“So, what you like about living in Venice?” I asked my dinner companion.
“Everything.”
Wow.
That is not something you hear every day.
But are we in the same zip code? My dinner companion was not talking about THAT Venice, the one in Italy with gondoliers and no, not the Venice in California either.
Welcome to the Florida Venice
The Venice with everything to like is nestled right on the Gulf of Mexico in Sarasota County. Visitors find more than they can do in a day. Residents know they made a great choice.
A slight turn off US 41/Tamiami Trail onto US 41 business/Tamiami Trail goes over the Intracoastal Waterway and quickly enters historic downtown Venice.
Historic downtown Venice has plenty of parking, shopping and food galore. Photo by Lucy Beebe Tobias
Parking is generous on Tampa, Venice and Miami Avenues, three “hot” streets for shopping, dining and finding Florida mementos that can sometimes defy description.
One way to start, turn right at the Venice welcome sign on Venice Avenue.
Within a block, Centennial Park is on your right. Here is a large parking lot plus plenty of shade trees, benches, a water park for kids and even a charging station for electric cars.
If you haven’t noticed already, the City of Venice has a love affair with orange tile roofs – houses, businesses; even the rest room in Centennial Park has a tile roof.
So many areas have Mediterranean Revival architecture, tile roofs and generous doses of blooming bougainvillea that surely Venice must be in the same latitude as Italy. No matter what the latitude, it is all very easy on the eyes.
Historic Buildings have new life in Venice
Across the street from Centennial Park is the Venice Mall housed in the former Kentucky Military Institute. How a military institute ended up in Venice is an interesting story. In the beginning, Robert Allen, a West Point Graduate, in 1845 bought land in Frankfort, Kentucky as a good location for a military school.
Venice Mall, formerly the winter home of Kentucky Military Institute. Photo by Lucy Beebe Tobias
Bankruptcy turned the charter over to Col. Charles Fowler. In 1896 he purchased a plantation house in Lyndon, Kentucky, opened the Institute up – it was now merged with his Kentucky Training School. He even had seven young women, though they did not wear the uniforms but followed the same curriculum.
Fowler, bless his heart, thought the Florida climate and outdoor recreation would be beneficial to his students in their scholastic studies. He brought students for winter term to Eau Gallie, now called Melbourne.
Fires and another bankruptcy turned KMI over to Col. Charles B. Richmond and three other men in a partnership. Richmond also believed in the scholastic benefits of a Florida climate and chose Venice, leasing the San Marco Hotel, the Hotel Venice and the Annex between them. Later the school bought the buildings.
In 1933 the entire school staff along with students arrived for winter term. Some 1500 people turned out to greet the train. It was a really big deal. Students kept coming for 37 years. The locals loved them.
Besides the economic benefits there were the near legendary military balls, dress parades and sporting events, still talked about today. The last trip to Florida was January 1970.
So when walking the Venice Mall corridors with shops on both sides perhaps an echo will be heard of students who ran down these halls between classes.
The Venice Mall houses the Le Petit Bistrot, delightfully French – open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday with earlier breakfast hours added on Saturday and Sunday.
For history buffs that want more, more, more – a visit to the Venice Museum and Archives is in order. Located a few blocks from historic downtown on Nassau Street in a distinctive building – the historic Triangle Inn. Parking and admission is free.
The Triangle Inn is now the City of Venice Museum and Archives. Photo by Lucy Beebe Tobias
A new exhibit “Journey Into the Wild Frontier: Venice Area Early Settlers and First Industries” opens August 4. To plan a visit, check their hours carefully – the museum is open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. While there, pick up a free Venezia Park Walking Tour brochure then stroll around the area with homes built in the 1920’s as a residential subdivision developed by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
Common sights on any Venice street are bicyclists and cars with bike racks. Often the car destination is the historic Venice Train Station (a transit stop for the SCAT bus route). Here bikes are unloaded. This is the perfect starting point to go south on the Venetian Waterway Trail or north on the Legacy Trail or do both.
If history, shopping and biking reeve up the appetite take a breakfast, lunch or dinner repast at Burgundy Square Café on Miami Avenue. Visit anytime. They open seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Their breakfast home fries are the best ever.
Want to find a shark’s tooth? Caspersen Beach on Harbor Drive in Venice is calling you. Do the shark’s took shuffle – bent over at the waist, eyes intent just above the water line and rewards could be yours. This beach is famous both for shark’s teeth and excellent shelling.
Caspersen is a National Healthy Beach and certified as a “Blue Wave” beach by the Clean Beaches Council.
Harbor Drive has a series of beaches with different amenities.
Dogs Welcome at Brohard Paw Park in Venice
Dogs enjoying the beach at the Paw Park, Venice. Photo by Lucy Beebe Tobias
One is Brohard Paw Park, the only park in Sarasota County where dogs can be on the beach. One visit and it is clearly obvious canines enjoy the surf just as much as their humans. Mutt Mitt dispensers are located at the park for cleanup.
Next door is a passive park. M Barritt Park with a sweet walk on a paved walkway around a large retention pond. The walk includes lovely Gulf of Mexico views.
This park is located between the Paw Park on one side and Sharky’s On The Pier and the Venice Pier on the other.
Fish and chips at Sharkeys on the Pier – note pier in background. Photo by Lucy Beebe Tobias
Add it all up: So many things to do in Venice, so little time.
My advice: Pencil in another visit soon! And remember Col. Fowler’s belief – being outdoors in Florida is good for the brain.
Note: for many folks, Saturday is their only “go play” day and Venice is ready – Saturday from 8 a.m. the Venice Farmer’s Market holds forth on Tampa Avenue in historic downtown Venice. Farmers, fishermen, crafts persons, bakers with yummy things, artists – oh yes, Saturday is a good day to visit.
Upcoming:
Speaking of Saturdays, come visit the Arts and Crafts Show & Sale on Saturday, August 9 at the Venice Community Center. Stop by the book author’s tables and say hello! I’ll be there signing my books. Buy one for a family member or friend. I’m the one wearing the funky hat so easy to spot.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The address is 326 S. Nokomis Avenue. Call 941-861-1380 for more information. See you.
More to Explore
Fernandina Beach sings a beach song
Dig into the past or soar with angels in Pensacola – and bring your dog