Some old pictures of the Sarasota area... (Miami, Tampa: sale, construction)

[Niblets]

Originally Posted by On-da-Beach

Sir Graves Ghastly... what did I win???
Once again, GREAT POST!!

I thought it was Dr. Paul Bearer.

[Niblets]

I absolutely loved seeing these old photographs. Thank you. I'll dig around and see if I have a few to contribute.

Living in Sarasota from the early 1940s on was very special to me. The old aerial photo of Siesta Key before development brought back fond memories. My aunt and uncle owned Whispering Sands going back to the 1930s. Mrs. Hook sold it to them and built a house across the bayou on a large parcel of land she owned. It was later named Sandy Hook and residences were built there. We used to take canoes over there and it was teaming with wildlife. I'll never forget meeting Lex Barker who played Tarzan at the Inn. I was in awe as I used to watch movies on Saturday at the Ritz Theater down town. Many famous people stayed at the Inn as it was very private.

You could drive the entire length of Siesta Key without seeing a vehicle. I went to the Out-Of-Door School, now the Academy, in the late 1940s to early 1950s. Mr. Packard was our riding instructor and my horse was Topsy. We rode down the shell road behind the school (Higel I think), across and hump- backed bridge near Palm Island and to where Siesta Beach is now. Then we rode, sometimes in the water, to where the Terrace condo now stands and down to the Village. We tied our horses up in a field next to the Beach Club and bought chewing gum and sodas across the street at the Sundries. Then down to Treasure Boat Way, back to Higel, and back to the stables. When we weren't riding our horses we were sailing prams in the Pass and swimming. Classes were often held outside under the Banyan trees. We were taking French and Greek mythology in the 4th grade.

As an avid diver I remember when Bird Key was dredged up and how the whole underwater ecology changed. Sarasota was changing. Arvida and other large developers were moving in. Before Bird Key's development our Out-Of-Door school bus stopped on the island to let out John Ringling North's son at their old mansion. I was the only student living on the north side of town. I remember running behind the mosquito fogging truck in my pajamas at night with my brother, sucking in the clouds of DDT. I remember going downtown on Saturdays to get a haircut with my dad at Simmon's Barber Shop near Earnest Sears and knowing practically every person on the sidewalk. I remember being let out of school to be in the movie, The Greatest Show On Earth, and instructed to jump up and scream when the trapeze artist fell. My dad owned land just south of the Art Museum. I would catch rattle snakes in the palmettos there with a wire loop on the end of a pole, put them in a burlap sack, and ride them tied to my handle bars all the way out to Texas Jim Mitchell's Reptile Farm on Fruitville Road. I think I got 10 cents a snake. I never told my mother for obvious reasons.

My father was going to buy beach and bay front acreage on Long Boat Key around 1940. His friends discouraged him saying no one would ever want to live out there in the boondocks. Nothing much was out there. When the Snow Crop orange groves sold out my father bought many lots there and it became South Gate.

Good memories, good times. Some of us were very fortunate to live in Sarasota during those early years.

[Niblets]

Originally Posted by Sunwilt

Does anyone remember the Villa Goodrich hotel?...I remember it from my youth,also The Palmer Bank.

Yes, I remember them both. The bank had a huge scale and I thought it was cool. Across Five Points was Badger's Drugs and another drug store but the name escapes me. Both had soda fountains. Elvis ate at one of them when he played the Florida Theater. There were two department stores (5 and dimes) down the street, McCrory's and Kress's. The Ritz Theater was across from them. My mother called it the Itch House and wouldn't go in. The Florida Theater was okay for her. My friends and I would go to Saturday matinees at the Ritz; Superman, Tarzan, and all the good stuff kids liked. I rode downtown on my bicycle all the time from the Ringling Art Museum. I even rode out to Texas Jim Mithchell's on Fruitville Rd. with my rattlesnakes for sale. He was totally cool; cowboy hat and boots and he milked and handled rattlesnakes and wild animals.

[Sunwilt]

Wow that's when Sarasota was truly a Mayberry type town!
I recall Longboat Key when it was just a wild place with raccoons that walked on your roof at night,also the small cottage rentals before all the high rises ,like The Escape by The Sea...formerly The Blue Heron.

[City__Datarer]

Originally Posted by Foxrivman1

You know, just like BH said, you are amazing, with all you do, and this just speaks volumes about the dedication to detail you show in everything you do!!!

Love the pictures, do you have anything from the sixties on Weeki-Wachee? I know it is out of your area geographically speaking but I went there before disney built in Orlando and thought it was great. Also went to Busch Gardens as I remember in the late sixties as well.

There's an article on Weeki Wachee with a slideshow and also a video in the New York Times today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/07/ma...w.html?hp&_r=0

At a quick glance, I think these are all contemporary photos.

I checked a book out from the Lee county library a few years ago that, if I remember correctly, had many photos probably spanning the history more (compared to this article):

https://libpac.leegov.com/polaris/se...tle.aspx?pos=2 (Weeki Wachee, City of Mermaids). According to online catalog, Charlotte county library has this book too (also both have a number of other books on Weeki Wachee).

SoFLGal, your photos are awesome!!!

[tim hennigan]

Great pics. I have hundreds from Ft. Myers. I originally lived in Bradenton in 1953 & am looking for a pic of the old bridge from Palma Sola to Anna Maria island. Very scary steep wooden bridge in 1953 that all the planks creaked & cracked on when you went over it.

[bbronston]

Originally Posted by tim hennigan

Great pics. I have hundreds from Ft. Myers. I originally lived in Bradenton in 1953 & am looking for a pic of the old bridge from Palma Sola to Anna Maria island. Very scary steep wooden bridge in 1953 that all the planks creaked & cracked on when you went over it.

The Anna Maria Island Historical Society has a Facebook page. You might contact them to see if they have any photos you can use.

[daveedleman]

wow what great pictures, most all of them bring back a memory mostly good some not so good. I have never been a picture taker per say (all in a box somewhere) so sure enjoyed these.

Thank you

[Christopher Bowling]

Donald Roberts Furniture store was also a car dealership at one point. i remember seeing the cars parked in the windows when our family would drive down in the late 70's.

[llennard]

You might be interested in posting pics to Florida Archives.

Also, looking for photo of old Siesta Key Bridge. My grandmother was bridge tender from 1939 until 1963. Her 2nd husband was V.D. Lundy who was bridge tender until his death in 1945. I think he was also a janitor at Brookside. My grandmother was Carrie Carroll Ratliff Lundy Jones (three husbands). She lived in the bridgetender house. I spent many summers with her. I have several newspaper articles about her and photos of interior but not of the bridge intself.

Thanks for any help.