|
|
|
|
MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM
|
| |
The
idea of a Bayfront Park and Municipal Auditorium was first conceived
in 1935. In 1936, the City of Sarasota obtained the 37 acre
lot from the Sarasota Bayfront Company for the sum of $15,000.00
in taxes accumulated on site. Work was then started to secure
a Work Projects Administration Grant (WPA) for the center.
Work on the auditorium commenced in July of 1937. The federal
government granted the sum of $131,000.00 towards the project.
Skilled labor was paid for by the City's General Fund and
common labor was paid for by the WPA. The auditorium was officially
opened on February 24, 1938, for the Sara de Soto Celebration.
Designed
in the Art Deco/Moderne style by Chicago architect, Thomas Reed
Martin, the auditorium was quite a site for visitors entering
from the north Tamiami Trail. At the entry of the auditorium
is an electrically lit fountain designed by Frank Martin, the
son of the auditorium's architect.
Funding for major restorations to this historical building was
achieved in part by the Bureau of Historic Preservation, Florida
Department of State, assisted by the Historic Preservation Advisory
Council, and the City of Sarasota. Restoration work began in
1992 and was completed in 1997. The Municipal Auditorium was
placed on the National Register of Historic Places on February
24, 1995.
Today the Municipal Auditorium is one of the few existing buildings
in Sarasota of the Art Deco/Moderne style and probably the most
recognized for its year round bookings for numerous events.
This historic landmark is one of the visible links that bridges
the past and present. The Municipal Auditorium is still as grand
today as when it first opened.
|
| Hazzard
Fountain |
| |
|
| |
In
1940, an electrically lit fountain costing some $8,000,
was
donated to the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium by R.P. Hazzard,
shoe manufacturer from Gardner, Maine. The fountain was
designed
by Frank Martin, whose father, Thomas, designed the auditorium.
Louis Larsen, one on the country's most skilled artisans,
built
the Hazzard Fountain. This fountain was the "crown jewel" of
the complex.
The Hazzard Fountain has been in a variety of settings. Over
the years, with the widening of US 41 (Tamiami Trail) the fountain
was removed from its original location, stored for years, and
eventually placed in front of the Ringling Museum in the late
1970s. it only lasted a few years on that site, however, then
was removed by a new Museum Director and again placed in storage.
In 1994 the City of Sarasota sponsored a fundraising gala
dinner/dance to help restore and return the Hazzard Fountain
to its original
site in front of the Municipal Auditorium. A "dream come
true" in 1995 the Hazzard Fountain was home once again.
The dedication for the fountain was held on January 6,
1996, at the Municipal Auditorium.
This "art deco" style
fountain is the only one of its kind still in public ownership
in the Country today. The fountain
site is located on US 41(Tamiami Trail), a major thoroughfare,
which is one of the most well traveled roads in Sarasota.
Sarasota
hosts over a million tourists annually. The fountain's beauty
and historical value can be appreciated by all.
|
|
|
|
|
