ANNA MARIA ISLAND, FLORIDA

THE GEM OF MANATEE COUNTY

For more information on Anna Maria Island, visit: ANNA MARIA ISLAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE; ANNA MARIA ISLAND GUIDE;

ANNA MARIA ISLAND HISTORY MUSEUM; ANNA MARIA ISLAND.NET;

 

ANNA MARIA ISLANDis a barrier island just south of the entrance to Tampa Bay. It was first settled in the middle of the ninetenth cntury by Tampa's fifth mayor MADISON POST who named the island for his wife Maria and his sister-in-law Anna. In 1892 GEORGE EMERSON BEAN homesteaded t the north end of the island. His son George W. in 1898 allied with CHARLES MARTIN ROSER, inventor of Fig Newton, to promote residents. Tampa Bay, was not a vacation spot at the time.

Captain Mitchell Davis was elected the first mayor of a farming village. In 1912, Roser started the ANNA MARIA BEACH LAND COMPANY. Despite the construction of a bridge from Cortez to Bradenton Beach in 1922, there was no great growth in the Florida Land Boom/ It would not be until after World War II that Northerners discovered the island's charms..

HOW TO GET THERE: If you are arriving from FL 64 (Bradenton), you should stop at the DESOTO NATIONAL MEMORIAL, on 75th Street Northwest, honoring the landing of Hernan de Soto and his troops in 1539. Besides the museum, visitor center, and a nature trail passing the tabby ruins of a old homestead, there are exhibitions of Spanish colonial activities in a reproduced fortification. No one can prove where DeSoto actual landed, but the protection of the Manatee River makes this a realistic location.

HEAD WEST toward the Gulf and the bridge tot BRADENTON PUBLIC BEACH and turn right (northwest) along Gulf Boulevard where you might want to look at some of the oldest Gulf houses on  BEACH STREET, including the Tudor home of Talmot Mundy, creator of the Jack Armstrong books. Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach have the large, newer resorts and larger commercial areas.

As you enter Anna Maria Island, you will notice older cottages and a low-key vive. Turn right on PINE STREET, Anna Maria Island's original main road, with its OLD JAIL, 1923 ROSER MEMORIAL CHURCH, and stores. At the foot of Pine is the historic CITY PIER, first built in 1910. A right turn goes to the yacht basin, a left turn to Bean Point. But you might be tempted to park and visit the local shops and go onto the Pier for a few of the Skyway Bridge.

 

     Anna Maria Island – Old Post Card                                                   Rosier Church

 

                                                Anna Maria Pier                                                    Harrington House  Complex

 Do not expect to see large condos or beach resorts here. Going south on GULF DRIVE is the island's hotel row, where old estates like newsman Walter Lippmann's estate (was at 5400 Gulf) have been torn done for high rises. The 1925 HARRINGTON HOUSE, however, is now a notable bed and breakfast.

WHERE TO EAT: You will want to eat on a beach when you visit an island. The SANDBAR RESTAURANT (941-778-0444) at 100 Spring Avenue, is a beachside landmark although it is not inexpensive. If you want to actually eat OVER the water, there is the ROD AND REEL PIER RESTAURANT (941-778-1885), 875 North Shore. In CORTEZ VILLAGE, it is all seafood. THE SEAFOOD SHACK (941-798-2013) at 4628 119th Street, unloads its fish right outside the door. The SWORDFISH GRILL is another choice. In Cortez, a restaurant has to have a boat parking lot to be popular.

A SIDE TRIP TO CORTEZ VILLAGE

Heading southward along Bradenton Beach, you should turn bayside over the Cortez Road Bridge into CORTEZ, an old fishing village where a drive down 124th Street will lead to the 1890 JESSE BURTON STORE, the CHURCH OF GOD. Off 123rd Street is the 1906 CAPTAIN BILLIE FULFORD HOUSE. The store is a maritimne museum and there are lots of traditional old fish camp style seafood restaurants..

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CORTEZ and SOUTH BRADENTON BEACH

*** Popular Seafood Place in Cortez Community

Pelicans and Seagulls Line The Cortez Docks *** Old Burton Store in Cortez

FL 684 (Cortez Road) will lead eastward to US4l. If you continue south on FL 789 (Gulf Boulevard), you'll cross the bridge onto Longboat Key.