The roundabout takes shape on Main Street at Orange Avenue in Sarasota. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 9-8-2015.
There is no shortage of things being built. One of the most noticeable for people who have business in downtown Sarasota is the roundabout at Main Street and Orange Avenue. As I approached downtown on a recent trip to meet a source at C’est La Vie restaurant, I actually had to think about how I would get there. (West on Fruitville, left at Lemon, left at Main.) The roundabout is supposed to be completed by late October or early November, with limited traffic allowed starting Sept. 30.
In a recent column, our Tom Lyons adroitly discussed the impact that the noisy construction has had on business at El Greco restaurant. The fallout from that column: the place was pretty busy for lunch when I walked past to take the photo you see with this column.
GOING UP: The Walker Guest House Replica is being installed on the grounds of The Ringling in time for its opening during Sarasota MOD Weekend as an 11-month exhibit. The Sarasota Architectural Foundation has led the effort to build the replica of the late architect Paul Rudolph's much-celebrated guest house on Sanibel Island in Lee County. Courtesy photo.
On my Facebook page, one commenter asked what should go in the center of the roundabout. I suggest a sculpture by the late John Chamberlain, who was famous for making avant garde art from wrecked car parts.
Meanwhile, on the campus of The Ringling, the Sarasota Architectural Foundation is installing its own walk-through sculpture — the Walker Guest House Replica. This copy of the Sanibel Island landmark, designed in the 1950s by Paul Rudolph, will serve as an educational exhibit for 11 months following its opening during Sarasota MOD Weekend, Nov. 6-9.
The focus of MOD this year is the career of Paul Rudolph.
