Lido Shores Essential Part of Sarasota MOD

Unless you've been sequestered for jury duty or "unplugged" from the media, social or otherwise, you probably know that our fair city is soon to be squarely in the national architectural spotlight. The Sarasota Architectural Foundation (SAF) is hosting the the first ever SarasotaMOD Weekend October 9th through 12th.

This four-day festival celebrates Sarasota’s iconic mid-20th-century architecture with guided tours, social gatherings and presentations by prominent architects, authors, critics and designers, including Carl Abbott, Tim Seibert, Alastair Gordon, Jeff LaHurd, John Howey, Raymond Jungles and Keynote speaker Lawrence Scarpa. 

And let's not forget Phillip Hiss, the so-called impresario of the Sarasota School of Architecture. Hiss founded our Lido Shores island enclave and built the first and still standing Umbrella House designed by star architect Paul Rudolph to attract potential buyers to the newly created subdivision in 1953. Next door, there's the Hiss Studio designed by Tim Seibert and on Morningside Drive is the Rudolph-designed Harkavy House as well as many more homes designed by Hiss and other Sarasota School architects.

Umbrella House (1953, Paul Rudolph architect) Photo by Bill Miller

Be prepared for lots of shutterbugs and modern architecture buffs to be wandering our neighborhood this coming weekend. Guided tours of these significant examples of Sarasota School houses will also be held in Lido Shores from 2 to 4 pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 10-12.  

Lido Shores resident and SAF President Janet Minker, along with Board member and husband Elliott Himelfarb, are the driving force behind this groundbreaking endeavor. According to Janet, they're expecting some 500 people to descend on Sarasota to soak up all things architecturally modern as well as some Sarasota sunshine. Janet says "The response has been amazing – there's an incredible buzz about the SarasotaMOD events. All of the walking, trolley and boat tours are sold out, but there are still some tickets left for the presentations on Friday and Saturday at The Francis (1289 N. Palm Avenue) and the Friday night Keynote at Ringling College of Art + Design."

Other not-to-miss events include dinner on Cá d'Zan's bayfront terrace, a poolside BBQ and fashion show at the Sarasota Yacht Club and Sunday brunch at Shore Diner.

For More Information SarasotaMOD.com
MOD Tickets SarasotaMOD.com
Sarasota Architectural Foundation (SAF) 
Sarasota's "hotter than a Lava Lamp" architecture by syndicated columnist Marni Jameson
Front-page Herald-Tribune article by Harold Bubil about Sarasota's midcentury modern history

~BT