Laurel Park Landmark celebrates 91 Years…………

The Sarasota Herald Tribune is celebrating 91 years of publication.  The newspaper’s first home was in the building best known today as the Woman’s Exchange at the corner of Oak Street and Orange Avenue.  Read the article in today’s paper….

An earlier post on the building…………

Woman’s Exchange

 

A landmark in Sarasota and an anchor building in Laurel Park’s national historic district – The Woman’s Exchange.  The not-for-profit organization benefiting the arts has occupied the building since 1969.

539 S. Orange Avenue – Building in the rear is todays spanish Oak Apartments

 

The structure was constructed in 1925 for the Sarasota Herald Newspaper – today’s Sarasota Herald-Tribune, our city’s longest running newspaper.  This building, along with several industrial and commercial buildings, and the Sarasota County Courthouse, which was briefly housed on Oak Street, created a pocket of commerce in a growing residential area during Florida’s Land boom.

Sarasota Herald Building

 

In the 1980’s the city surveyed and inventoried its historic properties and selected 24 buildings that it felt exemplified Sarasota’s history to be preserved for future generations.  Those 24 properties became the first in Sarasota to be honored by inclusion on our nation’s most prestigious list of valuable historic buildings and sites – The National Register of Historic Places.  The Woman’s Exchange building is one of those honored properties.

 

 

Woman’s Exchange……….

 

A landmark in Sarasota and an anchor building in Laurel Park’s national historic district – The Woman’s Exchange.  The not-for-profit organization benefiting the arts has occupied the building since 1969.

539 S. Orange Avenue – Building in the rear is todays spanish Oak Apartments

 

The structure was constructed in 1925 for the Sarasota Herald Newspaper – today’s Sarasota Herald-Tribune, our city’s longest running newspaper.  This building, along with several industrial and commercial buildings, and the Sarasota County Courthouse, which was briefly housed on Oak Street, created a pocket of commerce in a growing residential area during Florida’s Land boom.

Sarasota Herald Building

 

In the 1980’s the city surveyed and inventoried its historic properties and selected 24 buildings that it felt exemplified Sarasota’s history to be preserved for future generations.  Those 24 properties became the first in Sarasota to be honored by inclusion on our nation’s most prestigious list of valuable historic buildings and sites – The National Register of Historic Places.  The Woman’s Exchange building is one of those honored properties.

 

 

Orange Avenue after 1908

This is a terrific view of Orange Avenue looking south from Ringling Boulevard.  The street immediately on the right is Cross Street.  The street further down on the left is Morrill.  At the corner of Orange and Morrill stands the Church of the Redeemer.  It was moved to the site in 1908 and remained there until 1944.  Today’s Laurel Park is off to the left beyond the Church of the Redeemer.

The map below may help to orient you to the view.