From a one-horse farming town to the thriving winter residence of the Ringling Brothers Circus and flocks of snowbirds. Sarasota has more than its fair share of unusual stories and intriguing individuals. Learn about the illustrious John Ringling, from the details of his daily breakfast to the fifty-five year saga that determined his final resting place. Find out the real identity of A NO. 1, the King of Hobos, who spent a night in Sarasota's finest hotel. Witness the most memorable wedding in Sarasota- between two gorillas. Join longtime resident and historian Jeff LaHurd as he chronicles the fascinating, forgotten stories that made Sarasota the exceptional city it is today.

Sarasota, a charming and unique city on the Gulf Coast, is still a small town in many ways. Today there are simply many more neighborhoods. This volume focuses on attractions, culture, and community from the 1940s to the present. Sarasota has many attractions besides beautiful beaches and boating waterways, including Mote Marine Laboratory, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, and the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, to name just a few. The Sarasota Opera House, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, the West Coast Symphony, the Sarasota Ballet, and several small theaters contribute to this cultural mecca. During the time period covered here, hundreds of churches, schools, civic organizations, art colonies, and retirement homes have developed. Investors and entrepreneurs have greatly impacted the area, changing the architectural landscape, especially during the last 10 years, when development has had the most impact on the city skyline.

This book chronicles the history of Sarasota, Florida's African American community - Newtown - that celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2014. It answers questions about many aspects of community life: why the earliest African Americans who came to Sarasota, then a tiny fishing village, first settled in areas near downtown called -Black Bottom- and -over town;- their transition from there to Newtown; how they developed Newtown from swampland into a self-contained community to ensure their own survival during the Jim Crow era; the ways they earned a living, what self-help organizations they formed; their religious and educational traditions; residents' military service, the strong emphasis placed on education; how they succeeded in gaining political representation after filing a federal lawsuit; and much more. Newtown residents fought for civil rights, endured and triumphed over Jim Crow segregation, suffered KKK intimidation and violence, and currently are resisting the stealthy gentrification of their community. Whether you are new to the area, a frequent visitor, an educator, historian or a longtime resident trying to connect the dots in your family tree, you will find these stories of courage, dignity and determination enlightening and empowering!

The years: 1941 to 1966. The place: Sarasota, Florida. The story: a sudden burst of fresh, innovative houses by a group of Americans who caught the imagination of the international architectural community. Inflected by local climate, construction practices, regional culture, and Florida life-style, the work of the Sarasota school of architecture—founded by Ralph Twitchell and counting Paul Rudolph, Mark Hampton, Victor Lundy, and Gene Leedy among its practitioners—marks a high point in the development of regional modernism in American architecture. Although the Sarasota school wasn't a consciously organized movement, it was an important chapter in American modernism that, unlike the earlier Bay Area school and Chicago school, has received little study or published scholarly treatment. John Howey, who practices architecture in the region, provides the first solid documentation of the Sarasota group's designs and theories. He has interviewed all of the surviving architects and original clients and has included a rich archive of photographs by Ezra Stoller, Alexandra Georges, and others whose views, particularly of the houses built between 1950 and 1960, gained world-wide exposure when they were first published forty years ago. Howey first investigates the early influences on the Sarasota group, particularly of Frank Lloyd Wright in Florida. He then discusses such pivotal events as the opening of Ralph Twitchell's office in 1936 and the arrival of Paul Rudolph in 1941. Later chapters illustrate the effect of World War II on the Sarasota architects; early postwar successes of Twitchell and Rudolph; the influences of the Bauhaus and International Style; the tendency of various Sarasota architects to create their own design directions the arrival of Victor Lundy in 1954; the effect of changing economic, social, and political agendas on Sarasota's culture; and the philosophy and results of the Sarasota school.

Discover the growth and transformation of Sarasota, Florida from deserted land of milk and honey to the thriving, charming community it is today. Sarasota, Florida was not always the thriving urban community that residents know today. This popular tourist destination on the Gulf Coast began its course of modern development with the Homestead Act of 1862 and a promise to the inhabitants of Scotland that the land awaiting them in Florida was one of milk and honey where gold grew on trees. Little did the first settlers know that within a hundred years the deserted land they then called home would transform itself not only into a bustling real estate and tourism hub, but also into a charming community with a personality all its own. From the 1920s to the 1960s, the Gulf Coast town was described as a community where no one was a stranger. In the 1920s, however, a clairvoyant full-page ad in the Sarasota Herald predicted, Sarasota's Growth Cannot Be Stopped. Indeed it couldn't. Sarasota soon became nationally known for its connection to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, its famous art museum, and its celebration of modern architecture. A long time resident of Sarasota, Florida, Jeff LaHurd's ninth published work is his most comprehensive account of Sarasota's history to date. In this precise exploration of the city's history, LaHurd masterfully chronicles the lives lived and the fluctuating growth of Sarasota.

Ken Thompson served as Sarasota's city manager from 1950 to 1988, making him the longest-serving manager in United States history. During these years, Sarasota experienced a population explosion and an unprecedented modernization of city services. The city moved from a sleepy little town to an independent city with an identifiable economy. This period of growth gave residents a vastly improved bayfront that included Island Park and the Marina Jack development and saw the creation of the current city hall and the Van Wetzel Theater. In thirty-eight years, Sarasota moved from the Circus City to the multifaceted city it is today. Follow well-known Sarasota historian Jeff LaHurd as he recounts the sometimes controversial era of Sarasota's greatest growth.