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Seagate, is located along
Sarasota Bay Sarasota Bay is a lagoon located off the central west coast of Florida in the United States. Though no significant single stream of freshwater enters the bay, with a drainage basin limited to 150 square miles in Manatee and Sarasota counties, it ...
in
Manatee County, Florida Manatee County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, North Por ...
, and was the former winter estate of Powel Crosley Jr., a noted
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
,
industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...
and
entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...
. Crosley had the , Mediterranean Revival-style home built in 1929 for his wife, Gwendolyn, on of land along
Sarasota Bay Sarasota Bay is a lagoon located off the central west coast of Florida in the United States. Though no significant single stream of freshwater enters the bay, with a drainage basin limited to 150 square miles in Manatee and Sarasota counties, it ...
that was platted in 1925 for a failed subdivision. New York architect George Albree Freeman Jr. designed the home; Ivo A. de Minicis, a
Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
, architect, drafted the plans; and
Paul W. Bergmann Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...
, a Sarasota contractor, reportedly built the two-and-a-half-story, cast-stone-and-stucco home in 135 days. itation needed/sup> Gwendolyn Crosley died at Seagate in 1939. After allowing the Army Air Corps to use the home for airmen who were training at a nearby
airbase An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Crosley sold the property in 1947. Freeman Horton and his wife, Mabel, bought it the following year. Freeman Horton was a civil engineer who proposed the construction of the original
Sunshine Skyway Bridge The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, officially referred to as the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, is a pair of long beam bridges with a central tall cable-stayed bridge. It spans Lower Tampa Bay to connect Pinellas County (St. Petersburg, Florid ...
across
Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...
. itation needed/sup> The Horton family lived on the estate from 1948 to 1977. The Campeau Corporation of America acquired the property in the early 1980s, intending to develop it into condominium units and use the residence serving as the development's clubhouse, but its plans failed. The Crosley home and of adjacent property were formally added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
on January 21, 1983. Friends of Seagate Inc., a local, nonprofit preservation group led efforts to preserve the historic property and its remaining undeveloped land in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The
Manatee County, Florida Manatee County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, North Por ...
, government purchased the home and of the property in 1991 for $1.6 million; the State of Florida purchased the estate's remaining for $2 million for future expansion of the
University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...
. The present-day Crosley home and of land are operated as an event rental property. The university's tract of land that was part of the former Seagate estate, included in the national register nomination, is the present-day site of the
University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
campus.


History


Property location

Archaeological studies made at the site in late 1980s/early 1990s suggest that the
Calusa The Calusa ( , Calusa: *ka(ra)luś(i)) were a Native American people of Florida's southwest coast. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region. Previous Indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands o ...
inhabited the area during the archaic period. Nearby fresh water access is documented in early plats that may have been constant, since adjacent middens attest to a long period of occupation. Allan Horton, a longtime resident of Manatee County and a former resident of the Seagate estate, described a distinctive structure on the property as a compacted, raised earthen platform that was elevated evenly at to , with a perfectly circular diameter of . The structure reportedly resembled the ancient dancing or ceremonial platform that archaeologists had discovered elsewhere in the state. An entrance sign for a drive-in theater, the landmark that Horton used to locate the structure, was demolished on an adjacent parcel, making the potentially ancient structure's location difficult to find. Also, a path for electrical service poles that traversed the area had disturbed an area with mounds nearby, possibly destroying the structure in the process. The site of the Seagate property was once part of
Hillsborough County, Florida Hillsborough County is located in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. In the 2020 census, the population was 1,459,762, making it the fourth-most populous county in Florida and the most populous county outside the Miami metro ...
, which was established in 1834, following the United States' acquisition of the Florida territory from
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in 1821. Seagate's location is also associated with
Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...
, because of its location south of Bowlees Creek, the natural land transportation barrier. Seagate bears a property address and a postal designation of Sarasota; however, when Hillsborough County was subdivided to establish additional counties, governmental oversight for the area went to
Manatee County, Florida Manatee County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, North Por ...
, which was subsequently subdivided to create more counties, including
Sarasota County, Florida Sarasota County is a county located in Southwest Florida. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 US census, the population was 434,006. Its county seat is Sarasota, Florida, Sarasota and its largest city is North Port, Florida, North Port. Sara ...
, in 1921. The arbitrary line chosen to delineate Manatee County from Sarasota County was drawn at the southern boundary of Seagate and everything to the north remained within Manatee County. Sarasota addresses remain from that line to the creek.


