Siesta Beach

Siesta Beach, originally uploaded by zuctronic.

The day after Kevin's wedding in Sarasota, I went to visit Joel and Cesily for lunch and then stopped at the Historic Spanish Point on my way back to Sarasota. Also on my way back, I stopped at Siesta Key to see the world famous Siesta Beach.

This beach is known for its 99% pure quartz sand that is so fine and white that it is cool to the touch, even in the blazing heat of the summer. The beach has earned “the whitest and finest sand in the world” (The Great International Beach Challenge, 1987) and “The Best Sand Beach in America” (The Travel Channel, 2004) awards. I can personally attest to the incredible feeling of this sand beneath my feet... it's like walking on baby powder!

Bertha Palmer in Sarasota

In a previous blog post, I described the life (and death) of Potter Palmer through a series of news clippings from the turn of the century. Many of Chicago's historical paths lead back to Potter Palmer and his legacy. I'd like to turn some attention to his wife, Bertha Honoré Palmer. After Potter's death, Bertha continued to increase the family fortune through real estate development on the Gulf Coast of Florida. When I learned of her connection to Sarasota, I wanted to see it all for myself and learn as much as I could about this fascinating person.

Potter Palmer married Bertha Matilde Honoré when he was 44 and she was 21, so it should come as no great shock that he died while she was still relatively young. In 1902, the widowed Mrs. Bertha Palmer maintained homes in Chicago, Paris, and London. She spent a considerable amount of time throwing parties in London during the "Belle Époque" (Beautiful Era) of Europe. King Edward VII (the son of Queen Victoria) reigned during this fashionable time but when he died in 1910, most considered the party to be at an end. Powerful forces were afoot in Europe as the chess board was being set for WWI. Four years later, the young Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his pregnant wife were gunned down in Bosnia, detonating a powder keg of turmoil still smoldering almost 100 years later. I digress...

Seeing that the good times were over in Europe, Bertha moved back to Chicago. However, she'd had quite enough of our winters. She invested in 80,000 acres of land in and around Sarasota, Florida where she built a winter home, orchards, gardens, a cattle ranch, and a hunting preserve. She began developing the land and selling property to wealthy friends from the north. By this time, Mrs. Palmer was internationally known for her parties and her extravagant lifestyle. She could spend over $200,000 in a day of shopping. She spent so extravagantly that Potter allegedly left money for Bertha's "future husband" in his will. When people asked him why he would leave money for his replacement he said, "because he will need it!"

Mrs. Palmer called her Sarasota home "The Oaks" ... so that's what I was searching for on maps, on the internet, and all around Sarasota. Well, I never did find The Oaks because the home by that name was torn down. There is now some sort of gated community or country club there by the same name. Instead, the remnants of her private winter estate is named Historic Spanish Point. It was here that I expected to find some interesting history about the area with respect to the Spanish discovery and exploration of Florida. Surprised was I upon bumbling into Bertha Palmer's gardens, guest houses, and a guided tour of the property!!

I parked my car and went into the visitor's center. The park is officially named Historic Spanish Point and there is an admission fee. I paid the fee and got a map of the park and drove to the main trail head. After walking past some open lawn, I encountered a tour group being led by a woman who was very knowledgeable about the property. Our first stop was the Duchene Lawn which features a classic style portal. The lawn was meant to be Mrs. Palmer's front yard, but the mansion was unfortunately never built. The portal was meant to frame a view of the cove and Sarasota Bay, but the land leading from the lawn to the waterfront was never cleared.



After the Duchene Lawn, we walked through a thicket of swamp plants and came out to another large lawn that had once been an attempted lychee orchard. Bertha's grandson Gordon Palmer tried to grow lychee trees here so he could sell the fruit to Americans. Unfortunately the climate in Florida is just a little too cool in the winter for the trees and most of them died. There were a couple left on the far side of the field.



We went past a butterfly garden and a "jungle walk" to arrive at the Guptill House, the original home on the property. The tour took a short break here and then we went inside the house. I took some pictures inside the house before continuing on the tour.



We walked over a footbridge and then spent a few minutes inside an ancient midden. There was a small museum built inside the midden and we could see a cross section of the shell heap. We watched a short video about the property and then moved on to the area of Mrs. Palmer's sunken garden and pergola.





The whole experience was really exciting for me just because I'm fascinated with the gilded age, the Palmer family, and the whole Chicago link to Sarasota. I always try to see the things that are highlighted by the brown "parks and rec" signs that I see on the sides of the road and this time I was definitely not disappointed.

