Tours of Venice
Guided tours
Guided tours of downtown Venice are available through Venice Florida Tours, which offers historic walking tours, biking tours, golf cart tours and ghost tours throughout the year. Venice Suncoast Tours offers a variety of tour experiences including culinary tours and shark teeth hunting. Discover Sarasota Tours offers seasonal trolley tours from January through April.
Explore the 1927 Triangle Inn, current home of the Venice Museum & Archives, with a docent-led tour. The museum also offers permanent and changing exhibits on the history of Venice and its neighboring communities.
Year round tours of the historic 1927 Venice Train Depot are offered by the Venice Area Historical Society. Explore the adjacent Rollins W. Coakley Railroad Park with its statue of the famous Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus animal trainer, Gunther Gebel Williams; a restored caboose, donated by CSX Corporation; and restored Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus train car.
Self-guided walking tour (extended tour version)
Step back in time and enjoy exploring the many beautiful historic buildings in downtown Venice! This walking tour below features 22 buildings in the historic district that were constructed in the 1920s.
For a printed brochure of a shortened version of the walking tour (PDF link) with 14 buildings, please visit the Venice MainStreet office at 101 W. Venice Ave. Suite 23 or stop by the information kiosk in Centennial Park (staffed by volunteers from Nov-Apr, Mon-Sat, 10:30am to 2:30pm).
Photographs and information are courtesy of City of Venice Division of Historical Resources.
#1. 200 N. Nassau St.: The Hotel Venice
The Hotel Venice was the first building constructed by the Brotherhood of
#2. 238 W. Tampa Avenue: San Marco Hotel
This three-story, steel-reinforced, concrete block, stuccoed building was commissioned by the Brotherhood
#3. 200-220 St. Augustine Ave.: The Hines Building
By the fall of 1927, Ira A. Hines had constructed this office
#4. 140 W. Tampa Avenue: The Orange Blossom Garage (today Venice Theatre)
This building was originally constructed to house a gasoline filling station, car
#5. 201 W. Venice Avenue: The Schoolcraft Building
Completed in October 1926 for an estimated cost of $45,000, this building
#6. 205 W. Venice Avenue: The Boissevain Building
This was the first commercial building constructed in Venice. It was completed
#7. 213, 215, 217 W. Venice Avenue: The Sarasota Bronx Building
Originally constructed as a two-story building occupying three lots, it has been
#8. 219-221 W. Venice Ave.: The Nickell Building
Originally the site of Blate’s of Venice Wearing Apparel, this building was
#9. 225-231 W. Venice Ave.: Ennes Arcade
The Ennes Arcade was completed in January 1927 at an estimated cost
#10. 247-251 W. Venice Avenue: The Saunders Building
Originally intended to house a drug store, barber shop, haberdashery, and tea
#11. 303-305 W. Venice Ave.: The Blackburn Building
This two-story building was constructed in the fall of 1926 for $26,000.
#12. 307 W. Venice Avenue: The Estes Building
This was one of several buildings owned by Mr. Estes in Venice.
Historic Preservation
In 1987 the City of Venice recognized the need to continue the architectural character of the original city and established the Historic and Architectural Preservation Board. The downtown area is part of the Historic Venice District administered by this Board.
The City of Venice maintains design guidelines to ensure that both new and old buildings downtown retain a Mediterranean Revival appearance. These guidelines along with past and future preservation projects ensure that Venice will continue to be the beautiful “City on the Gulf” and model of urban planning known as New Urbanism.
Local Register of Historic Places
Learn more HERE
The following properties are listed on the City of Venice’s Local Register of Historic Places:
- 504 Armada Road South- Rose Hill Apartments
- 715 Eagle Point Drive- Eagle Point Cabin 2
- 708 Firenze Avenue East- Municipal Mobile Home Park Clubhouse
- 303 East Venice Avenue- Venice Train Depot
- 409 Granada Avenue- Lord-Higel House
- 721 Myrtle Avenue- Edgewood Cottage
- 351 Nassau Street South- Triangle Inn
- 101 The Esplanade South- Venice Beach Pavilion
- 404 Warfield Avenue North- Union Missionary Baptist Church
- 201-203 West Venice Avenue- Johnson Schoolcraft Building
- 229 West Venice Avenue- El Patio Hotel/ Ennes Arcade
- 613 West Venice Avenue- Fitzhugh Haensel House (private single family residence)
- 640 West Venice Avenue- Orbry Crowley House (private single family residence)