Development in 1929

In 1929 a wealthy
industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...
named Powel Crosley Jr. purchased a parcel of bay-front property and had a built a winter retreat along
Sarasota Bay Sarasota Bay is a lagoon located off the central west coast of Florida in the United States. Though no significant single stream of freshwater enters the bay, with a drainage basin limited to 150 square miles in Manatee and Sarasota counties, it ...
for his wife, Gwendolyn B. (Arden) Crosley. The property was the site of a proposed subdivision platted in 1925, but it failed to be developed during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. Sea Gate, the subdivision's name was contracted to Seagate over the years, including the name of Seagate Drive, the estate's original driveway, which leads to the Crosley home. Crosley, a native of
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, was an
inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
and
entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...
, as well as an avid sportsman. His manufacturing companies produced
Crosley Crosley was a small, independent American manufacturer of economy cars or subcompact cars, bordering on microcars. At first called the Crosley Corporation and later Crosley Motors Incorporated, the Cincinnati, Ohio, firm was active from 19 ...
automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
s,
radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
s, and household appliances. Crosley was also a pioneer in radio
broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...
and a former owner of the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
major league
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
team. Crosley's wife, Gwendolyn, who suffered from
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
, died at Seagate in 1939. He rarely used the house after her death. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Crosley allowed the
U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
to use the retreat for its airmen who were training at the nearby Sarasota Army Air Base, the now Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. The home may also have been used as an officers club for a brief period. Crosley sold his estate property in 1947 to the D and D Corporation.


Subsequent owners

Mabel and Freeman Horton purchased the property in 1948 and owned Seagate for nearly forty years, although the family only lived there until 1977. Freeman Horton was a civil engineer who proposed the construction of the original
Sunshine Skyway Bridge The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, officially referred to as the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, is a pair of long beam bridges with a central tall cable-stayed bridge. It spans Lower Tampa Bay to connect Pinellas County (St. Petersburg, Florid ...
across
Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...
from
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
in
Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 959,107, making it the seventh-most populous county in the state. It is also the most d ...
through the waters of Hillsborough County to Tiera Ceia in Manatee County. The bridge replaced a ferry service. In the early 1980s the Campeau Corporation of America, a real estate developer, acquired the property, intending to build a
condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...
community on the site and use the historic house as a clubhouse. In November 1982 Campeau nominated the house and property for a listing on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. (The listing is unusual because it also included all of the remaining land; most historic listings only include structures.) The property was formally added to the register on January 21, 1983, but the planned real estate project failed when the economy faltered shortly thereafter.


Preservation efforts

Seagate was saved from commercial development by the efforts of adjacent residents including
Kafi Benz Kafi Benz (born 1941) is an American author and artist who began participation in social entrepreneurship through environmental preservation and regional planning in 1959 as a member of the ''Jersey Jetport Site Association'', which opposed plans ...
, who opposed several ensuing proposals for development. Benz founded Friends of Seagate Inc. (a local, nonprofit preservation organization) and initiated a campaign for Seagate's preservation. Benz and her group also began a fundraising effort for its acquisition. In addition, Benz published an illustrated guide to Seagate in 1988. The booklet includes a detailed history and discussion of the appointments of the structures, including illustrations. Benz initially published it in 1988. In 1991 the Manatee County Commission paid $1.6 million for of the original subdivision along the bay front that contained the structures built in 1929 for Crosley and his wife with the intention of preserving and renovating the estate. The
University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...
purchased the remaining for $2 million as a site for future expansion of the satellite campus. After
New College of Florida New College of Florida is a public university, public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida, United States. The college is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. New College has the smallest student enrollment in the State U ...
separated from the University of South Florida in 2001, the satellite campus for the Tampa-based university vacated the New College campus on the nearby Edith Ringling estate and built a separate campus of its own on the eastern portion of the Seagate property. The
University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
campus opened its new facilities in August 2006.


