Officials, commissioners, well -wishers and a mascot of Sarasota County, who looked at the Edson Keith Farmhouse on Wednesday, to celebrate his reopening to the public after years of restoration of the historical landmark.
Nicole Rissler, director of parking, relaxation and natural resources from Sarasota County, took the opportunity to thank the district's employees and has her three predecessors.
“This is a passion project for many of our team, and I appreciate everything they all did,” said Rissler.
The two -story two -story farmhouse is located in Phillippi Estate Park next to the Phillippi Creek. It is one of the few wooden structures from this time that are still intact in Sarasota County.
The house was built in 1916 by Edson Keith, a Chicago transplant to Sarasota, for his servants and employees. The entire property went through several owners after Keith's death in 1939. A married couple – Mac Hansen, a puppet designer from New York, and Charles Prodie, another businessman of Chicago – built the property in a restaurant and the hotel named Phillippi Creek Plantation in 1941. More than a decade later, Hansen put the farmhouse into the edge with the farmhouse.
The district bought the property in 1986 and was finally converted into the Phillippi Estate Park.
Repairs and improvements in the location include the installation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Improved accessibility for disabled people; and upgrades for electricity and plumber.
The ceremony for cutting ribbons was an event with stars compared to the government of Sarasota County. The district commissioners Joe Neunder, Mark Smith and Teresa Mast were also present and the district administrator Jonathan Lewis.
Neunder, the chairman of the Commission, was ultimately the one who cut off the band to reopen the centuries -old historical landmark.
“This whole park was simply a wonderful memory (in Sarasota) in my childhood,” he said. “I hope that our young people and people offer these similar opportunities to go a little movement, beauty and well -being.”