The Harkavy House, a classic modern by Paul Rudolph, has a 2006 addition, at the right of the structure, that includes a downstairs living room and upstairs master bedroom and bath. (STAFF PHOTO/ELAINE LITHERLAND)
The Sarasota Architectural Foundation will present a tour of two midcentury modern houses in Sarasota’s Lido Shores subdivision from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday.
The houses are the Paul Rudolph-designed Harkavy House, 1958, 113 Morningside Drive and the Tim Seibert-designed Shain House, 1967, 1340 John Ringling Parkway, Sarasota.
The Martin Harkavy House was built for a lawyer in the then-new subdivision, which was envisioned as a mecca of modernism by developer Phil Hiss. As chairman of the Sarasota County School Board in the 1950s, he hired Rudolph to design the addition to Sarasota High School that has been in the news recently as the school district renovates the SHS campus.
An addition to the house was designed by John Quinn in 2006.
“This house exemplifies the principles of the Sarasota School of architecture by displaying a close relationship between inside and outside spaces, with large overhanging sunshades, single-room depths allowing for natural ventilation, and large, single-piece sliding-glass doors,” said Janet Minker, president of the Sarasota Architectural Foundation.
“The original house is lifted from the ground on slender columns nicknamed ‘exclamation points’ because of their spherical foundations. The large overhangs to the east and west provide sun screening to the predominantly glass walls, and the interior features a 1,000-square-foot great room with a lofty, 15-foot ceiling.”
Architect/author Joe King will give a talk about the house at 3 p.m. His book “Paul Rudolph: Florida Houses” will be available for purchase.
This house on John Ringling Parkway was designed in 1967 by architect Tim Seibert, now retired. Staff photo / Harold Bubil.
The Shain House is isolated from the busy John Ringling Parkway, but on the waterside, wide expanses of glass, dramatic concrete flying buttresses and an uncaged pool carry the eye to the bay and one of the best views in Sarasota. The house has been altered over the years, but architect Tim Seibert, who hadn’t seen the house since its completion until recently, said, “Somebody has taken good care of this one, and that delights an old architect’s heart.”
The living room of a house on John Ringling Parkway that was designed in 1967 by architect Tim Seibert, now retired. Staff photo / Harold Bubil.
The house was the subject of a recent Herald-Tribune article, “Modernist gem is hidden in plain sight.” The property sold for $1,535,000 on Dec. 31, 2012.
Seibert will give a talk at the house at 2:15 p.m., and Sarasota restoration architect Greg Hall will answer questions.
Tour-goers may check-in at either house. Parking is on the west side of John Ringling Parkway in the Lido Shores neighborhood. Walk between the two houses; a policeman will be posted at Morningside Drive and John Ringling Parkway to stop traffic for pedestrians crossing the busy road.
Admission is $15 for SAF members, $20 for non-members and $5 for students with ID. Reservations or to pay online: www.saf-srq.org/events. Pay at the door by cash or check. Information: (941) 364-2199.
