The new Burns Square is named for Owen Burns (1869-1937), who originally visited Sarasota on a fishing trip. He saw the area’s great potential and in 1910, Burns purchased more than 75% of Sarasota, including Lido Beach, from J. Hamilton Gillespie’s Florida Mortgage and Investment Company. In 1911, he organized and was first president of the Citizens Bank...Sarasota’s first bank. He also founded the Board of Trade, which published a promotional booklet on Sarasota.

Burns handled the construction of John Ringling’s mansion Ca’d’Zan, pumped in Golden Gate Point, building seawalls that gave Sarasota the appearance of a resort, and was instrumental in paving Main Street. He partnered with Ringling on the Ringling Isles project, and built the first Ringling Causeway, connecting Ringling Isles and Lido to the mainland in 1926. He built the bungalows in Burns Court, and the triangle building at Little Five Points. If you look closely at the picture above, you can see the tracks of the Seaboard Railroad, which ran up the middle of Lemon and Pineapple Avenues, before turning eastward at Alderman. The Sarasota Herald opened in 1925, in the building that now houses the Woman’s Exchange.

In naming our community Burns Square, we honor the vast contributions Owen Burns made to Sarasota.

Learn more about Burns Square, including upcoming events, by visiting our Community Journal blog.