Present-day use

The historic Seagate residence, called the Powel Crosley Estate, is used as a meeting, conference, and event venue. The bay-front estate is supported, in part, by fundraising through the Crosley Estate Foundation, a nonprofit charitable corporation. In a re-separation of New College from the University of South Florida, the satellite campus for the Tampa-based university was removed from the original New College campus on the nearby Edith Ringling estate and a solo campus was created on the eastern portion of the Seagate property for use by the University of South Florida alone. The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee's campus on the former Seagate property includes a three-story, building on a parcel of land, in addition to facilities in other nearby locations.


Description

The Crosely's Mediterranean Revival-style house, auxiliary garages, and living quarters for staff were designed by New York architect George Albree Freeman Jr., while Ivo A. de Minicis, a
Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
, architect, drafted the plans. The property in the southwest corner of mainland Manatee County included the house with its porte-cochere entry,
flagstone Flagstone (flag) is a generic flat Rock (geology), stone, sometimes cut in regular rectangular or square shape and usually used for Sidewalk, paving slabs or walkways, patios, flooring, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstone ...
patio and walkways, a
swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...
, fountains, a
seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...
dock, and a
yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...
basin. Some reports stated that
Paul W. Bergmann Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...
, a Sarasota contractor, built the two-and-a-half-story, cast stone and stucco home for the Crosleys in 135 days. The home served as a "fish camp", used mostly in the winter, but staff would remain throughout the year. The home is reportedly the first residence built in Florida using
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
-frame construction to provide protection against fires and
hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
. Significant elements of the house, which includes ten bedrooms and ten bathrooms, are its cross-axis design and a circular tower that contains a second-story,
teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...
-lined study, dubbed the "Ship Room," with metal oculi. Other major features include double
louvered A louver (American English) or louvre (Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences) is a window blind or window shutter, shutter with horizontal wikt:slat, slats that are angle ...
and screened pocket doors and transoms to provide privacy while allowing the natural flow of sea breezes to cool the house through window and door grilles and
rejas Rejas is an administrative neighborhood (''barrio'') of Madrid belonging to the district of San Blas-Canillejas San Blas-Canillejas is a district to the east of Madrid's city centre. The population of the district is an estimated 149,909. Geogr ...
; an
intercom An intercom, also called an intercommunication device, intercommunicator, or interphone, is a stand-alone voice communications system for use within a building, small collection of buildings or portably within a small coverage area, which funct ...
system wired into the walls of the house and servant quarters;
electrical wiring Electrical wiring is an electrical installation of Electrical cable, cabling and associated devices such as switches, distribution boards, sockets, and light fittings in a structure. Wiring is subject to safety standards for design and in ...
under the terra cotta floor tiles to provide electric power for lamps; chamfered,
polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and ...
-
stencil Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object. The holes allow the pigment to reach only some parts of the surface creatin ...
ed pecky cypress beams;
galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...
carvings on the
loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...
; massive carved doors and woodwork (designed and installed by the Zoller Lumber Company); tiled patterns on the interior floors and the main staircase; plaster ornamentation; and stained glass of ochre and lavender, randomly placed in casement and
French window A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide securit ...
s. Crosley had a deep path dredged from the center of
Sarasota Bay Sarasota Bay is a lagoon located off the central west coast of Florida in the United States. Though no significant single stream of freshwater enters the bay, with a drainage basin limited to 150 square miles in Manatee and Sarasota counties, it ...
to a berth that accommodated his yachts, which included the ''Argo'', and the seaplane in which the Crosleys regularly used to fly to Sarasota from Cincinnati and to other locations. Tide level indicators were built into the walls of the berth, which remains as a current aspect of the property. A wind indicator, which moved around the ceiling of his second-story study, alerted Crosley to changes in wind conditions outdoors. It was driven by a
weathervane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an list of weather instruments, instrument used for showing the wind direction, direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ' ...
atop the home's tower. The circular tower's bank of windows provides a broad vista overlooking the bay. The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee now occupies a parcel of the Seagate property along Tamiami Trail (US-41) that was not part of the 1982 nomination of the estate to the National Register that only indicated the existing buildings, but the land was added to the 1983 listing due to the significant civil engineering that Crosley designed for drainage, dredging and filling, marine structures, and a yacht basin containing a tide level gauge.


Notes


References

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External links


The Powel Crosley Estate
official website
University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee
official website {{Authority control Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Houses in Manatee County, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Manatee County, Florida