Andrew McAnsh (1874 – October 23, 1946) was a

Scottish-American Scottish Americans or Scots Americans (Scottish Gaelic language, Scottish Gaelic: ''Ameireaganaich Albannach''; sco, Scots-American) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. Scottish people, Scottish Americans are cl ...

businessman. He lived in the Chicago area for most of his life and was active in that area. McAnsh would play a prominent role in the development of

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

, being a real estate developer there.

Early life and career

Andrew McAnsh was born in Scotland in 1874. He would be the son of John and Christina (McGill) McAnsh. He and his family immigrated to North America when he was 5 or 6 years old. His family would first live near

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

before moving to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

two years later, where he spent most of his life living at. He would receive his education from public schools and a business college. McAnsh originally worked in the haberdashery industry before later moving onto the grocery and restaurant businesses. He would become active politically serving in the Chicago city assessor's office and would serve as a staff member to Illinois Governor

John Riley Tanner John Riley Tanner (April 4, 1844 – May 23, 1901) was the 21st Governor of Illinois, from 1897 until 1901. Tanner was the first governor in the country to be openly neutral in labor disputes, gaining national notoriety for his actions in a s ...

. He then start to become active in furniture manufacturing opening factories in several states including: Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina. At some point he began to do construction and real estate work.

Time in Sarasota

After moving to Sarasota (where he was given a hero's welcome) from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1922, McAnsh founded the Mira Mar Corporation and began developing the Mira Mar Apartments (which took less than sixty days to build). He subsequently built the

Mira Mar Hotel Mira Mar Hotel was a historic hotel building built in 1924 in Sarasota, Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabam ...

(in less than a year) and the Mira Mar Casino. McAnsh struck a deal with the Sarasota civic authorities and arranged for the hotel, apartments and casino to be supplied with free power and water, as well as exemption from property taxes, for the first ten years of its existence. In doing so, he took advantage of an offer previously provided to

John Ringling John Nicholas Ringling (May 31, 1866 – December 2, 1936) was an American entrepreneur who is the best known of the seven Ringling brothers, five of whom merged the Barnum & Bailey Circus with their own Ringling Bros World's Greatest Shows ...

, which Ringling had turned down. With his wife Bertha Deegan McAnsh, he had two children. His wife would die on June 10, 1945. McAnsh would be a 32nd Degree Mason. He would spend the winters in Sarasota until he died on October 23, 1946, in Chicago. He is listed as a

Great Floridian Great Floridian is a title bestowed upon citizens in the state of Florida by the Florida Department of State. There were actually two formal programs. The Great Floridian 2000 program honored deceased individuals who made "significant contribution ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McAnsh, Andrew History of Florida 1874 births 1946 deaths Scottish businesspeople Businesspeople from Toronto People from Sarasota, Florida Businesspeople from Chicago American real estate businesspeople British emigrants to the United States