It certainly seems appropriate this week to post pictures of the Hover Brothers' Arcade built in 1913 on Sarasota Bay at the foot of Main Street.  It was the seat of our government, Sarasota's City Hall for many, many years. 

 It was just this week that Sarasota's newly appointed City Commissioners took on one of their first major issues-a neighborhood sewer lift station.  All five commissioners voted to spend an outrageous sum of money to build none other than a replica of the Hover Brothers' Arcade building. This Disneyesque structure will house nothing more than the mechanics of one, yes, just one, of our neighborhood sewer lift stations. The sewer lift station is being located in Luke Wood Park.  Ironically a previous City Commission voted to locate this neighborhood lift station on this land that was gifted to the people of Sarasota in 1931 for the sole use as a recreational park. 

So here you have it in a nutshell! Our city tears down a perfectly good building on its bay front.  The city disregards the intended use of land generously gifted to them for all citizens to enjoy by relocating a sewer station to the middle of it and now they are going to recreate the building they tore down 47 years ago at an astronomical price to move our waste.

What's next?  I suppose when the next sewer lift station needs replacement our city can recreate the train depot and for the next one, The El Vernona / John Ringling Hotel or the Mira Mar.

Deborah Dart posts for laurelparkhistoricdistrict.com