Health & Fitness
Historic storybook home that inspired a novel and served as a film set goes on the market
Legendary storybook home by prominent 1920s-1930s Sarasota builder Paul Bergmann, is listed with Annette Bentley of Michael Saunders for $324,900.
The legendary storybook home on Sarasota Avenue was built (or, perhaps, rebuilt) during the Depression era by prominent 1920s-1930s Sarasota builder Paul Bergmann, who also built both the Powel Crosley mansion in Manatee, and the Payne house at Selby Gardens. The historic 3 bedroom 2 bath home has recently come on the market, listed by Annette Bentley of Michael Saunders for $324,900. See:
http://www.trulia.com/property/3115348484-4237-Sarasota-Ave-Sarasota-FL-34234
According to a March 15, 1936 article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, working with architect H.S. Sprague, Bergmann rebuilt, first, the very similar looking house next door. Next, he tackled this one, creating a charming French Normandy style abode with stained glass, decorative beams, windowseats and other custom built-ins, and hard-carved accents. The yellow-and-black upstairs bathroom tiles on floors and walls are original Bergmann, as are the pecky cypress features.
A Historical Structure Form from the Florida Master Site file speculates that Bergmann might have moved the houses here from other locations. However, local historian Mikki Hartig believes that while the home next door was a renovation project for Bergmann, he probably built the one at 4237 from scratch, using architect H.S. Sprague's original plans.
So, how did the legend get started that John Ringling built these homes for the little people in his circus? It’s probably due to an optical illusion, created by the placement of the upstairs windows. Because the roof’s sides form part of the second story ceiling and walls, the windows needed to be placed under the eaves—nearer to the floor than typical windows. From the street, this creates the illusion that the second floor is closer to the first than it actually is.
The house was the inspiration for the novel, The Midget's House based on the—completely false, but utterly charming—circus legend. (Sorry—there doesn’t appear to be treasure hidden within the walls, either). But it did recently serve as the set for a short film, Casa Club, produced by Ringling Film School students about a girl growing up under a dictatorship in a fictional country.
