Sarasota Homes

The city of Sarasota is located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the state of Florida in the United States. The official limits of Sarasota include Sarasota Bay and several barrier islands between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

The islands which are dividing Sarasota Bay from the gulf near the city are known as keys. Two of these keys – Lido Key and Siesta Key, are world famous for their sandy beaches. Other keys include St. Armand’s Key, Otter Key, Coon Key and Bird Key.

The largest key which separates the bay from the gulf is the Longboat Key. Although this key is now equally divided by the new county line of 1921. The key that parallels the Sarasota city boundary along the bay front of the mainland had most of its portion removed from the city boundaries at the appeal from John Ringling in the mid-1920s. This was so that he could avoid taxation of his new developments at the southern tip of the key.

A. B. Edwards built a theater in 1926 that could be switched between vaudeville performances and movie screenings. This theater has been restored since and is used for operas. It is situated at the intersection of Pineapple Avenue and Second Street and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A bank building designed and built by Jack West was recently renovated and reopened as the headquarters of Gateway Bank on Tamiami Trail at the intersection with Bahia Vista. Originally this building was set to be demolished but due to objections from a leader of historic preservation in the community it was preserved.
The Sarasota area has become very popular for golfing, mainly due to its warm climate, after the game was introduced to Sarasota by the Scots. There are a number of courses that dot the Sarasota map and of them is the course which was originally laid out for the hotel that John Ringling planned on the southern tip of Longboat Key.

But golf is not the only sport played in Sarasota. Ed Smith Stadium has a proud place in this city and the Baltimore Orioles will conduct spring training camp here starting in 2010. The Baltimore Orioles also have minor league facilities at Twin Lakes Park. Both of these facilities will be undergoing a lot of upgrades after the spring training. The agreement with the Orioles also places a Cal Ripken Youth Baseball Academy in Sarasota.

All in all Sarasota is a very beautiful city with beautiful beaches, architecture and historic sites along with a very friendly people living here. All these things combine to make it a wonderful place to live in and call your home.