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Venice is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The city includes what locals call "Venice Island", a portion of the mainland that is accessed via bridges over the artificially created Intracoastal Waterway. The city is located in Southwest Florida. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 25,463. Venice is part of the North PortSarasota
Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries A settlement established by Maroons or escaped sl ...
metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...
.


History

The area that is now Venice was originally the home of Paleo-Indians, with evidence of their presence dating back to 8200 BCE. As thousands of years passed, and the climate changed and some of the Pleistocene animals that the Indians hunted became extinct, the descendents of the Paleo-Indians found new ways to create stone and bone weapons to cope with their changing environment. These descendents became known as the Archaic peoples. Evidence of their camps along with their stone tools were discovered in parts of Venice. Over several millennia the culture and people who lived in the area changed. The peoples who the Spanish encountered when they arrived in 1500s were mound-builders. Venice lay in a boundary area between two cultures, the
Tocobaga Tocobaga (occasionally Tocopaca) was the name of a chiefdom, its chief, and its principal town during the 16th century. The chiefdom was centered around the northern end of Old Tampa Bay, the arm of Tampa Bay that extends between the present-da ...
and the
Calusa The Calusa ( ) were a Native American people of Florida's southwest coast. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region. Previous indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands of years. At the time of ...
, and so you can find evidence of each in the area. The 1800s is when the area saw the first wave of "European" settlers. Venice was first known as Horse and Chaise because of a carriage-like tree formation that marked the spot for fishermen. In the 1870s, Robert Rickford Roberts established a homestead near a bay that bears his name today, Roberts Bay. Francis H. "Frank" Higel, originally from France, arrived in Venice in 1883 with his wife and six sons. He purchased land in the Roberts' homestead for $2,500, , to set up his own homestead. Higel established a citrus operation involving the production of several lines of canned citrus items, such as jams, pickled orange peel, lemon juice, and orange wine. Higel established a post office in 1885 with the name Eyry as a service for the community's thirty residents. In February he was appointed as postmaster but the office was shut down months later, in November 1885, with services moving back to
Osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...
. In 1888, another post office was established, this time with the name Venice, a name Higel himself suggested because of its likeness to the canal city in Italy. During the Florida land boom of the 1920s, Fred H. Albee, an orthopedic surgeon renowned for his bone-grafting operations, bought from Bertha Palmer to develop Venice. He hired John Nolen to plan the city and create a master plan for the streets. Albee sold the land to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and retained Nolen as city planner. The first portions of the city and infrastructure were constructed in 1925–1926.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 8.19%, is water. The climate of Venice is Humid Subtropical, bordering very closely on a Tropical Savanna climate and features pronounced wet and dry seasons.


Climate


Demographics

As of the 2020 census, there was a population of 25,463, with 12,521 households. 1.2% of the population were under 5 years old, 6.4% were under 18 years old, and 61.9% was 65 years and older. Of that population, 92.8% were white, 0.6% black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 3.4% two or more races, and 3.1% Hispanic or Latino. 3,204 veterans lived in the city and 9.5% of the population were foreign born persons. 54.6% of the population were female persons. 90.9% of the households had a computer and 81.3% had a broadband internet subscription. The median household income was $61,953 with a per capita income of $60,284. 6.8% of the population lived below the
poverty threshold The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
.


Arts and culture


Annual cultural events

Venice has been listed in several publications as being the "Shark's Tooth Capital of the World". It hosts the Shark's Tooth Festival every year to celebrate the abundance of fossilized shark's teeth that can be found on its coastal shores.


Museums and other points of interest

The following structures and areas are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
: *
Armada Road Multi-Family District The Armada Road Multi-Family District is a U.S. historic district in Venice, Florida. The district is bounded by Granada Avenue, Harbor Drive South, Armada Road South, and Park Boulevard South, encompasses approximately , and contains 11 hist ...
*
Blalock House The Blalock House is a historic home in Venice, Florida, United States. It is located at 241 South Harbor Drive. On April 12, 1989, it was added to the U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United ...
* Eagle Point Historic District * Edgewood Historic District *
Hotel Venice A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
*
House at 710 Armada Road South The House at 710 Armada Road South, also known as the Senator Copeland House, is a historic home in Venice, Florida. The home is located at 710 Armada Road South. On August 17, 1989, it was added to the U.S. The United States of Amer ...
* Johnson-Schoolcraft Building *
Levillain-Letton House The Levillain-Letton House is a historic house located in Venice, Florida. Description and history It is a 2-story Mediterranean Revival style Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and ...
* Triangle Inn * Valencia Hotel and Arcade * Venezia Park Historic District *
Venice Depot The Venice Seaboard Air Line Railway Station (also known as the Venice Depot) is a historic former Seaboard Air Line Railroad train station, depot located at 303 East Venice Avenue in Venice, Florida, Venice, Florida. It is the southern trailhead ...