Cà d'Zan

Cà d'Zan, originally uploaded by zuctronic.

On the Gulf shore of Sarasota, Florida, a wealthy magnate of America's gilded age built a mansion in the Venetian style overlooking Sarasota Bay. The view from this site reminded the owner, John Nicholas Ringling, of the lagoon in Venice. This winter home of John and Mable Ringling embodies the expression, "They don't make them like they used to."



John Nicholas Ringling built his fortune from the most unlikely business. Born in Iowa to German immigrants, the five Ringling Brothers started their show in 1870, when John was just 4 years old. They began by charging a penny for admission to "The Ringling Brothers United Monster Shows, Great Double Circus, Royal European Menagerie, Museum, Caravan, and Congress of Trained Animals" This ultimately became the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. By 1926, all of the Ringling brothers had died except John, leaving him the empire.



The Ringling Brothers' circus, the Cà d'Zan, and much of the architecture around Sarasota are from a time when the future was coming on fast. The Chicago Fire in 1871 and the equine influenza epidemic of 1872 (remember everything was horse-driven then) helped trigger a series of global economic crises, beginning with the Panic of 1873. What better way to distract the public from their money woes than a trip to The Greatest Show on Earth? John's circus travels took him around the Victorian world and he started to collect artworks from his travels. By 1929, John had purchased the American Circus Corporation, making him owner of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and every other traveling circus in America.



In 1909 at 43, old John had lived in the colder climes long enough to know that winter is no pleasant affair, so he and his wife Mable began spending their winters in Sarasota, Florida. In 1924 he commissioned the 30-room mansion that he called the Cà d'Zan, which translates roughly to The House of John in Venetian. It was completed by 1926, just in time for the collapse of the Florida real estate market.



In 1927, John moved the winter headquarters of the circus to Sarasota so he no longer had any reason to bundle up for the season. The writing was on the wall for America's economy, though. Bank failures were beginning to lead the country toward the crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. The crash and subsequent depression cleaned poor John out. He was able to keep his home and his art collection, but he lost his fortune. His wife, Mable, died in June 1929 and in 1932 he was voted out of control of his own business. John died on December 2, 1936 in New York City. He left his home, his art museum, and his entire art collection to the state of Florida.



Who knew the Circus could be so lucrative? Well, I guess I could have known if I'd given it any thought before visiting this place. John and Mable had a good thing going here and I'm glad to be able to witness what's left of his dream. It isn't difficult to imagine the tink tink of silver on fine porcelain or the laughter of wealthy guests being entertained by the Ringlings. These ghosts are all that are left of an era marked by extravagance and luxury. Mr. and Mrs. Ringling, I wish I could have been there.

Just Married!

Just Married!, originally uploaded by zuctronic.

I'll keep posting about the classic cars, but I want to break up the monotony a little as well, so we'll move on to the wedding... my next activity for the day.

The weather couldn't have been better for Kevin and Kristin's Big Day. I drove over to the hotel where Kevin and his family and the groomsmen were all staying. Everyone was nervous and worrying about the bow ties. Nobody was quite sure how they were supposed to be tied! We managed to get through it after Kevin learned by watching a video online.



I was recruited to be an usher, but I wasn't at the rehearsal.. so this was going to be slightly tricky. I drove to the Cà d'Zan and found a few people there. They had a cellist playing classical music and the chairs were set up on the lawn. When the limo arrived, I sorted out what they needed me to do. First I lit the candles, then I walked Kevin's mom to her seat, then Kristin's mom, then I sat down.



Everyone involved in the wedding looked absolutely their best. Amanda and Liz (Maid of honor and bridesmaid) looked stunning. The sun was up when the wedding started and it set while we ate dinner on the terrace. The venue was ideal, the view of Sarasota Bay and the sound of the water made it a perfect night. I spent a lot of time taking photos of the mansion and the grounds while the professional photographer shot up the wedding party.





For dinner there was a choice between beef and cornish hen. I had Kevin choose for me, because they both looked pretty good. He apparently chose the cornish hen, it was excellent. Deboned and stuffed with wild rice and served with a cranberry sauce, I ate the entire meal!



Afterward, we danced and then went to the Ritz Carlton where Kevin and Kristin would spend their first night together. The Ritz is an amazing hotel!! I took a few pictures from the terrace. We had a few drinks there and then I headed back to my hotel room after an exhausting day.