Powel Crosley Jr.: Encyclopedia II - Powel Crosley Jr. - Seagate in Florida

Powel Crosley Jr. - Seagate in Florida

In 1929, Powel Crosley Jr. built a Florida winter retreat on Sarasota Bay for his wife, Gwendolyn. The retreat was built along the bay front of a sixty-three acre parcel (243,000 m²) that was platted in 1925 as a subdivision named "Seagate". The two and one-half story Mediterranean Revival style house, and the auxiliary garages and living quarters for staff, designed under the auspicious of New York architect George Albree Freeman, Jr. by Ivo A. de Minicis, were built in the southwest corner of Manatee County by Paul W. Bergman. The house contains ten bedrooms and the same number of bathrooms.

"Seagate" was the first residence built in Florida using fireproof steel frame construction that provided protection against hurricanes, as well. The cross-axis design and a circular tower that contains a second story teak-lined study with metal oculi and a wind indicator driven by a distinctive weathervane are significant elements of the house. Other important features included double louvered and screened pocket doors and transoms for all rooms that could provide privacy while allowing the natural flow of on and off shore sea breezes to cool the house through window and door grilles and rejas; a telephony system wired into the walls of the house and servant quarters; electrical wiring under the tiles in the floors to provide power for table and standing lamps; chamfered and polychrome stenciled pecky cypress beams; galleon carvings on the loggia; massive carved doors; terra cotta tile floors that were laid into unique designs for each room and the main staircase; detailed plaster ornamentation; and stained glass of ochre and lavender randomly placed in casement and French windows. External features included flagstone detailing of the patio, walkways, and entry porte-cochere, fountains, a swimming pool, a seaplane dock, and a yacht basin.

After the death of his wife, Gwendolyn, who died there of a lung ailment in 1939, Powel Crosley used the house infrequently. During World War II, Crosley allowed the Army Air Corps use of the retreat to house men learning to fly fighter planes. Following the war, the property was sold and the large portion west of Tamiami Trail was retained as a residence by the Mabel and Freeman Horton family for forty years.

In an unusual listing that included all of the remaining forty-five acres, the property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 by a purchaser who intended to build an exclusive condominium project on the site using the historic house as a clubhouse. Most listings only include structures. The project failed when the economy faltered shortly thereafter. Seagate was saved from commercial development by the efforts of adjacent residents who opposed several ensuing proposals for development and initiated a campaign for preservation and acquisition through Friends of Seagate Inc.

In 1991 the property was purchased by the state of Florida and sixteen acres of the original subdivision along the bay front, containing the structures built by Powel Crosley, were designated for renovation by Manatee County while the larger portion of the property was designated for the University of South Florida and New College of Florida for future expansion. Today, the 1929 historic structure houses the Powel Crosley Museum and is used as a meeting, conference, and event venue. The museum is aided by fundraising through the Crosley Estate Foundation.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Seagate in Florida", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki