Well Platted

The Birth of Venice

Even before the land boom hit Sarasota, world-renowned orthopedic surgeon Fred Albee saw the potential for development in Nokomis and Venice.

11/03/2025 By Jeff LaHurd

Black History

In the 1920s, Sarasota Was Small, Southern and Segregated

But the very inequities meant to contain the Black community spurred a parallel world—self-sustaining, rooted and determined to endure.

11/03/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Going Up

Sarasota's Skyline Rose in Stucco and Barrel Tile

The results left Sarasota with a built environment that was theatrical and forever marked by the speculative optimism that evaporated when the boom went bust in 1926.

11/03/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Still Standing

Take a Self-Guided Tour to See These Favorite 1920s Downtown Sarasota Landmarks

Despite the ever-changing skyline, there's still plenty of historic architecture to admire.

11/03/2025

The 1920s

The Land Boom Decade That Changed Sarasota Forever

Promises of paradise, get-rich-quick promotions, buying, developing and reselling are the threads that weave throughout the entirety of the Sunshine State’s history, including Sarasota’s.

11/03/2025 By Jeff LaHurd

Ringling Renaissance

The Historic Charles Ringling Building Has Transformed Into Venue 1927

Led by restaurateur Rafael Arguelles, the 1926 Charles Ringling Building will reopen in December as an event space.

10/21/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Mira Max

Sarasota City Commission OKs 18-Story Mira Mar Project

The unanimous vote allows for two 18-story residential condo towers and new retail, restaurant and office space to rise on Palm Avenue. The developer will also restore the historic Mira Mar Plaza.

07/08/2025 By Staff

Flashback

Photo: Sarasota Sun-Debs, 1949

Photographer Joseph Janney Steinmetz captured this scene that year, which shows a ballet instructor giving the Sun-Debs a movement lesson on the sunny shores of Lido Beach.

07/03/2025 By Megan McDonald

Nice Ness

A Historic Sarasota School Home on Siesta Key Hits the Market

Listed at $5.3 million, this poured-concrete Sarasota School original sits on the edge of Heron Lagoon, offering seamless indoor-outdoor living.

06/18/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Talking Walls

A New Mural of Irene and Lewis Colson Is Part of Sarasota's New 'Call for Walls' Initiative

The new initiative brings murals—and local history—into the heart of city neighborhoods, one wall at a time.

06/12/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Wild Times

How a Bizarre Promotional Gimmick Changed Local Radio

“We were such idiots. What you heard on the radio? We were that dumb.”

06/02/2025 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Mira Mar 2.0

Sarasota City Commission Clears the Way for an 18-Story Mixed-Use Project to Move Forward

After hours of presentations from the applicant, opponents and public comment, commissioners unanimously approved a comprehensive plan amendment at yesterday's legislative meeting.

05/20/2025 By Kim Doleatto

History's Here

Check Out the Winners of This Year’s Sarasota County Heritage Awards

The winners are champions of local historic preservation and adaptive reuse, historical research, archaeological conservancy and more.

05/13/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Calendar Girls

How Sarasota Artist Gil Elvgren Helped Define the Pin-Up Aesthetic

Elvgren lived and worked on Siesta Key from the 1950s until his death in 1980.

04/14/2025 By Clayton Trutor

Maine Attraction

How a Fixer Upper in South Sarasota Was Converted Into a Historic Treasure

Located at 2525 Ashton Road, it’s nestled in a neighborhood with deep local roots: the Maine Colony Historic District, which came to be around 1916.

04/01/2025 By Kim Doleatto

History Now

With New Land Deal, Sarasota African American Cultural Center Moves Closer to Becoming Reality

City of Sarasota commissioners approved an "option to purchase" deal this week, paving the way for the long-awaited museum and arts hub.

03/06/2025 By Kim Doleatto

At the Movies

Flashback: 'Honky Tonk Freeway' Set, 1980

A critical and box office failure at the time of its 1981 release, the comedy "Honky Tonk Freeway," which was partly filmed in Sarasota, is due for reappraisal.

03/06/2025 By Cooper Levey-Baker