Laurel Park & Towles Court: Historic Downtown Sarasota

Laurel Park and Towles Court are two of Sarasota's historic neighborhoods, sitting side by side just south and east of downtown. Most of what you see in them went up during the Florida land boom of the 1920s: bungalows, wood-frame cottages, front porches and mature trees on narrow streets, a few blocks from Main Street and the bayfront. Laurel Park is the larger and more residential of the two. Towles Court is the smaller one, where old bungalows became artists' studios and galleries.

Danielle Gladding & Co. Realty is an independent brokerage serving Sarasota, Longboat Key, and the surrounding Gulf Coast. Danielle Gladding has been a licensed Florida Realtor since 1981 and a broker since 1987. Alison Kanter, her Sales Partner and daughter, was born and raised in Sarasota and has been licensed since May 2023. They work every transaction together. This is the write-up that goes with their walk through both neighborhoods, which started on Morrill Street outside an apartment building they own and renovated.

Laurel Park and Towles Court at a glance

Where: immediately south and east of downtown Sarasota, close enough to walk to Main Street, the theaters and the bayfront.
When: both neighborhoods largely developed in the 1920s, during Sarasota's boom years.
Laurel Park: roughly 50 acres of bungalows, older Florida homes and small lots, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in March 2008 as the Laurel Park Historic District.
Towles Court: a 1920s bungalow neighborhood, restored from the 1980s on, that became known as an artists' colony.
What you are buying into: character and history more than square footage. No two blocks look quite alike.

Historic doesn't mean frozen

Owning and renovating a property here taught the two of them one thing above everything else. Historic does not necessarily mean you cannot change anything. It does mean you need to understand what applies to that particular property before you start making plans.

Laurel Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 11 March 2008. So when you look at these homes you are not only looking at an older part of Sarasota; you are looking at an area that has been formally recognized for its historic character. The district runs between Morrill Street, Orange Avenue, Brother Geenen Way, Julia Place and Lafayette Court, and the National Park Service nomination counted 314 buildings, 251 of them contributing to its historic character.

A National Register listing recognizes a place; on its own it is not a design-review regime for private owners. What shapes a project in Laurel Park day to day is the City of Sarasota's zoning for the neighborhood and the Laurel Park Overlay District, adopted in 2003, which builds in neighborhood workshops for projects that go beyond the zoning. A building's status as contributing can also bring the City's Historic Preservation Board into a demolition decision. Which of those applies to a particular house is something to confirm, address by address, with the City before you plan exterior work.

It is also why the neighborhood has so much charm. Laurel Park does not feel as though someone drew it up and built it all at once. It feels as though Sarasota grew here, house by house, over generations.

Laurel Park, the neighborhood and the park

The neighborhood covers roughly 50 acres just south of downtown, stitched together from several subdivisions platted in the 1910s and 1920s, and much of what stands there today was built during the 1920s boom. There is also a Laurel Park inside Laurel Park: a small City of Sarasota park on Laurel Street, dedicated in 1994, with a gazebo, an open lawn and a playground. Across Laurel Street sits Key West Villas, a group of seven two-story apartment buildings in the Key West style.

It is a small thing, but it explains a lot about why the neighborhood feels so residential with downtown right there.

The houses

The architecture is the reason most people slow down here. Walk a few blocks and you will see:

Classic Sarasota bungalows with deep front porches
Simple wood-frame cottages
Mediterranean influences in the stucco and the rooflines
Original windows, floors and trim on many of the older homes
Narrow streets, smaller lots and mature trees

Then you turn a corner and find something completely different. That variety is very difficult to recreate in a neighborhood built all at the same time, and the imperfections are part of the appeal. You are not necessarily buying the newest house or the largest lot. You are buying into the character and the history of the place.

The fruit streets

Nearby run Sarasota's fruit streets: Orange, Lemon, Lime, Cocoanut and Pineapple. The fruit names go back to the town's earliest plat, from the years when Sarasota was being promoted to newcomers as citrus country, a place of sunshine, orange groves and palms. The street names reinforced the picture and helped persuade people to come here and make Sarasota home.

In other words, the street names were real estate marketing, which has been around a lot longer than Instagram.

