The Florida Trust for Historic Preservation recently announced that the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall has been added to its 2023 "11 to Save," a list of the most threatened historic properties in the state. The initiative highlights endangered historic sites throughout Florida, as nominated by the public. The announcement about the inclusion of the Van Wezel was made at the Preservation on Main Street Conference in Ocala on July 19 (the full list of locations has not been officially announced).

The Van Wezel was built in the 1960s, when city leaders envisioned a performing arts hall that would make sleepy little Sarasota the cultural capital of Florida. They asked one of the world’s great architectural firms, Taliesin Associated Architects of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, to design a landmark building. (They got a purple seashell—a color and shape just not seen in architecture at that time.) And they insisted the new, city-owned hall must bring world-class artists to its stage, superstars like Luciano Pavarotti, Vladimir Horowitz, Ella Fitzgerald and Artur Rubinstein. 

It worked. Just 122,000 people lived in Sarasota County in 1970, the year the Van Wezel opened. Yet the city-owned hall thrived from opening night. With 1,761 seats in a continental configuration with plenty of exits on either side but no center aisle (continental seating was the next big thing in theater design back then), it earned a national reputation for the big-name artists it presented and provided a home for a dozen-plus local arts organizations. Residents took enormous pride in the place, and visitors were impressed with the town’s cultural sophistication.

The Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation (SAHP) is part of a consortium of groups and individual leading an effort to ensure that the Van Wezel is preserved. SAHP listed the Van Wezel on its Six to Save Endangered Buildings list in 2022. Other participants in the efforts to preserve the performing arts hall include the Historical Society of Sarasota County and 2,500 Sarasota residents who signed a "Save The Van Wezel" petition. 

Along with the recognition from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation comes access to the "11 to Save" grant fund, which aims to make a tangible impact supporting historic sites on current or previous 11 to Save lists.

“These are the historic places that matter to people throughout our state,” says Erin DiFazio, SAHP program director. “We’re optimistically enthused that the Van Wezel has been recognized as a vital property to protect. We’re also pleased that the City of Sarasota is exploring future use options and storm surge protection measures for this landmark.”