Sarasota Municipal Auditorium | |
---|---|
Alternative names |
|
General information | |
Type | Municipal auditorium |
Architectural style | Art Deco and Moderne |
Address | 801 Tamiami Trail North |
Town or city | Sarasota, Florida |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 27°20′35″N82°32′52″W / 27.34306°N 82.54778°W |
Construction started | July 1937 |
Opened | February 24, 1938 |
Renovated | 1997 |
Cost | $131,000 ($2.18 million in 2023 dollars) [1] |
Owner | Sarasota |
Height | 39 ft (12 m) [2] |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 2 |
Floor area | 10,000 sq ft (930 m2) |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) |
|
Engineer | Freeman H. Horton |
Website | |
srqauditorium.com | |
Municipal Auditorium–Recreation Club | |
NRHP reference No. | 95000164 [3] |
Added to NRHP | February 24, 1995 |
The Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, listed in the National Register as Municipal Auditorium-Recreation Club, is a historic multi-purpose facility built-in 1938. It is located at 801 Tamiami Trail North and is owned/operated by the municipal government of Sarasota, Florida. The auditorium has 10,000 square feet (930 m2) of exhibit space on its main floor and also contains an Art Deco style stage measuring 1,500 square feet (140 m2).
The auditorium has been used for many community functions and recreational activities. It has also been known as the Sarasota Exhibition Hall and the Sarasota Civic Center Exhibition Hall. The auditorium is located on a large parcel of public land that is reserved for civic, the government uses. On February 24, 1995, the complex was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The concept of a Bayfront park and municipal auditorium for Sarasota was first conceived in 1935. The Municipal Auditorium/Recreation Club was constructed as part of an 11-acre (4.5 ha) recreational complex, originally called the Civic Center or Bayfront Park. [3] In 1936, the municipal government obtained the 37-acre (15 ha) parcel from a private company that owed $15,000 in taxes on the site.[ citation needed ] Citizens, politicians, and city employees began the effort to secure a federal Work Projects Administration (WPA) grant for the center. In one instance, a group of prominent businessmen in Sarasota came together in March 1937 and agreed to loan the city $10,000 for the auditorium project. These businessmen included Benton W. Powell, publisher of the Sarasota Tribune and President of the Palmer National Bank; Samuel W. Gumpertz, senior vice president and general manager of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus; J. J. Williams Jr., City Attorney; Ralph Caplets, a railroad and advertising executive; George Thacker, President of the Chamber of Commerce; Frank Logan, a building contractor who was serving as a fiscal agent of the City in connection with bond refunding; and George D. Lindsay, founder, owner, and editor of the Sarasota Herald. [3]
The federal government granted the sum of $131,000, equivalent to $2.18 million in 2023 [1] , toward the project, and work began in July 1937. Skilled labor was paid for by the municipal general fund and common labor was paid for by the WPA. Several local business and civic leaders donated funds to the construction as well. At the time of its planning the Sarasota mayor, E. A. Smith announced plans to construct "one of the finest recreation centers in the South" on the public property. [3]
The auditorium opened on February 24, 1938, hosting an annual Sara de Soto Celebration sponsored by the Sarasota Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Three thousand attended the celebration.[ citation needed ]
The building was designed in the Art Deco and Moderne styles by Chicago architects, Thomas Reed Martin and Clarence A. Martin. Freeman H. Horton was the engineer for the project and designed the truss system that supports the barrel-vaulted roof. Horton also collaborated with Thomas Reed Martin on recreational structures such as boathouses, pools, landscaping, and walkways. [4] When the auditorium was constructed, the property had waterfront access to Sarasota Bay and boating was a significant activity from the recreation center. Later, dredge and fill extended the shoreline farther westward.
A second floor to the recreation club was added in 1940 at the western end of the auditorium. Ida and John Chidsey donated funding for the construction of the second-floor addition. The portion of the facility contained a lounge area, a recreation room, and a card room. The recreation center was dedicated in January 1940. North of the building, facilities for shuffleboard, lawn bowling, and tennis were built.