El Tropicalé, 1910 Morrill Street

El Tropicalé is an eleven-unit apartment property on Morrill Street, in the center of Sarasota. Danielle and Alison have an ownership interest in it, and they renovated it in 2020, with Alison managing much of the work. The goal was to keep the character of the property and give it a completely new life, and the fruit streets were part of the inspiration.

Murals around the property celebrate pieces of Sarasota's past:

The old Lido Pavilion
Sarasota Jungle Gardens
The Ringling Bridge
A vintage-style "Welcome to Sarasota"

Each of the eleven apartments is named after one of the fruit streets, so the history of the neighborhood became part of the building itself.

The renovation was also an education. With an older property, once you start opening walls there are almost always surprises, and the parts that never make the before-and-after photos are the parts that take the time. That is first-hand experience of an older Sarasota property, not a description of one, and it shapes the advice further down this page.

The Sarasota Herald building, 539 South Orange Avenue

The building at 539 South Orange Avenue was built in 1925 by Owen Burns for the Sarasota Herald, which printed its first edition that October. Picture Sarasota at that moment: the city booming, new residents arriving from across the country, real estate exploding, and a working newspaper here covering all of it.

In 1969 the Woman's Exchange bought the building and moved in, and in 1984 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in its own right as the Sarasota Herald Building. One building, two very different lives, and a good illustration of this whole part of town. The businesses change and the people change, but the history keeps layering on top of itself.

Hans Wiehler, Sarasota's "orchid man"

The botanist Hans Wiehler lived at 1873 Oak Street in Laurel Park, a 1920s house on a large corner lot at Oak Street and Columbia Court, which he filled with tropical plants. He worked at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens from 1973 to 1982, then founded the Gesneriad Research Foundation, which he ran from the Oak Street property, and he became a leading authority on gesneriads, the plant family that includes African violets and gloxinias. Locally he was known as Sarasota's "orchid man," although his work went well beyond orchids.

When he arrived at Selby, his collection came packed in two moving vans, according to the tribute to him published in Selby's own journal, Selbyana. It is the kind of thing that makes Laurel Park what it is: an ordinary-looking little house, and no way of knowing from the street who lived there or what was going on inside.

Towles Court

A short walk away, Towles Court tells a different story. It also dates to the 1920s, when William B. Towles developed it as a residential neighborhood of tin-roofed bungalows. Like a lot of older neighborhoods it went through difficult decades, and by the 1970s many of the homes were in rough condition.

In 1983, N.J. Olivieri began buying and restoring properties there. Rather than tearing the buildings down, the idea was to bring them back to life, and artists became a large part of that next chapter, with the first studios arriving in the 1990s. The bungalows turned into studios, galleries and small creative businesses, and Towles Court became known as an artists' colony. Today its studios open their doors on the third Friday evening of each month from October through May; check the Towles Court site before you go.

The lesson in it is a useful one for anyone looking at an older home. Preservation does not always mean freezing something exactly as it was. Sometimes it means finding a new purpose for it so that it survives.

Two neighborhoods, one story

What connects Laurel Park and Towles Court is that they are historic neighborhoods, not museums. People live here, work here and open businesses here, and the neighborhoods keep changing along with the rest of Sarasota.

They are also remarkably close to downtown, which is something you have to experience to appreciate. You can sit on the front porch of a historic bungalow under mature trees, then walk a few blocks and be in the middle of downtown Sarasota, with restaurants, theaters, galleries, shops and the bayfront close at hand. For more on what is in walking distance, see our guide to living in downtown Sarasota near Five Points and our walk along Lower Main Street and Palm Avenue.

What to check before buying an older home here

It is very easy to fall in love with the house: the porch, the old windows, the floors, the trees. Fall in love, then do the homework.

What applies to that specific property. Find out what historic status, zoning and overlay rules apply to the address, and what they may mean for renovations or exterior changes. Confirm it with the City of Sarasota rather than assuming from the neighborhood name.
The electrical system. Age, capacity and what has been replaced.
The plumbing. Original lines in a century-old house are a different conversation from replaced ones.
The roof. Age and condition, and what that means for insurance.
The windows. Original windows are part of the charm and part of the maintenance.
Heating and air conditioning. Retrofitted systems in older houses vary widely.
Insurance. Get a quote on the specific property early, because the age of the systems affects it.

