Siesta Key Real Estate
Beach Homes in Sarasota - Barrier Island Real Estate
About Siesta Key
Siesta Key is a beautiful barrier island eight miles
long just offshore of Sarasota, Florida. You will find
it alive with tropical atmosphere, blessed with the world's
finest, whitest beaches, filled with charming hideaways,
and always offering plenty to do - but it is also a place
to relax, and let the warm breezes, cool water and soft
sand transport you to your personal paradise!
The beaches of Siesta Key
are world-renowned. The pure quartz, pulverized to a fine
white powder, has a magical quality. There is no sand quite
like Siesta's anywhere. They are also the island's centers
of social activity - places to meet, to hold reunions,
group picnics, even weddings - or just to stroll, bicycle
or jog with friends.
Currently, 15,000 full time
residents live on the island with another 18,000 "snowbirds" flocking
here for the mild winter months. Residences range from
small rental cottages to waterfront condos and custom private
homes.
History
of Siesta Key
Homesteaders began settling on “Sarasota Key” (now
Siesta Key) in the 1880's, but few remained long enough
to establish their claims. An exception was Capt. Louis
Roberts and his wife, Ocean Hansen Roberts, for whom Ocean
Boulevard, Roberts Road and Hansen Bayou are named. In
1906, Capt. Roberts enlarged his house and began calling
it the Roberts Hotel. The following year he, along with
Harry Higel and E.M. Arbogast, formed the Siesta Land Company.
By 1946, the Key was still labeled “Sarasota Key” on
government maps, but was called Siesta Key by the County.
In late 1910, E.M. Arbogast began construction of the
Bay Island Hotel on the north shore of the Key. Meanwhile,
Harry Higel's dredge was busy not only digging the canals
and filling low land, but also excavating shell deposits
that could be used to surface the roads as they were
built. The canal that leads from Hansen Bayou westward
to the recently closed Siesta Fish Market was dug for
its shell deposits.
Harry Higel was mayor of Sarasota in 1916 and supported
a bond issue that was passed and resulted in the building
of the first Siesta Key Bridge in 1917. The second bridge
on Stickney Point Road was built by the County in 1926.
They platted the subdivision of Siesta on the northern
end of the Key.
For more information about Sarasota, Florida real estate contact us at 941.323.5605 or email
us.
Content provided
by www.simplysiestakey.com and www.siestakeyassociation.com
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