During World War II, the auditorium served as the Army and Navy Club and was the preferred venue for hosted dances, graduations, and concerts. The Florida West Coast Symphony (now the Sarasota Orchestra) performed in the facility from its inception in 1949 until the 1969 opening of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall which was constructed at the Bayfront of the same large public parcel.
The building has a barrel-vaulted roof. The structure contains an amount of glass block in its eastern elevation that provides natural lighting for the interior of the large building. Typically, the design of the auditorium is described as Moderne and Art Deco, but elements of the design also suggest the International Style that is associated with the Bauhaus.
The solid hardwood maple floor in the building contributes to the atmosphere, acoustics, and comfort for all attending events, dances, and concerts.
It is a site that is used by more than 100,000 visitors a year as they attend banquets, charrettes for long-range planning, civic meetings, concerts, dances, events for teenagers, fundraising events, health lectures, homecoming events, political forums, proms, and galas, training seminars, and wedding receptions. [5]
The venue also provides access to educational programs, entertainment, exhibits, recreation, and shows. Several days are booked most weeks for exhibits and shows that support antique sales, art exhibits, auctions, coin shows, conventions, flea markets, flower and gardening shows, gem and jewelry shows, seminars, and stamp collection and sales exhibits. [6]
In 1940, an electrically-illuminated fountain was donated to the Municipal Auditorium by R.P. Hazzard. The fountain was designed by Frank Martin, whose father, Thomas, designed the auditorium. Louis Larsen built the Hazzard Fountain. The fountain was declared the "crown jewel" of the complex.[ citation needed ]
The Hazzard Fountain has been moved several times and placed in a variety of settings. Due to the widening of the Tamiami Trail, the fountain was removed from its original location, stored for years, and then placed at the entrance to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art during the late 1970s. After a few years, it was removed and placed in storage again. In 1995, the fountain was moved one last time back to its original location at the auditorium. The re-dedication of the fountain was held on January 6, 1996, at the Municipal Auditorium. [4]
The building was first renovated during the 1970s, and many of the historic features were hidden by more modern features designed by the Sarasota School architect, Jack West. The front façade and the glass blocks were covered and a cantilever marquee was added. In addition, a large canopy was installed to extend beyond the sidewalk in front of the building. Numerous changes to the interior were made that were later reversed in a restoration effort.
During the 1980s, a historic preservationist working for the city purchasing director Bob Gerkin, whose department oversaw the hall, pressed for the listing of the Municipal Auditorium on the national register. Gerkin was initially hesitant but was eventually won over, and even encouraged an effort to fund the restoration of the building to its original state.
Restoration work by local builders began in 1992 under the direction of local architects Gary B. Hoyt and Jeff Hole. The restoration focused on both the interior and exterior. The distinctive glass blocks were uncovered and reinforced with building techniques not in existence at the time of the original construction. The exterior was returned to its 1938 condition and by 1997, the renovation work was completed.
Funding for the initial restoration of the building was achieved through a combination of governmental efforts that included the state Bureau of Historic Preservation, the Historic Preservation Advisory Council, and the municipal government of Sarasota. Many volunteers donated work on the restoration planning, and many citizens attended planning sessions.
By 2015, much of the building had once again fallen into disrepair. Cracks, water intrusion, and many critical structural issues had been overlooked in previous renovations from the 1970s and 1980s. On September 13, 2016, the State of Florida granted $500,000 to the City of Sarasota for historic preservation to extend the usage of the auditorium to future generations.
