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Lido Beach
400 Ben Franklin Drive, Lido Key, FL 34236
Lido Beach is located on Lido Key, one half mile southwest of St. Armand’s Circle, on Ben Franklin Drive.

Amenities:

15 acres of land
3,100 linear feet of gulf beach frontage
400 parking spaces
Beach wheelchairs
Concessions
Gift shop
Handicapped accessible observation decks
Indoor rental, swimming
Lifeguards are on duty year round
Picnicking
Playground equipment
Recreation building
Rest rooms
Swimming

History:

• Lido Beach Casino: since the opening of Lido Key to automobile traffic in 1926, Lido Beach has been a popular spot for bathers.

• In August of that year John Ringling, Samuel Gumpertz, and Owen Burns built a $30,000 pavilion, dock and bathhouses south of the present park.

• In May of 1940, the Lido Beach Casino opened on a 1300 foot section of Lido Beach which the city of Sarasota had purchased from the John Ringling Estate.

• Designed by Ralph Twitchell and funded partially by federal WPA money, the $250,000 Casino combined Art Deco, Modern and Frank Lloyd Wright features to create a sparkling modern structure which became a magnet for residents and visitors.

• By the end of the 1950’s poor management had resulted in a deteriorated building and an operational debt. A bond issue to remodel and modernize the Casino passed in 1964, but the building was demolished in 1969 before any work was done.

• The remodeling and modernizing took the form of a new building which was designed by Edward J. "Tim" Seibert and opened in 1970.

• This site became the responsibility of Sarasota County to operate and maintain as the result of the consolidation of the city of Sarasota and county Parks and Recreation on April 1, 1990.(city owned, county operated)