El Vernona Hotel (ca 1925). Designed by Dwight James Baum and built by Owen Burns, the El Vernona was named in honor of Burns’ wife. Purchased by John Ringling in 1930, it was renamed The John Ringling Hotel and subsequently changed to The John Ringling Towers. In 1960, the hotel was converted into private apartments. It closed in 1980 and was finally demolished in 1998. Currently standing in its place is The Ritz Carlton. – Chelsey Lucas
Photo courtesy of Sarasota County Department of Historical Resources.

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The beach belongs to the birds, and we’re just lucky they leave us enough room to join them! This beautiful shot features a group of playful gulls frolicking near the sunset-lit shore.

Photo by Brian Decarmo 

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Edwards Theatre (ca 1926). Look familiar? This is the Edwards Theatre, what is known today at the Sarasota Opera House. Designed by Roy A. Benjamin through local man A.B. Edward’s vision, the building contained shops, apartments, and an auditorium for performances. The auditorium housed a large Robert-Morton pipe organ, which was damaged in a hurricane. The theatre underwent management changes in 1936 and became known as The Florida Theater until it closed in 1973. In the desire to bring opera to Sarasota, the Asolo Opera Guild purchased the building in 1979. Renovations occurred in 1982 and again in 2007-2008, expanding seating and bringing out some of the original aspects of the structure. — Chelsey Lucas
Photo courtesy of Sarasota County Department of Historical Resources.

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Feeling like the impending heat of summer is a bit of a drag? Don’t worry, because Florida offers the most refreshing way to beat that heat. Just think of taking a dip in these crystal clear Siesta Key beach waters underneath an interrupted blue sky, and summer will be something to look forward to.

Photo by Jimmy Scott Jr. 

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Municipal Auditorium (ca 1930). An aerial view overlooking the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium. The street running through the left side of the photograph is US-41/Tamiami Trail in its early days. One of the unique features of this structure is the barrel-vaulted roof, a collaboration between architects Thomas Reed Martin and Clarence A. Martin and project engineer Freeman H. Horton. This space was and continues to be used as a site for social, business, and promotional gatherings. – Chelsey Lucas
Photo courtesy of Sarasota County Department of Historical Resources.

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Yes, we can all agree that it was in need of a revamp.

So over the course of two months, the ArtisTree team worked to transform a personality-free yard into an urban oasis, taking into account both the space and the Coopers’ needs.

“Our designers’ vision for the Cooper’s backyard was to create a low-maintenance, coastal-style retreat where the couple could just relax after a long day at work or entertain guests on weekends,” says Debra Morrow, vice president of marketing at ArtisTree. “But the even bigger vision was to show how a well-planned landscape can transform people’s lives, which is exactly what happened in this case. Missy and Kevin can now literally forget the worries of the day reclining under their huge coconut palms and listening to their bubbling fountain. It’s quite the oasis!”

Well, the redesign is completed and the big reveal happened on April 25—so without further here’s a look at the Coopers’ new backyard, which they celebrated with a soiree for 20 catered by Michael’s On East.

Congratulations, Missy and Kevin!

See more great Sarasota landscaping makeovers here.

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Sara de Soto Pageant (1948). A crowd gathers for the parade of the Sara de Soto Pageant, an eight day festival of sports, beauty contests, dances, water carnivals, and Spanish-style costumes. Anyone caught not in costume in the Five Points area was subject to being lifted into a monkey cage! It is estimated that over the course of the pageant 100,000 people attended the events. – Chelsey Lucas
Photo Courtesy of Sarasota County Department of Historical Resources.

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This stunning bird, snapped in full feather on Longboat Key, is not too shy to get its photo taken. Those plumes!

Photo by Megan Greenberg, Semi Sweetness blogger.

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Entrance to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (1927-1960). Regarded as Florida’s number 1 tourist attraction prior to Disney, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is billed as “the greatest show on Earth!” Originally, the Ringling brothers, Phineas Taylor Barnum, and James Anthony Bailey ran their own individual circus shows. Following the deaths of Barnum (1810-1891) and Bailey (1847-1906), the Ringlings purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus and merged the shows into a single event in 1919. The circus presents two tours– the Blue Tour and the Red Tour–that travel by train every two years, and as of 2004 the truck-based Gold Tour, which presents only a single-ring version of the show. – Chelsey Lucas

Photo courtesy of Sarasota County Department of Historical Resources.

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What do you get when a famous actor visits Ringling College of Art and Design? A jam-packed few days that, it turns out, are just as educational for the celebrity as they are for the students.

In this case, the famous actor we’re referring to is Dylan McDermott, who visited RCAD last week as part of its Digital Filmmaking Studio Lab—a collaboration between the college and Future of Films, which was founded by David Shapiro and Sarasota resident Sam Logan.

“We’re in the fourth year of the program now,” Shapiro says, “and it has exceeded our expectations. The idea is to mix academics with real-world training—the hope being that the kids here at Ringling get the best experience to help them be successful, and that we can help build a network for them. And the community here is phenomenal: Supportive and extraordinarily giving, like I’ve never seen in the world before.

That’s a sentiment that McDermott echoes: “I didn’t know much” about Ringling College, he admits, “but after this week, I’m highly impressed. This is a serious place.”

McDermott’s own love of film and acting dates back to his teens, thanks in no small part to his stepmother Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues. It was Ensler who encouraged him to pursue acting, and “I took to it pretty quickly,” he says with a wry smile.

And though he’s perhaps most well-known for his Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated stint as Bobby Donnell on The Practice, McDermott has also headlined seasons one and two of FX’s popular American Horror Story, as well as made a somewhat-unexpected comedic turn in the Will Ferrell-Zach Galifianakis comedy The Campaign. “I love to do it all, to push myself,” he says. “When it comes to picking projects, I take into account the people who are involved”—he’d love to collaborate with Paul Thomas Anderson or Martin Scorsese someday—“but really, it comes down to instinct.”

So what’s next for McDermott? He’ll star in Jason Blum’s Mercy, based on the novel by Stephen King, as well as Shane Weisfeld and David Buelow’s Freezer and, next month, Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen with Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman. He shot a pilot for CBS—Hostages, which co-stars Toni Colette—and he’d love to continue working on American Horror Story.

He’d also like to direct more. “I haven’t done that as much as I’d like to,” he says, “but that will happen.”

Read more Sarasota arts and entertainment coverage here. 

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