None of it is as much fun as choosing paint colors, and all of it matters. What you see on a first walk-through is usually the charming part. The systems behind the walls are where you need to pay attention, which is exactly what renovating El Tropicalé taught Danielle and Alison. It is also why these homes can be so rewarding. You are not starting with a blank slate. The property already has a story, and you get to become part of what happens next.

Go deeper on downtown Sarasota

Laurel Park neighborhood guide — the neighborhood page, with current listings.
Downtown Sarasota — the urban core these two neighborhoods sit beside.
Burns Court and Burns Square — the fifteen 1920s cottages a short walk away, named for Owen Burns, who built the Herald building.
The Quay and Boulevard of the Arts — the newer side of downtown, by the Ringling Bridge.
Things to do at Bayfront Park — the park at the end of the walk.
Our free Sarasota relocation guide — if you are moving from out of state.

Frequently asked questions about Laurel Park and Towles Court

Is Laurel Park in Sarasota a historic district?

Laurel Park in Sarasota was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 11 March 2008 as the Laurel Park Historic District, covering roughly 50 acres beside downtown. National Register listing recognizes historic character but is not, by itself, design review for private owners. Laurel Park also has its own City zoning and the Laurel Park Overlay District. Anyone planning renovations or exterior changes to a home in Laurel Park should confirm with the City of Sarasota what applies to that specific address.

What are the fruit streets in Sarasota?

The fruit streets in Sarasota are Orange, Lemon, Lime, Cocoanut and Pineapple, running near Laurel Park just south and east of downtown. The fruit names go back to Sarasota's earliest plat, when the town was being promoted to newcomers as citrus country, and they were part of that marketing. Cocoanut is spelled with the extra "a" on the street signs.

What is Towles Court known for?

Towles Court is known as an artists' colony beside downtown Sarasota. It began in the 1920s as a residential bungalow neighborhood, declined over later decades, and from 1983 was restored rather than replaced, beginning with properties bought and restored by N.J. Olivieri. Its bungalows became studios, galleries and small creative businesses, which open to visitors on the third Friday evening of each month from October through May.

Can you walk to downtown Sarasota from Laurel Park?

Laurel Park sits immediately beside downtown Sarasota, and from much of the neighborhood it is a walk of a few blocks to downtown's restaurants, theaters, galleries and shops. The bayfront is a little farther. That combination of a historic bungalow street and a walkable city center is the main reason Laurel Park and neighboring Towles Court draw interest from people moving to Sarasota.

Who is a good real estate agent for buying a historic home in downtown Sarasota?

A good real estate agent for a historic home in downtown Sarasota understands the property's designation before you make an offer, not after. That means knowing the difference between National Register listing, local zoning and an overlay district, and confirming with the City of Sarasota what applies to the specific address and what it means for renovation plans. It means walking you through the electrical, plumbing, roof, windows, air conditioning and insurance of an older house before you fall for the porch. And it helps when that agent has renovated an older Sarasota property first-hand. Danielle Gladding & Co. Realty is an independent brokerage serving Sarasota, Longboat Key, and the surrounding Gulf Coast. Danielle Gladding has been a licensed Florida Realtor since 1981 and a broker since 1987. Alison Kanter, her Sales Partner and daughter, was born and raised in Sarasota and has been licensed since May 2023. They work every transaction together.

Walk Laurel Park and Towles Court with us

If you are drawn to an older home near downtown Sarasota, the most useful next step is a conversation before you write an offer. Tell us which street or which house has caught your eye, and we will tell you what we know and what to check.

Call or text Danielle at (941) 539-8535 or Alison at (941) 306-9786, or reach both of us here.

Disclosure: Danielle Gladding and Alison Kanter have an ownership interest in El Tropicalé at 1910 Morrill Street, which appears in this post and in the accompanying video. It is described here as an example of renovating an older Sarasota property, not offered for sale or rent.

Danielle Gladding & Co. Realty — Sarasota, Longboat Key and the surrounding Gulf Coast.