|
When one mentions the name Venice, most thoughts turn immediately to the northern Italian coast along the Adriatic Sea and the city whose history spans back to the days of the Renaissance. Yet you don’t need to travel across the Atlantic to visit a city that, at least in its architectural style, is reminiscent of northern Italy. You can find that style, from the red-tiled roofs to Venice flooring, in the homes of Venice, Florida. Located only minutes south of Sarasota and along the same beautiful white sand coastline, the history of this city’s classic Mediterranean Revival style of architecture goes back nearly 100 years. Though Florida’s history far precedes the founding of our country, the city of Venice wasn’t settled until the 1870s, and the area was primarily citrus grove homesteads until the early 20th century. That’s when Bertha Palmer, the wife of wealthy businessman Potter Palmer, used the inheritance of her late husband to buy 140,000 acres in the area and then use her influence to have the railroad extended to Venice in 1911. Her purchase and the railroad’s extension put Venice on the map. Once the word got out, the investors and land developers began to flood in. One of those investors was Dr. Fred Albee, a well-known New York physician, who wanted to build what he considered to be a model city. Lucky for Albee that the 1920s were also a time when the country was experiencing the full force of a real estate boom and his plans took off and took shape. He also commissioned John Nolen, famed American landscape design architect, to put in motion a framework for architectural design that would conform to a northern Italian theme, which today gives Venice its unique characteristic. In 1927, the city was incorporated and thus, from an inauspicious beginning as a series of citrus groves, the city transformed itself into the first planned community in the state of Florida. Thanks to the efforts of one good doctor, the city’s architecture would forever be sealed in the style now known as Northern Italian Renaissance. Today Venice has a number of historic districts, most listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which is quite impressive for a city of only 20,000 people. The Venezia Park Historic District is a neighborhood characterized by one and two-story single-family homes, built in the required northern Italian architectural style and many of which have servants’ quarters. The Edgewood Historic District neighborhood has more unassertive homes than those in the other more well-to-do residential areas in Nolen's plan. The houses in this district are primarily bungalows built in what is called a frame vernacular construction, and they are reflective of the Mediterranean Revival style theme required in Nolen’s comprehensive architectural plan. Interestingly, Nolen’s plan also incorporated a diversity of housing types, which provided an alternative to single-family homes. This was evident in the Apartment District, a community of multi-family apartment buildings built around Palmetto Park, known for its open space and conforming to Nolan’s Mediterranean Revival style theme. Another historic site on the National Register of Historic Places is Eagle Point, built in 1911 by Bertha Palmer as a hunting and fishing resort for her wealthy guests and friends. In 1989, it was converted into a residential community and the buildings in the resort restored for use for the residents. Finally, there’s the Downtown Historic District, which was identified in Nolen’s Plan to be the commercial center of Venice. It features many two-story structures with apartments above the storefronts. Given all of the historic sites and buildings featuring the Mediterranean Revival style theme, from those red-tiled roofs to the marbled Venice flooring, it’s no wonder that the city has become such an attractive place to visit and, for many, a wonderful place to put down roots.
Related Articles -
Venice, flooring,
|