Theatre and music

* Venice Theatre is the largest per-capita community theater in the United States with an operating budget of almost three million dollars.


Media

Venice's newspaper is the ''Venice Gondolier Sun''. It is published twice each week and has a circulation of 13,500 copies. Tampa Bay's
Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and include ...
affiliate WVEA-TV is licensed to Venice, though it is based in
Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...
and broadcasts from Riverview.


Infrastructure


Transportation

Venice is served by U.S. Highway 41, which runs north–south on the western side of Florida; Interstate 75 is a short distance east of Venice. Passenger railroad service, served by the Seaboard Coast Line, last ran to the station in 1971, immediately prior to the
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
assumption of passenger rail operation. Previously Venice was one of the Florida destinations of the '' Orange Blossom Special.''
Venice Municipal Airport Venice Municipal Airport is a city managed public-use airport located south of the central business district of Venice, a city in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. History The airport was built during the 1940s by the United States A ...
is a city managed public-use
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
located south of the central business district.


Law enforcement

Venice is patrolled by the Venice Police Department, Tom Mattmuller is the current Chief of Police. The small department has special units for bike patrols, traffic patrols, and boat patrols, amongst the normal police services provided. There are a total of 47 police officers that serve Venice.


Notable people

*
Dri Archer Adrion Dante "Dri" Archer (born August 9, 1991) is a former American football running back and return specialist. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Kent State. Arc ...
, American football player * Trey Burton, American football player * Hector A. Cafferata Jr.,
United States Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...
who received the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...
for his heroic service at the
Battle of Chosin Reservoir The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Battle of Lake Changjin (), was an important battle in the Korean War. The name "Chosin" is derived from the Japanese pronunciation "''Chōshin'', instead of th ...
during the
Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
* Walter Farley, author of
The Black Stallion The Black Stallion, known as the Black or Shêtân, is the title character from author Walter Farley's bestselling series about the Arab stallion and his young owner, Alec Ramsay. The series chronicles the story of a Sheikh's prized stallion a ...
*
Dick Hyman Richard Hyman (born March 8, 1927) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Over a 70-year career, he has worked as a pianist, organist, arranger, music director, electronic musician, and composer. He was named a National Endowment for the Ar ...
, jazz musician *
Forrest Lamp Forrest Noah Lamp (born February 20, 1994) is an American football guard who is a free agent. He played college football at Western Kentucky and was drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Early years Lam ...
, professional football player * Alvin Mitchell, American football player *
Tom Tresh Thomas Michael Tresh (September 20, 1938 – October 15, 2008) was a professional baseball infielder and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (–) and Detroit Tigers (). Tresh was a switch-hitter and thre ...
, professional baseball player *
Steve Trout Steven Russell Trout (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 1980s. He is the son of former MLB pitcher Dizzy Trout. He had the nickname " Rainbow". Career Chic ...
, former
major league baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
pitcher *
Early Wynn Early Wynn Jr. (January 6, 1920 – April 4, 1999), nicknamed "Gus", was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox, ...
, professional baseball player


See also

*
Huffman Aviation Huffman Aviation was a flight-training school in Venice, Florida at Venice Municipal Airport. Background Huffman Aviation Florida was established in 1972 as ''Venice Flying Service'', and was reorganized in 1987 and renamed as ''Huffman Aviation ...
, a flight school at
Venice Municipal Airport Venice Municipal Airport is a city managed public-use airport located south of the central business district of Venice, a city in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. History The airport was built during the 1940s by the United States A ...
which was attended by several of the hijackers of the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
* Kentucky Military Institute, which wintered in Venice for many years * Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, whose Clown College originally was located in Venice, and whose winter headquarters used to be in Venice *
Tervis Tumbler Tervis Tumbler Company is an American manufacturer of double-walled, insulated tumblers. The double-wall insulation is made by inserting a liner inside an outer shell, creating a layer of air between them. The two liners are then permanently f ...
, a United States drinkware manufacturer with headquarters and production in Venice


References


External links

{{authority control Cities in Sarasota County, Florida Populated coastal places in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico Beaches of Sarasota County, Florida Sarasota metropolitan area Cities in Florida Beaches of Florida