The architect Jonathan Parks AIA was hired to update and rehabilitate the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium including the Bayfront Community Center. Parks repaired and restored both the interior and exterior, emphasizing bringing the entire facility back to Thomas Reed Martin and Clarence A. Martin’s original intent. Restoration work on the front façade included repairing stucco cracks, repairing and re-pointing the glass block, repainting the building to match the original color, and waterproofing. Historically accurate hurricane-rated windows on the second floor of the Bayfront Community Center were reproduced to mimic the original. Entrances throughout the facility were reimagined to be more universally accessible, adding ramps, stainless steel railings, and doorways with easier egress. Roofing was replaced. Karl Hees of the structural engineering firm Hees & Associates Inc. aided in addressing the critical structural issues. The rehabilitation was completed in 2018.
In 2021, Parks’ historic rehabilitation was awarded the AIA Florida Merit Award for Historic Preservation and Restoration. [7]
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 Greater Tampa Bay Area, and north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Bay and several barrier islands between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Sarasota is a principal city of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 U.S. census, Sarasota had a population of 54,842, up from 51,917 at the 2010 census.
New York City Hall is the seat of New York City government, located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, between Broadway, Park Row, and Chambers Street. Constructed from 1803 to 1812, the building is the oldest city hall in the United States that still houses its original governmental functions. The building houses the office of the Mayor of New York City and the chambers of the New York City Council. While the Mayor's Office is in the building, the staff of thirteen municipal agencies under mayoral control are located in the nearby Manhattan Municipal Building, one of the largest government buildings in the world, with many others housed in various buildings in the immediate vicinity.
The Auditorium Building in Chicago is one of the best-known designs of Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler. Completed in 1889, the building is located at the northwest corner of South Michigan Avenue and Ida B. Wells Drive. The building was designed to be a multi-use complex, including offices, a theater, and a hotel. As a young apprentice, Frank Lloyd Wright worked on some of the interior design.
The Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida, is an architecturally and historically significant building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Capitol is at the intersection of Apalachee Parkway and South Monroe Street in downtown Tallahassee, Florida.
Bok Tower Gardens is a 250-acre (100 ha) contemplative garden and bird sanctuary located atop Iron Mountain, north of Lake Wales, Florida, United States, created by Edward Bok in the 1920s. Formerly known as the Bok Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower, the gardens' attractions include the Singing Tower and its 60-bell carillon, the Bok Exedra, the Pinewood Estate now known as El Retiro, the Pine Ridge Trail, and the Visitor Center.
The Miami Beach Convention Center is a convention center located in Miami Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1958, the venue was renovated from 2015 to 2018 for $620 million. The re-imagined and enhanced MBCC includes a 60,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom, four junior ballrooms, 500,000 square feet of flexible exhibition space, 84 meeting rooms, and pre-function space, as well as outdoor spaces and terraces.
The Dalles Civic Auditorium is a historic building on the National Register of Historic Places located at the corner of Fourth and Federal streets in The Dalles, Oregon. It is currently owned by the Civic Auditorium Historic Preservation Committee, a non-profit corporation formed specifically for the purpose of purchasing it from the City of The Dalles to save it from scheduled demolition, restore it, and operate it as a local and regional cultural center.
The Madam C. J. Walker Building, which houses the Madam Walker Legacy Center, was built in 1927 in the city of Indianapolis, in the U.S. state of Indiana, and as Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991. The four-story, multi-purpose Walker Building was named in honor of Madam C. J. Walker, the African American hair care and beauty products entrepreneur who founded the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, and designed by the Indianapolis architectural firm of Rubush & Hunter. The building served as the world headquarters for Walker's company, as well as entertainment, business, and commercial hub along Indiana Avenue for the city's African American community from the 1920s to the 1950s. The historic gathering place and venue for community events and arts and cultural programs were saved from demolition in the 1970s. The restored building, which includes African, Egyptian, and Moorish designs, is one of the few remaining African-Art Deco buildings in the United States. The Walker Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Sarasota Opera House is a historic theater building used as an opera house at 61 North Pineapple Avenue in Sarasota, Florida. The building was the vision of A.B. Edwards, the first mayor of Sarasota. It opened on April 10, 1926, with a three-story entrance containing eight shops on the ground floor, 12 offices on the second floor, and 12 furnished apartments on the third. The theatre's auditorium contained an orchestral pipe organ. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune hailed Edwards for "having admitted Sarasota into a fairyland of costly decoration, rich furnishings and never to be forgotten artistry."
