A documentary about the history of Sarasota, Florida filmed in 16mm by Hack Swain Productions in 1983 using historic photos, audio interviews, and dramatic reenactments.
Sarasota remains one of America's best kept secrets, well that was until the beginning of the 2k's. I myself came to Sarasota in the early 90's. Transferring from my attendance at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn NY, down to this little still then sleepy town where Ringling School of Art and Design became my new school and residency. A suggestion that came from my old Pratt instructor became the best move i coudlve possibly made in my life. Sarasota in the early 90's was still at best known as a town for seniors, retirees, and veterans living their last in the good life. But in the 90's ironically those demographics has already been long tappered off. The town beyond nice , beautiful and notably special but also lacked much in regards to youth. which in many ways was a good thing. As much of the only youth around was mostly college students such as myself. Ive lived in many places in the US, and not many measured up to the peace and tranquility of Sarasota and its surrounding cities. The people were nice, maybe more than a bit too slow, but where the big cities forced a sense of panic insanity and never ending rush, sarasota didnt even have a word for such activity. The housing market boom didnt begin back then but the kindling of the fires were indeed brewing. And like a trickle before the flood, people often leaving the big city life, just so happened off the well beaten trail into sarasota and once their feet hit the cool powdered white sand beaches, like all of us, the place put a spell on its travelers like no other place in all the US. why leave!!!! youd have to be insane to leave such a place. And so.. it was common that people came to vacation but choose not to leave. And the secret began getting passed down to those individual friends, and from what was a trickle all threw the 90's and into the 2k's eventually became a flood. as we see today. Forget Martha's Vineyard Forget the Hamptons Forget Beverly hills or anywhere else in LA. Sarasota was another world. another country. And its neighboring cities who also went thru decades of sleep began to wake up as well. Saint Peterburg, Clearwater, Venice , Tampa. many places well known but the region as a whole quickly became ground zero for choice living. Their is indeed much to miss with the current level of new residences in Sarasota. as its not always the good that makes its way into town. Its also the wealthy and the greedy, the snobs, and the aristocrats who do more than a little towards putting a stink to where ever they settle. Sarasota thought built with luxury in mind, was always a humble place, and pretty diverse with its african american communities not overly mentioned in this video. As they settled the region even prior the white folks, alongside its native american settlers. But its not to say Saraosta has lost any of its beauty. Its just that it was more of a picture perfect sleepy town, well off everyones radar. and thats what made it special. And now the secret is out. we can only hope they dont transform the place into another over saturated California type town. No one wants that. and for those that do.. seeking greed and fortunes, try getting a ticket back to LA or NY. the gulf coast was just fine without you.
@@Tricia2023 yup. you got that right. as mentioned, im a Ringling alumn from the early 90's. and the town was still off the radar back then. even st pete clearwater and tampa was practically fine. but as always good things never last. the real bad part about this sort of change is that the very people who snubbed the region prior are the very people moving in bringing their bad attitudes and high brow snobbery. Its their very activity thats led to them being priced out of their previous states, and real-estate practices are criminal to say the least. doing everything to get people out their homes to slap a high price tag on top to make a monster commission.
I been in Sarasota all my life, grew up on Lido beach and swam in the pool every weekend. Was the last kid to swim in the Lido Casino pool before they tore it down and was the first kid to get back in it when it reopened. I used to play on the military trucks in front of the old power station on 41 and 10th st. Now is a boat ramp. Sarasota was a great place to grow up.
Yeap, those of us who were lucky enough to have been here for at least 35 years I’d say had the very best experiences of life with beauty, open spaces, zero summer traffic, 3pm showers from the east every day, amazing beaches, great pubs with excellent live music, interesting people from around the world, the RB circus train, Lido Beach Casino. If you’re able to really find one thing that I mentioned above still here and thriving I’d say I don’t think so Now, I’ve been here for over 70 years and there are so many other things of interest from early 1950s
@@puccisnoopy yes sir, you are correct, they are all gone now. I remember all the old places we ate at. John Ringling house, Mr D's spaghetti and sub shop. Oberlins and Russo's diner Old Hitleburg, and the old Co-Ed skate land skating rink, I about lived in there. lol My grandmother was the book keeper at Sarasota high school. Those old days sure were great !!
