The widely known "Sarasota School of Architecture," also called "Sarasota Modern," is a regional style of post-World War 1 architecture originating in Florida's central west coast. Exemplified in most of the city's historical houses, its key inspirations come from the city's climate and terrain. The style incorporates the use of large sunshades, oversized sliding glass doors, floating staircases, innovative ventilation systems and walls of jalousie windows.
Architect Ralph Twitchell is credited as the "grandfather" of the Sarasota School of Architecture. He also partnered on projects with Paul Rudolph, who later established his own firm and subsequently became the Dean of the Shool of Architecture at Yale University.
John Ringling, one of the five brothers who started the Ringling Brothers Circus in 1884, and his wife, Mable, were key partners in the establishment of the city's Ringling College of Art and Design, and they founded the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.
Many of the luxurious residences built along Sarasota Bay's northern shore during the 1920s boom period have survived even into 2010.
Cà d'Zan Mansion, the 1925 Sarasota residence of John and Mable Ringling, is a palatial building featuring 56 rooms filled with art and original furnishings. The mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Ella Dulla Westermann Tenant House near historic Burns Court area is a bungalow painted in rustic green with a lighter green and orange trim, with a tin roof and a red brick chimney.
The Harvey House is a prominent landmark in the Sarasota neighborhood of Sapphire Shores. The materials used were limited to hollow tile or cement (concrete) block.
Twitchell's house, built in 1942, exhibits an open plan, a flat roof and broad overhangs with large expanses of glass and stacked Ocala Block walls.