Cà d'Zan is a Mediterranean revival residence in Sarasota, Florida, adjacent to Sarasota Bay. Cà d'Zan was built in the mid-1920s as the winter retreat of the American circus mogul, entrepreneur, and art collector John Ringling and his wife Mable Burton Ringling. The name Cà d'Zan means "House of John" in the Venetian language; in Italian it would be "Casa di Giovanni".
The University Auditorium, originally known as the Memorial Auditorium and sometimes called the University of Florida Auditorium, is a historic building on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States. It was designed by William Augustus Edwards in the Collegiate Gothic style and was built between 1922-1924. It was restored and expanded in 1977 by architect James McGinley. The expansion, which added a new entrance and lobbies, was designed to complement but not match the original architecture. It is a contributing property in the University of Florida Campus Historic District which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 20, 1989. On April 18, 2012, the AIA's Florida Chapter placed University Auditorium on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places.
The Cultural Center Historic District is a historic district located in Detroit, Michigan, which includes the Art Center : the Detroit Public Library, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Horace H. Rackham Education Memorial Building were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The district contains several cultural attractions.
Keller Auditorium, formerly known as the Portland Municipal Auditorium, the Portland Public Auditorium, and the Portland Civic Auditorium, is a performing arts center located on Clay Street in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Portland's Centers for the Arts. Opened in 1917, the venue first changed names in 1966, being renamed again in 2000 in honor of a $1.5 million renovation donation by Richard B. Keller. An extensive remodeling and modernization in 1967–68 effectively changed its original exterior appearance beyond recognition.
The Beacon is a mixed-use development located on a 14-acre (57,000 m2) site on Bergen Hill, a crest of the Hudson Palisades and one of the highest geographical points in Jersey City, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The Beacon, which occupies the Jersey City Medical Center's rehabilitated original complex, creates the northeastern corner of the Bergen-Lafayette section and is just east of McGinley Square. The Beacon includes 2,000,000 square feet (190,000 m2) of residential and retail space, approximately 1,200 luxury residences and 80,000 square feet (7,400 m2) of retail space.
The Civic Center Music Hall is a performing arts center located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was constructed in 1937 as Municipal Auditorium and renamed in 1966. The facility includes the Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre, the Freede Little Theatre, CitySpace, the Meinders Hall of Mirrors and the Joel Levine Rehearsal Hall.
McKinley Elementary School is a former school building located at 640 Plum Street in Wyandotte, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
The Oklahoma Judicial Center is the headquarters of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, and the Judiciary of Oklahoma. Situated near the Oklahoma State Capitol, the original structure, designed by the architectural firm Layton, Hicks & Forsyth, was built between 1929-1930 as the home of the Oklahoma Historical Society and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Oklahoma Historical Society Building in 1990. The society moved to the nearby Oklahoma History Center when it opened in 2005. An annex was completed in 2011.
Guy Wesley Peterson is an American architect based in Sarasota, Florida. He has designed more than 200 structures in southwest Florida, including private and public works. Peterson was an adjunct professor of architecture at the University of Florida, College of Design, Construction and Planning, and the author of Naked: The Architecture of Guy Peterson.
The Hiss Residence is a mid-century modern home designed by architect, Paul Rudolph. Built as the show home for Sarasota's Lido Shores neighborhood in 1953, the structure blends international style modernism with indigenous tropical design. It is among the preeminent works of the Sarasota School of Architecture and considered “one of the most remarkable homes of the twentieth century.”
77 North Front Street is a municipal office building of Columbus, Ohio, in the city's downtown Civic Center. The building, originally built as the Central Police Station in 1930, operated in that function until 1991. After about two decades of vacancy, the structure was renovated for city agency use in 2011.