Wish they had more images of the Lido casino . I recall towers and a pool . Of course not everyone had a small camera in their hands in those days . Sure wish my grand father or dad had purchased land there . I know dad looked . We had a slide show presented to us in our home up north of all the properties for sale in the 60's. Dad was not a visionary or mom put the squash to his idea , I'll never know now. We would walk down to St Armands from the cottage we rented on Harrison Drive , pretty long walk for a kid in the heat . Just a beautiful spot .
@@catmanflorida2839 That's a great badge to earn. I don't think we ever got to use the pool as visitors. We pretty much just cooled off in the Gulf. Sure beat the cold water in York ME. The temp of the water there this week was 63F .
Many years ago I was acquaintances with Burr Schmidt who told me he used to hunt were Sarasota Memorial is located and he called US 41 a Glorified goat path I believe this was in the early 1900s as he said he mostly got around by horse.
Sarasota is amazing. So fortunate to live here. I'm producing a documentary; we'd love to speak with you. I've tried a few ways to contact you. A great little tune recorded by Hack Swain Music "I'm having fun in Sarasota" is such a perfect song to capture the moment in time.
Ive been here since 1967, was the last kid to swim in Lido pool before it closed and the first kid to swim in it when it reopened. I can tell you a lot about this town.
They knocked that parking garage down. THE FIRST BUILDING WOW GILLESPIE AREA.. 😮😮😮😮😮🤦🏾♀️😮😮😮😮😮 @SARASOTA #SARASOTA @THEN&NOW @FIRSTJAIL #FIRSTJAIL FOR @WHHHHOOOO @WHHHHHYYY #WHHHHYYY @RAILROADS #RAILROADS @1903-2023
Ive lived here for 37 years and this is the coolest film ive ever seen about Sarasota
My husband presented this video to the Longboat Key Kiwanis club in 1986. You're first at United First Federal. Thanks for sharing, Mike.
Sarasota remains one of America's best kept secrets, well that was until the beginning of the 2k's. I myself came to Sarasota in the early 90's. Transferring from my attendance at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn NY, down to this little still then sleepy town where Ringling School of Art and Design became my new school and residency. A suggestion that came from my old Pratt instructor became the best move i coudlve possibly made in my life. Sarasota in the early 90's was still at best known as a town for seniors, retirees, and veterans living their last in the good life. But in the 90's ironically those demographics has already been long tappered off. The town beyond nice , beautiful and notably special but also lacked much in regards to youth. which in many ways was a good thing. As much of the only youth around was mostly college students such as myself. Ive lived in many places in the US, and not many measured up to the peace and tranquility of Sarasota and its surrounding cities. The people were nice, maybe more than a bit too slow, but where the big cities forced a sense of panic insanity and never ending rush, sarasota didnt even have a word for such activity. The housing market boom didnt begin back then but the kindling of the fires were indeed brewing. And like a trickle before the flood, people often leaving the big city life, just so happened off the well beaten trail into sarasota and once their feet hit the cool powdered white sand beaches, like all of us, the place put a spell on its travelers like no other place in all the US. why leave!!!! youd have to be insane to leave such a place. And so.. it was common that people came to vacation but choose not to leave. And the secret began getting passed down to those individual friends, and from what was a trickle all threw the 90's and into the 2k's eventually became a flood. as we see today. Forget Martha's Vineyard Forget the Hamptons Forget Beverly hills or anywhere else in LA. Sarasota was another world. another country. And its neighboring cities who also went thru decades of sleep began to wake up as well. Saint Peterburg, Clearwater, Venice , Tampa. many places well known but the region as a whole quickly became ground zero for choice living. Their is indeed much to miss with the current level of new residences in Sarasota. as its not always the good that makes its way into town. Its also the wealthy and the greedy, the snobs, and the aristocrats who do more than a little towards putting a stink to where ever they settle. Sarasota thought built with luxury in mind, was always a humble place, and pretty diverse with its african american communities not overly mentioned in this video. As they settled the region even prior the white folks, alongside its native american settlers. But its not to say Saraosta has lost any of its beauty. Its just that it was more of a picture perfect sleepy town, well off everyones radar. and thats what made it special. And now the secret is out. we can only hope they dont transform the place into another over saturated California type town. No one wants that. and for those that do.. seeking greed and fortunes, try getting a ticket back to LA or NY. the gulf coast was just fine without you.
I moved here in 85 and it’s definitely not the best kept little secret anymore 😢Everyone is moving here now !
