Land's End Marina holds decades of memories, Longboat history

A white ’40s-style rectangular cottage sits on the edge of the water at the northern tip of Longboat Key, just where the land ends. The dolphin-filled blue-green Gulf of Mexico water laps peacefully under the water-facing porch of the house, and it has been this way since the Mayers family bought the property in 1936. Today, they remain one of the oldest families on Longboat Key.

It’s not uncommon to see Tom Mayers throwing a cast net from the large pelican-perched dock, which has been rebuilt three times over the years — there is even an award-winning photo of his father, Frank, casting a net on the same dock.

According to a 1913 map of New Pass, Land’s End has, arguably, the best fishing on the west coast of Florida. It’s fitting, then, that the original settler of Land’s End and relative of the Mayers family, Italian-born John Saverese, was in the fishing business.

The early years
The year 1885 was an ideal time to begin a fishing company in Tampa because the construction of the Plant Railroad in 1884 connecting Tampa to the northern region of the U.S. allowed for a more massive fish transportation operation. Within 10 years, Saverese had employed 550 men, 15 sailing vessels, 150 small boats and a large steamer, “The Mistletoe.”

“It was the biggest fish house in the United States,” says Tom Mayers, former Longboat Key Historical Society president. “There’s nothing like that today.”

The 75-foot-long Mistletoe was used to bring vacationers from Tampa to Longboat Key two times per week. Due to the success of Saverese’s business, he acquired extensive building and real-estate holdings — including what would eventually become Land’s End. About 1914, Saverese built a vacation home on the edge of the water.

“We would like to think, romantically, that he took the bow of the Mistletoe (onto the beach) and thought, ‘This is beautiful,’” says Tom Mayers of why Saverese picked the location. A newspaper article from the time described the two-story home as one of the finest homes on a barrier island on the west coast of Florida. In 1921, a hurricane destroyed the home.

During the Depression, Saverese failed to pay taxes on his land holding. He offered it to his newly married great niece, Frances Fitzgerald Mayers, as a wedding present in 1936 if she and her husband, Frank, would pay the owed back-taxes.

A vacation hideaway
Frank Mayers, originally from Barbados, met Frances Fitzgerald in Tampa, her hometown, when he was 35 and she was 25. They acquired the northern tip of Longboat Key — their children disagree on whether it was for $50 or $500 — and Land’s End became their second home.

In 1936, construction on Frank and Fran Mayerses’ vacation home on the edge of the water began; Frank Mayers built the home himself. It was a magical, isolated hideaway for family, which would eventually consist of Frank, Fran, and their children, Michael, Joani and Tom.

The children grew up fishing, stone crabbing, sailing prams, swimming and exploring the environment around them. It was a place where the “family with our extended family and friends could gather, share experiences, enjoy a pristine natural environment, create and tell stories,” says Michael (Mayers) Saunders.

The Land’s End Marina
In 1958, the north Longboat Key bridge was built, and the magic of Land’s End would no longer be kept a secret.

But the bridge created the ideal opportunity for Frank Mayers. In 1956, he began constructing the beach cottage into a marina, and in 1958 it opened for business. It turned out to be more of a hobby than a money-making venture for the Mayerses. Frank Mayers ran the business while his wife kept the books.

“Land’s End Marina was a lot of things to a lot of people,” says Tom Mayers.

In the ’60s, it wasn’t uncommon for 12 boats to be docked at Land’s End Marina. Fishermen would stop in for bait, arguably the best hamburgers in town, smoked mullet or a cup of chowder and watch the pretty Mayers sisters, Joani and Michael, prepare them from a window on the full-width porch. There were cages with sharks and turtles. There were pet rattlesnakes (Frank was a snake handler), and even a monkey named Joe, who ended up being female. It was a landmark.

“The cottage had a flat roof, which was perfect for dancing and parties,” says Saunders. “So, it soon became the happening spot for youth from Bradenton and Sarasota to enjoy each other in a family atmosphere … that was a wild time at Land’s End.”

In 1968, Frank Mayers died, and the Mayers family closed their father’s marina shortly after. Though, occasionally, regulars would dock up and say hello, and sometimes they still do.
It remained a place to make memories with close family and friends.

The next generation
Even though the Key’s resident population has increased, people are still doing the things they historically have done on the island — sail, fish and enjoy the area.

“It’s nice to see that people still enjoy what my mom and dad did,” says Tom Mayers.

Saunders’ son, Drayton, grew up in the area, along with her sister, Joani Bergstrom’s children, Johanna and Kristin, and Tom Mayers’ daughter, Ellis. The family’s grandchildren also spend vacations at Land’s End.

“The enduring thing about Land’s End is that the essence of it has never changed … Land’s End has a heart and soul,” says Michael Saunders.

It began as a magical, beach-cottage hideaway for the Mayers family. Although it’s no longer hidden, Land’s End today is remembered in the same way in which the legacy began: a place to build family memories while enjoying a little bit of paradise.

Timeline

1884 – Railroad connects Tampa to northern U.S.
1885 – John Saverese establishes his fishing company in Tampa.
1897 – Saverese begins bringing early vacationers to Longboat Key from Tampa.
1913/14 – Saverese’s home is built.
1921 – A hurricane destroys Saverese’s home.
1936 – Saverese gives property to newly married Frank and Fran Mayers.
1940 – The two-story apartment building is built (it was incorporated into the Land’s End site in 1951).
1955 – The garage/workshop and masonry structure on the property is built.
1958 – The additions to the Mayerses’ home takes place, adding an east and west room addition.
1958 – The north-end Longboat Key bridge is built.
1957 – The Mayers family moves permanently to Longboat Key.
1958 – The Land’s End Marina opens.