THE SETTLING OF SARASOTA (33rd in a series)

Sarasota in the sixties

· New College, a liberal arts college, was established on the grounds of the former Charles Ringling Estate.
· Hurricane Donna hit Sarasota with 120 mph winds, pulled the water out of the bays and inlets, forced the evacuation of the Keys, and closed all of the schools.
· Chicago White Sox began spring training at Payne Park.
· Bay Haven School became the first public school in the county to have an integrated program enrolling 39 black students.
· A $1.35 million bond issue was approved by the voters for a city-owned performing arts building, the Van Wezel. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright’s successor firm and was built using these funds.
· The Sailor Circus, a Sarasota High School program, established a permanent venue on Bahia Visa Street.
· Construction of a new airline terminal building had been completed and occupied by Eastern Airlines. The FAA accepted the control tower operation, and Douglas DC-7’s began regular flights to the Sarasota Bradenton Municipal airport.

In February 1965, the jet age was officially introduced to the area when National Airlines began using 103 passenger Boeing 727’s for flights between Sarasota and New York City


(To be continued)...

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