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Tag: 100th anniversary

Anna Maria hosts centennial celebration

Anna Maria hosts centennial celebration

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – On Sunday, the city of Anna Maria celebrated its 100th anniversary for the second time this year.

Taking place again at City Pier Park, Sunday’s celebration served as a follow-up to the initial centennial celebration the city hosted on Memorial Day.

City volunteers and volunteers from the Anna Maria Island Garden Club, the Anna Maria Island Historical Society and Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring sold beer and wine, with the proceeds to be shared by the three organizations that also set up informational tents on the City Pier Park grounds. The Island Players and The Center of Anna Maria Island also had information tents, and the garden club provided shared space for the To Inform Families First (TIFF) organization that encourages motorists to provide additional emergency contact information that can be used to inform family members in the event of a serious traffic accident.

The celebration featured food sales by The Anna Maria General Store and Deli, Harry’s Grill and Poppo’s Taqueria.

With conductor Leornard Murphy on saxophone, a jazz sextet comprised of musicians from the Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus and Orchestra kicked off the afternoon’s musical performances, followed by The Stockton Brothers performing acoustically.

During the sextet’s performance, Mayor Dan Murphy welcomed attendees.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here today and celebrating our 100th anniversary. We only do this every 100 years, so we’ll try to do it right,” Murphy said.

After encouraging the attendees to enjoy the beer, wine and food offerings, Mayor Murphy introduced Leonard Murphy and thanked him and his bandmates for being there, as they were at the first centennial celebration earlier this year.

After leaving the stage, Murphy shared some additional thoughts on the celebration.

“I chose today to do it because it’s after Labor Day. I really wanted to make this an event that focuses on our local citizens and celebrates our locals in this nice venue we have here at City Pier Park,” he said.

“We’ve got a pretty good crowd considering it’s the opening day of football season. It’s important to have events in this park with this beautiful shade sail and I’m glad to see people enjoying it and using it. Events like this help foster a sense of community and we appreciate the participation from the local businesses and the not-for-profit organizations that are here today. They’re doing a great job. Fran Berrios and the rest of the city staff did a great job organizing this event and once again they came through with flying colors. I couldn’t be any happier with the layout and the setup,” Murphy said.

During the celebration, city staff members handed out small replicas of the full-sized centennial flags that hung from the light poles along Pine Avenue in honor of Anna Maria becoming a chartered Florida city in 1923.

Anna Maria Commissioner Jon Crane said, “I love small-town activities like this. They’re heartwarming.”

Standing next to Crane, full-time Holmes Beach resident George Fuller said he appreciates the city-hosted events that take place at City Pier Park.

“I love coming up here for these celebrations and the events they do for the veterans. Dan does a great job with this stuff,” Fuller said.

Mayor hopes to celebrate Bridge Street’s 100th anniversary

Mayor hopes to celebrate Bridge Street’s 100th anniversary

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – Mayor John Chappie wants to recognize the 100th anniversary of Bridge Street with a celebration.

The street was once at the foot of the bridge leading to Anna Maria Island from Cortez before a new bridge was built. The Bradenton Beach pier now stands in the footprint of the original bridge.

Chappie, a member of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), asked the board last month for $10,000 to purchase holiday banners to place on light poles down Bridge Street. He hopes some of the money will be used to purchase banners commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the historic commercial area. CRA members approved the funds and expressed preliminary support for the proposed celebration.

During the CRA meeting on July 6, he provided additional details on his anniversary celebration plans.

Mayor hopes to celebrate Bridge Street’s 100th anniversary
Mayor John Chappie is leading the efforts to recognize and celebrate Bridge Street’s 100th Anniversary. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

“We just are finishing up with our hundredth year of Bridge Street existing,” Chappie said, adding that Bridge Street is believed to be the longest existing commercial area on Anna Maria Island. “100 years is pretty cool.”

Chappie told the board he recently spent a couple of hours doing research at the Anna Maria Island Historical Society Museum and he couldn’t find any specific details as to exactly when the street was renamed Bridge Street, so he’s using the construction of the original Cortez Bridge, which began in 1921, as a start for the 100-year timeline.

“As the bridge was being built, a hurricane came late in 1921 and they had to rebuild what was destroyed in 1922, so we’re still within that 100-year timeframe,” he said.

Mayor hopes to celebrate Bridge Street’s 100th anniversary
In 1956, the original Cortez Bridge on the right was replaced with the new drawbridge being built on the left. – Manatee Public Library Digital Collection | Submitted

Construction of the Cortez Bridge was completed in 1922, according to the book “Anna Maria Island: The Early Days, 1893-1940,” written by late Island historian Carolyne Norwood.

“The bridge from Cortez to Cortez Beach (now known as Bradenton Beach) was completed in 1922. Cortez Beach soon became the commercial center of the Island – just in time for the Florida boom and prohibition! By 1927, Cortez Beach had a population of 75. There was a village store, a gas station, the Bayside Inn (now The Bridgetender Inn), the Bath House and the popular Pagoda Dance Hall. Among the many characters were carpenters, bookkeepers, bootleggers and ladies of the night,” Norwood wrote.

Mayor hopes to celebrate Bridge Street’s 100th anniversary

This photo of the Bath House was taken in 1922 in the city then known as Cortez Beach. – Manatee Public Library Digital Collection | Submitted“The Bath House was on the Gulf beach at the end of Bridge Street. South of the Bath House stood the huge Pagoda Dance Hall. People were charged to dance and be served setups for the rum, homebrew and moonshine they bought from the locals. Weekends and holidays, as many as four hundred Model T’s a day would cross the bridge from four surrounding counties, since Cortez Beach had the only bathhouse and dance hall on the midwest coast of Florida. This was the heyday of Cortez Beach. Al Capone stayed at the Albion Inn (in Cortez) in 1928 amid rumors of his arranging for illegal rum to go to the Midwest from Cuba,” Norwood wrote.

Mayor hopes to celebrate Bridge Street’s 100th anniversary
This photo is included in Carolyne Norwood’s book, “The Early Years, 1893-1940.” – Submitted

In 1956, the original bridge was replaced with the current drawbridge, now slated to be replaced with a higher fixed-span bridge.

Chappie told the CRA members he’s already discussed with some Bridge Street business owners the prospect of hosting an anniversary celebration event in September.

“I’m putting out feelers and I’ll be reporting back,” he said.