Projects in Sarasota and Bradenton Honored for Conservation by Florida Trust

Two projects in Sarasota and Bradenton have received awards from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, which also included two sites in the area on its annual list of endangered buildings.

Among the organization’s 2024 awards for excellence in historic preservation in the state are the Manatee Mineral Spring Project’s Recovering History and Architecture Sarasota’s Moderns That Matter program.

The Manatee Mineral Spring Project was recognized in the archaeology category, along with the Carr Cemetery Project in Tallahassee.

The archaeological project Recovering History by the Manatee Mineral Spring “aimed to excavate and document the site before it was affected by encroaching development,” the organization said.

The site near Tampa Bay has significant archaeological and historical significance and “serves as a critical resource for diverse groups throughout history, including indigenous peoples, freedom seekers of the Angolan Maroon community, and early Florida settlers,” the awards report said. The site is also recognized as part of the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

The organization also cites the way the project discovered assets that “paint a clearer picture of daily life in the village of Manatee from 1840 to 1880.”

“Moderns That Matter: The Sarasota 100” was one of four projects named in the Communications/Media for Preservation category, which recognized communications for educational heritage programs, books, brochures, curricula, DVDs, websites and more.

Last year, Architecture Sarasota asked area residents and several experts to select the buildings and places they considered most important or meaningful “that define the character and sense of place in the community.” The organization compiled a list of 100 sites, which are featured in various categories on its website and in a display at its headquarters in the McCulloch Pavilion at 265 S. Orange Ave., Sarasota.

The jury noted that many of the chosen sites have connections to the Sarasota School of Architecture “and exemplify the region’s tradition of innovative, modernist architecture, celebrating and preserving Sarasota’s unique architectural heritage.”

Other winners in this category include a Citizens’ Guide to Preserving Historic Places in Nassau County, the state’s northeasternmost county; Green Gables at Historic Riverview Village, Inc. in Melbourne; and La Florida: The Interactive Digital Archive of the Americas in St. Petersburg.

Working to preserve endangered buildings

The Trust’s Florida 11 to Save list for 2024 includes the Warm Mineral Springs Spa and Cyclorama in North Port and the Blanchard House Museum in Punta Gorda, which was built in 1925. The list is intended to draw additional attention to endangered buildings.

Designed by architect Jack West for Florida’s quadrennial celebration, Warm Mineral Springs Spa and Cyclorama was completed in 1960. It was damaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022. In March, the North Port City Commission directed city staff to demolish three buildings on the site due to the high costs associated with restoration. But in May, the commission agreed to resume discussions on ways to preserve them. Warm Mineral Springs was also included on Architecture Sarasota’s list of Moderns That Matter in the area.

The Blanchard House, built in 1925 for fisherman Joseph Blanchard and his wife, also sustained significant damage during Hurricane Ian in 2022.

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