@@Tricia2023 yup. you got that right. as mentioned, im a Ringling alumn from the early 90's. and the town was still off the radar back then. even st pete clearwater and tampa was practically fine. but as always good things never last. the real bad part about this sort of change is that the very people who snubbed the region prior are the very people moving in bringing their bad attitudes and high brow snobbery. Its their very activity thats led to them being priced out of their previous states, and real-estate practices are criminal to say the least. doing everything to get people out their homes to slap a high price tag on top to make a monster commission.
Sarasota is awesome. Little crowded these days but nonetheless, couldn’t imagine living somewhere else. 👌 Thank you for the awesome vid!
It's wild that the bank that made this went out of business 4 years later.
I been in Sarasota all my life, grew up on Lido beach and swam in the pool every weekend. Was the last kid to swim in the Lido Casino pool before they tore it down and was the first kid to get back in it when it reopened. I used to play on the military trucks in front of the old power station on 41 and 10th st. Now is a boat ramp. Sarasota was a great place to grow up.
Yeap, those of us who were lucky enough to have been here for at least 35 years I’d say had the very best experiences of life with beauty, open spaces, zero summer traffic, 3pm showers from the east every day, amazing beaches, great pubs with excellent live music, interesting people from around the world, the RB circus train, Lido Beach Casino. If you’re able to really find one thing that I mentioned above still here and thriving I’d say I don’t think so
Now, I’ve been here for over 70 years and there are so many other things of interest from early 1950s
@@puccisnoopy yes sir, you are correct, they are all gone now. I remember all the old places we ate at. John Ringling house, Mr D's spaghetti and sub shop. Oberlins and Russo's diner Old Hitleburg, and the old Co-Ed skate land skating rink, I about lived in there. lol My grandmother was the book keeper at Sarasota high school.
Those old days sure were great !!
Thank you for posting this video, it's a great overview of Sarasota's history!
I love ❤️ my City!
May God bless Sarasota!
Excellent film by Hack Swain, historically accurate.
Wish they had more images of the Lido casino . I recall towers and a pool . Of course not everyone had a small camera in their hands in those days . Sure wish my grand father or dad had purchased land there . I know dad looked . We had a slide show presented to us in our home up north of all the properties for sale in the 60's. Dad was not a visionary or mom put the squash to his idea , I'll never know now. We would walk down to St Armands from the cottage we rented on Harrison Drive , pretty long walk for a kid in the heat . Just a beautiful spot .
I was the last kid to swim in the Lido casino pool before they tore it down and was also the first kid to go back in the pool when it reopened.
@@catmanflorida2839 That's a great badge to earn. I don't think we ever got to use the pool as visitors. We pretty much just cooled off in the Gulf. Sure beat the cold water in York ME. The temp of the water there this week was 63F .
Wonderful. Very nice.
Looks like my great grandmother @14:50 on the far left. So amazing.
Thank you for sharing, truly enjoyed.
Many years ago I was acquaintances with Burr Schmidt who told me he used to hunt were Sarasota Memorial is located and he called US 41 a Glorified goat path I believe this was in the early 1900s as he said he mostly got around by horse.
Sarasota is amazing. So fortunate to live here. I'm producing a documentary; we'd love to speak with you. I've tried a few ways to contact you. A great little tune recorded by Hack Swain Music "I'm having fun in Sarasota" is such a perfect song to capture the moment in time.
Ive been here since 1967, was the last kid to swim in Lido pool before it closed and the first kid to swim in it when it reopened. I can tell you a lot about this town.
This is awesome. Wish i could of seen the town in these days
“Could have”
@@midmic somebody is bored
Great video. Hello from NY.
NICE VIDEO OF THE PAST,
I love this
I love my home city
How many lost their houses after the Crash of Florida? How did the events go then?
Thank you, love you Sarasota ❤️
interesting!
Sarasota Pride!
Completely ruined by pollution and over crowding.
Grüße aus Deutschland. 🇩🇪
They knocked that parking garage down. THE FIRST BUILDING WOW GILLESPIE AREA.. 😮😮😮😮😮🤦🏾♀️😮😮😮😮😮 @SARASOTA #SARASOTA @THEN&NOW @FIRSTJAIL #FIRSTJAIL FOR @WHHHHOOOO @WHHHHHYYY #WHHHHYYY @RAILROADS #RAILROADS @1903-2023
are you positive it isnt 73? just checking im a local
2023 its ruined
😔