) of it is land and 28.6 km² (11.0 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 42.58% water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 52,715 people, 23,427 households, and 12,064 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,366.9/km² (3,539.8/mi²). There were 26,898 housing units at an average density of 697.5/km² (1,806.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.91% White, 16.02% African American, 0.35% Native American, 1.02% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.74% from other races, and 1.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.92% of the population.
There were 23,427 households out of which 19.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.3% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.5% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the city the population was spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,077, and the median income for a family was $40,398. Males had a median income of $26,604 versus $23,510 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,197. About 12.4% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.5% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Sister cities
Hamilton, Ontario 1990 (http://www.sarasotasistercities.org/Hamilton.html)
Perpignan, France 1994 (http://www.sarasotasistercities.org/Perpignan.html)
Tel Mond, Israel 1994 (http://www.sarasotasistercities.org/Tel_mond.html)
Vladimir, Russia 1994 (http://www.sarasotasistercities.org/Vladimir.html)
Dunfermline, Scotland 2002 (http://www.sarasotasistercities.org/Dunfermline.html)
Treviso, Italy Feb. 2007 (http://www.sarasotasistercities.org/Treviso.html)
Xiamen, Fujian Province, China Pending (http://www.sarasotasistercities.org/Siming_district.html)
[edit] References
- Jennings, David, A Tale of Two Commissions, Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation, Inc. Newsletter February 2005, volume twenty, number two, Box 1754, Sarasota, Florida 34230 - with illustrations of Crocker Church and Bidwell-Wood House by Kafi Benz
- LaHurd, Jeff, Sarasota, A History, The History Press, Charleston, South Carolina, IBSSN 1-59629-119-2
[edit] External links
- Sarasota Herald Tribune Local News
- City of Sarasota official site
- Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce
- SRQ Magazine
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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