Burns Square Historic District is a historic district located in
Sarasota
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 sou ...
,
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 Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
, United States. The area runs from Ringling Boulevard to Mound Avenue along South Pineapple and South Orange Avenues. Burns Square is bound by
Laurel Park Historic District to the east, Palm Avenue residential neighborhood to the west, and Hudson Bayou to the south.
History
In 1925,
Owen Burns developed and built the Burns Court subdivision in the area. Plans for it were designed by architect
Thomas Reed Martin
Thomas Reed Martin (born April 28, 1866 in Menasha, Wisconsin - died February 1949) was an architect who was brought to Florida by one of its major developers during the turn of the twentieth century. He designed some 500 residences and vari ...
. The Burns Court Historic District was given historic designation by the National Park Service in 1984. The cottages of Burns Court subdivision were located at 400-446 Burns Court and 418, 426, and 446 South Pineapple Avenue. This historic street is located one to three blocks to the northwest of the triangular Pineapple Apartments site.
Between 1925 and 1929, the landscape of this district changed drastically. In 1925, the
Sanborn Insurance Map of Sarasota showed no structures on the triangular property at South Orange and South Pineapple Avenues. Across the street on South Orange Avenue, the only structure was a single-family residence and its garage. The Seaboard Air Line Railway went from Lemon Avenue down Pineapple, and by 1929, the neighborhood was developed. In its December 15, 1926 edition, the ''
Herald Tribune'' showed photographs of its new business home that opened on October 4, 1925, complete with advertising and business offices, a pressroom, and linotype and composing rooms. Also, a two-page segment ran with the headline, "The Ringling-Burns Interests Have Shown Their Faith". In addition to photographs of the
El Vernona Hotel,
The Broadway Apartments, and
The Colson Hotel for "the colored population and colored tourists". The surrounding area became known as Herald Square after the ''Sarasota Herald'' building was completed by Owen Burns across Orange Avenue that same year.
Owen Burns built the triangular Pineapple Apartments at a cost of $75,000. The design for the building began in the New York offices of architect
Dwight James Baum
Dwight James Baum (June 24, 1886 – December 14, 1939) was an American architect most active in New York and in Sarasota, Florida. His work includes Cà d'Zan, the Sarasota Times Building (1925), Sarasota County Courthouse (1926), early reside ...
. In 1924, Baum discovered Sarasota and, after meeting Owen Burns, determined that he wanted to recreate the architecture he had seen in Europe and the Mediterranean. The building had seven apartments on the second floor. Stores occupied the first floor, including Tee Gee, a five-and-dime type shop, and Freeman's Drugs, a drugstore operated by Clarence and Nellie Freeman.
In 1950,
Paul Rudolph, from the
Sarasota School of Architecture
The Sarasota School of Architecture, sometimes called Sarasota Modern, is a regional style of post-war modern architecture (1941–1966) that emerged on Florida's Central West Coast, in and around the city of Sarasota, Florida. It is characterize ...
, designed a modern addition to the triangular building containing 18 one-bedroom apartments, with additional retail space on the ground floor. The 1960 City Directory reflects that by this time the ''Sarasota Herald-Tribune'' had moved to 801 South Tamiami Trail, and Privett's Drugs was at 1605 Third Street with a new owner.
In 1986,
Sarasota History Alive!, ''Pineapple Apartments at Herald Square'', reprint of an undated article published by the Sarasota County History Center that contains a typographical error indicating that Denise Kowal purchased the building in 1886 rather than the correct date, 1986
/ref> Denise Kowal bought the trianglular building and its 1950s addition to save them from demolition by speculators who wanted to build a high-rise on the property. She made extensive interior and exterior renovations. A cupola, wrought iron balconies, awnings, and tile address signs were also added. Three of the original studio apartments were converted to a single apartment that Kowal occupied with her two sons in 1996. In 1997, the residence was featured in the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation
Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, 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 c ...
annual Historic Homes Tour.
In 1999, the area was renamed to "Burns Square Historic District" by the area stakeholders, replacing Herald Square, as an honor to Owen Burns and the history of this trianglularly shaped district.
See also
* Chapter IV, Setting the Stage.
*
*''Owen Burns'
Sarasota History Alive!, video linked to March 14, 2012 edition
References
External links
Sarasota County listings
a
National Register of Historic Places
{{Sarasota, Florida
National Register of Historic Places in Sarasota County, Florida
Historic districts in Florida
Buildings and structures in Sarasota, Florida
Neighborhoods in Sarasota, Florida