St. Armands Key Real Estate
Beach Homes in Sarasota - Barrier Island Real Estate
About St. Armands Key
St. Armands
is a residential community of 225 homes. Architectural
styles are eclectic, ranging from Old-Florida to Mediterranean
to contemporary. Many of the smaller or older homes are
currently being renovated or replaced with miniature
mansions and elaborate estates. This unique community
also features St. Armands Circle, a world-class shopping
and dining destination.
St. Armands includes some
of the area’s most distinctive properties, many created
by some of Sarasota’s most talented architects. Residential
choices include bayfront, canalfront and beachfront homes
and condominiums.
History
of St. Armands Key
In 1893, Charles St. Amand,
A Frenchman and first resident of the island, purchased
for $21.71 three tracts of land
totaling 131.89 acres. He homesteaded the land, fishing
in the waters of the Gulf and Bay and, along with other
early pioneers, raised produce which he brought by boat
to the market at City Pier in Sarasota. In later land deeds,
his name was misspelled "St. Armand" and this
spelling has persisted to the present day.
Visionary circus magnate John
Ringling purchased the St. Armands Key property in
1917 and planned a development
which included residential lots and a shopping center
laid out in a circle. As no bridge to the key had yet
been built, Ringling engaged an old paddle-wheel steamboat,
the "Success," to service as a work boat. His
crews labored at dredging canals, building seawalls,
and installing sidewalks and streets lined with rose-colored
curbs. In 1925, work began on a causeway to join St.
Armands Key to the mainland. Circus elephants were used
to haul the huge timbers from which the bridge and causeway
were built.
One year later, amid much pomp and ceremony, both the
John Ringling Causeway and Ringling Estates development
opened to the public, with John Ringling himself leading
a parade across the causeway and his Circus Band playing
from a bandstand in the center of the Circle. Every hour
there was free bus service from downtown to St. Armands
for prospective buyers and sightseers.
Property sales that first day were estimated to exceed
one million dollars but the boom ended quickly. As the
nationwide depression worsened, land sales in Florida
and on St. Armands stopped completely. In 1928, the City
of Sarasota accepted as a gift the causeway which Ringling
himself could no longer afford to maintain. Gradually,
the wooden causeway began to rot, the Circle bandstand
sagged, and the native vegetation covered the carefully
planned streets and sidewalks
For nearly 20 years, St. Armands slept .... children
played ball where the bandstand once stood and only curious
tourists ventured out to view the once famous key. During
the 1940's, several courageous investors opened restaurants
and a service station on the Circle but not until 1953
did business once again resume on St. Armands. By 1955
a number of stores had opened.
John Ringling's influence is still evident today in
the planning and design of streets radiating from the
circle at the island's hub and the Italian statuary from
his personal collection strategically placed around the
key. This shopping circle looks very much as Ringling
originally envisioned it, with the palm lined medians,
park-like setting, and tropical plantings he intended.
Gone are the pioneer farms, vacant lots, and the bandshell
featuring Sunday afternoon concerts. But the promise
of greatness, the truly cosmopolitan shopping area envisioned
by John Ringling, has become a reality.
When John Ringling purchased
a group of islands off Sarasota in the 1920s, he had
plans for a major tourist
attraction with elegant shops, world-class restaurants,
and the finest of hotels. Although Ringling did not live
to see it, his dream is reality today and has become
a destination for world class visitors, better known
as St. Armands Circle on Lido Key.
For more information about Sarasota, Florida real estate contact us at 941.323.5605 or email
us.
History provided
by www.simplysiestakey.com
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