Oct. 23 open house planned for new Sarasota City Hall exhibit on Sarasota School of Architecture

Lecture planned at 5:30 p.m.

Photo courtesy City of Sarasota

An open house for the second City of Sarasota cultural heritage exhibit in Sarasota City Hall, spotlighting the Sarasota School of Architecture, has been rescheduled for Monday, Oct. 23, city staff has announced.

The original plans for the open house were cancelled because of concerns about effects from Hurricane Idalia, a news release notes.

The Sarasota School of Architecture exhibit “includes models, renderings, reproductions, original blueprints, and archival photographs provided by Architecture Sarasota and Sarasota County Libraries and Historical Resources,” the release points out.

“As conceptualized and overseen by the City’s Public Art Program and the Historic Preservation Division,” the release says, “the project highlights how the Sarasota School of Architecture — which focused on post-war, Mid Century modern creations — had such a profound impact on the medium that is now widely recognized around the world.”

In the release, Clifford Smith, the city’s senior planner, explained that the Sarasota School of Architecture “was one of simplicity, of linear design and transparency [that harnessed] natural light. Architects Jack West and Victor Lundy found ways to express themselves to create something entirely different and new.”

A lecture will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 23 in the Commission Chambers, which stands at 1565 First St. in downtown Sarasota, the release adds. The speakers will be Joshua Goodman, manager of the Sarasota County Division of Historical Resources; Architecture Sarasota President Morris Hylton III; and Sarasota County Libraries and Historical Resources Director Renee Di Pilato.

The Sarasota School of Architecture exhibit will be displayed in the City Hall lobby through June 2024, the release continues.

The inaugural exhibit, unveiled in November 2022, focused on Sarasota’s circus heritage and the Sarasota Colony Artists, the release says. The pieces have been relocated throughout City Hall and the SRQ Media Studio, where they are available for public viewing, the release adds.