Alligators in Virginia

By |2021-08-03T18:52:20+00:00August 3rd, 2021|Blog|

At the end of June, my husband and I took a road trip to assist some elderly family with moving. We planned some stops along the way to eat lunch and stretch our legs. One stop, in particular, piqued my interest before we even left Sarasota: The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia. Inside the hotel is a marble-clad restaurant called "Lemaire". I perused the menu, discovering the [...]

Mimi’s Number Three: The Orange Blossom Hotel/American National Bank

By |2019-09-02T13:37:09+00:00September 2nd, 2019|Blog|

Orange Blossom Hotel postcard from Mimi's personal collection. When we first discussed doing this blog series, I knew this building had to be on my list. It's one of those historic buildings that make Sarasota feel like home. I've driven past it countless times. Stared up at it in wonder.  Designed by Francis Palmer Smith (no relation to Bertha Palmer) in a neo-Classical style, and [...]

The Glass Blowers

By |2019-07-09T02:02:10+00:00May 22nd, 2019|Uncategorized|

There's no doubt that Sarasota has changed. Anyone that has lived here in the last 10 years has seen rapid growth and development, and I must say that there are parts of this town that feel like foreign lands compared to how they looked in my childhood. These changes intrigue me because I know that people remarked how different Sarasota was from their own childhoods when I [...]

The Motor Hotel Mystery

By |2019-05-06T18:03:39+00:00May 6th, 2019|Blog|

Demolition of Sea Breeze Inn My daily commute includes the North Trail. Everyday I watch as the iconic mid-century motels meet their demise. I understand that these buildings are dilapidated, but it still hurts my history nerd heart to see them go. I had been attempting to write a blog post to honor the era of the motels, but I was having a difficult time [...]

Barbara Bowers: The Face of 50s Sarasota Tourism

By |2019-04-26T11:46:09+00:00April 26th, 2019|Blog|

A while back, I was perusing Florida Memory (a service of the state's Division of Library and Information Services), and a bubbly blonde woman in a 1950s Barbie-esque bathing suit was gleaming at me. Her name: Barbara Bowers. Barbara Bowers poses with a beach ball on Lido Beach - Sarasota, Florida. 1954. (Photo courtesy of Florida Memory.) Maybe it was her impeccably coiffed hair. Maybe [...]

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